ShrinkDoc

In the NE we get road salt 4-6 months out of the year. The NW has forest fire ash, which forms an alkali that eats you paint. The South/Southwest has heat and UV rays. The only time an undercoat works is if it's applied when the car is new, every day thereafter makes undercoating that much less effective. A 4 year old car in the NE and Canada has tons of rust, much of it not yet visible, but some of it very obvious.

Question: How do you guys protect you car's paint and underbelly from road salt and the elements?

RichKeagy

Southern California, Mediterranean climate here.
I just wash and wax my LC500.
Sometimes I use the clay bar, but the car is pretty new and is garaged at night.
Non-stop compliments.

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iTrader: (17)

Fluid Film, Amsoil Heavy Duty Metal Protector, and Boeshield T9 are my top three products for undercoating. Does not matter if the car is brand new or has surface rust or even thicker, more scaly rust. These products are designed to stop rust from spreading in areas that have already developed rust and prevent rust from forming on clean metal/e-coating.

You can apply either of these yourself with either an aerosol or even better with an undercoating gun and extension wands that allow to shoot this stuff into deep cavities that you would otherwise miss from just spraying out of a rattle can.

These products are the truth. Do a bit of research and you will see for yourself.

jfelbab

I used to live in Wisconsin, the winter salt capital of the US, LOL. I've used this on multiple projects in the past and rust never returned.

POR 15

ShrinkDoc

Good info, thanks so much!!!!


Interesting. I'll do some research on this and the one above. Thanks so much!

LeX2K

POR-15 is great for spot rust repair not the kind of thing you use to paint the entire underside. Well you could but not practical and doesn't bond well to clean metal. I spray my winter car down once a year with Fluid Film it does a great job of preventing rust, and will even neutralize existing rust. One application costs me about $40.

ShrinkDoc

Based on what I've read, most of these products are good. However, the caveat is to be very careful when applying, especially to not get the materials on rubber joints and hoses since they will expand and deteriorate. Some reviewers state that this is a non-issue. Either way, good advice.

It looks like there are some home concoctions out there with parrafin wax and oil.

Thanks for your input. Helpful.

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iTrader: (17)

Krown rust proofing does that to rubber. Fluid Film and the other ones I mentioned are perfectly safe on anything rubber or plastic underneath. Don't even worry about trying to avoid them. Just don't get a ton of it on the exhaust if possible because it will give off a burning smell for a while.

The only thing Fluid film can potentially damage is natural rubber (like the weather stripping around your doors, hood, and trunk), but everything in the engine bay and undercarriage is all synthetic rubber that's resistant to oil/gas spills and most definitely won't be affected by Fluid Film.

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iTrader: (17)

This is a great product, but as was mentioned it is not an undercoating and won't stick to existing paint or clean metal. You would need to sand everything with an 80 grit or rougher for POR to stick which obviously nobody is going to be doing on their cars. POR does what it's designed to do, stick to rust and not flake off.