Rust Proofing for 2004 !

[EdLancer]

I thought I should start another rust proofing thread for 2004 since there hasn't been one yet and winter is fast approaching for those of us unlucky enough not to live in a sun trenched warm paradise.

How, what and where do you guys RP your cars ?

I just had my done at Walmart, don't laugh since this is my third vehicle that has been rusted proofed at Walmarts and the product has held up very well after annual inspection of the undercarrige ! I was there watching them do it and they did a very good job for the price. I paided $39.95cdn($29.95 this year as they made a mistake in price !) to have the enitre undercarriage and wheel wells sprayed with SuperTech rust proofing. I would suggest that you find a specfic Walmart location that does it well as not all will do the same quality work as I have experienced especially now with the busy tire changing season is underway most will try to rush their way through the job. As a technically inclined individual, I'am very satisfied with the product and quality of work done for this price range.

I know there more expensive options like RustCheck, Ziebart and Krown, but I hate the idea of them drilling holes in my brand new car so I opted for only the undercarriage treatment and I bought a can of RustCheck red to do the door panels myself without drilling holes by inserting the straw through the window molding and exsisting holes around the door.

In a recent CAA(AAA) survey, the best rust proofing treament was awarded to a local little business called Barney's Rust Proofing who charges between $250-$650 to do an entire car, he does not drill any holes in the car, but removes the panels instead and he uses a black type of grease that will stay on the car for at least 2-3 years before the next application. The big names such as Krown and RustCheck only score moderately well agaisnt Barney.

[yankees1]

If they spray inside your doors, you better be sure they do not plug up the drain holes in the bottom of the doors! Ziebart plugged up mine and I did not know it and the Suburban eventually rusted from the inside out! Many years ago Popular Mechanic ran an issue that stated that you should not rust proof inside doors by drilling holes and spraying inside.

[Jesstzn]

GM at one time stated that if you had aftermarket rust proofing and you experienced rust perforation the warranty would not cover it. And at the same time Consumers report would not recommend or recommend it because there were more cons than pros .. that was in 93 .

[LouisanaJeeper]

what is this "rust" you speak of?

[Jesstzn]

Originally posted by LouisanaJeeper
what is this "rust" you speak of?

Hahaha you southerners ... I hope a puppy piddles on your freshly detailed tire

[EdLancer]

Originally posted by yankees1
If they spray inside your doors, you better be sure they do not plug up the drain holes in the bottom of the doors! Ziebart plugged up mine and I did not know it and the Suburban eventually rusted from the inside out! Many years ago Popular Mechanic ran an issue that stated that you should not rust proof inside doors by drilling holes and spraying inside.

Nah, I use RustCheck red, it doesn't block holes and is very liquid and creeps into the tightest fold and bends.

www.rustcheck.com

GM at one time stated that if you had aftermarket rust proofing and you experienced rust perforation the warranty would not cover it. And at the same time Consumers report would not recommend or recommend it because there were more cons than pros .. that was in 93 .

GM should not be talking casue they proberly have the worst corrosion protection of all the makes. 99.9% of GM cars will rust at the bottom end of the door where the zinc coating does not cover after the sheet metal has been sheared off during manufacturing and the lousy robot applied caulking is much to be desired, sometimes I wonder why they even apply caulking when the beads are not even sealing the seams properly.

[TOGWT]

EdLancer- Thank you for the information and your insights…/

Glad its worked out for you

[LightngSVT]

I used to won a Ziebart and would advise AGAINST using them. There is no need for the product these days and as stated if applied incorrectly can block drainage holes and actually lead to rusting.

[Jesstzn]

Also for what its worth in todays world a well washed car that is rinsed thoroughly regularly will have very few rusting issues. The washing / rinsing flushes away the catalysts that promote the rust. Another point .. once the temperature is below freezing rusting comes to a halt.

As for the 99.9% of GM cars rusting out .. I must have gotten lucky with the 8 or 9 that I have had and they all landed in the 0.01%.

I know .. your going to say its winter and cold out and I don't want to scratch my car .. well $2 and the spray wand using only rinse water to remove as much of the crud off the car and giving the drain channels a good rinse is better than letting the crud sit in/on there and do its work.

I'll spend the $40 on car washes.

[TOGWT]

This company makes a good rust decontamination /protection product - Finish Kare1119/883 Paint Decontamination

I think they have a contributer that may be able to tell us more.

I'm in Florida 'Rust, what's that?' LOL

[Aurora40]

Originally posted by Jesstzn
As for the 99.9% of GM cars rusting out .. I must have gotten lucky with the 8 or 9 that I have had and they all landed in the 0.01%.

I have to agree with this. As an owner of a few GM's, and having family members own them for forever, I've only had one car that developed any rust on it. It was a 1987 Celebrity that rusted on the lower edge of the passenger door, and many cars from the 80's rusted from all manufacturers.

[Accumulator]

Yeah, I've skipped the undercoating since the mid-eighties too. I expect my newer Audis and Japanese vehicles to remain rust-free, but FWIW, I've looked at a *lot* of Caprice 9C1s from salty-winter states and even with the questionable cosmetic maintenance that copcars get, they are almost always quite rust-free. Might've been something unique to the 91-up GM b-bodies in general (heh heh, "Built in Texas by Texans" as the sticker on the door says ); most Buick Roadmasters I see are pretty good in this regard too. But I see plenty of rusted out F-bodies, Cavaliers, and others.