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I think this is a must for anyone who lives in a place where they salt the roads, specially if you like to work on your car yourself: cover all the undercoating with rubberized spray to protect from rust.
My car, which I just bought, has 120k miles on it and had NEVER been driven in the winter. There is absolutely no rust whatsoever, anywhere. Since I plan to drive it later in the season that other people, I wanted to keep it this way.
So... nice powerwash, take the wheels off, brush around a bit, blow any debris off with an air gun, let it dry...
I used to have a Jaguar that I used as my daily car. With 80k miles, I could push a bare finger through parts of the undercarriage, and once, replacing the struts, I broke a bolt that was rusted solid. You could hear my cursing in Iowa... that'll never happen to me again!
I'd be a little careful with the spray around the parts that have to move (like the strut shaft and the steering controls). Definitely a good idea in most of the bare metal areas.
Moving parts are no concern, as you start driving, whatever is on a moving part will rub off. There is nothing really you can damage with a very thin coat of rubber.
You will not be on your mechanic's Christmas List. Of that, you can be certain.
Actually, it's my mechanic who recommended I do it...it's much easier to scrape off the rubber to get to a screw than to have to fight with a rusted-solid bolt (my mechanic is my father in law, so no trust issues here).
I find it surprising that the reaction to this post has been mostly negative: I love doing it, I love protecting the car, and I love how it looks after I do it. I have found absolutely no downside to this in the years that I've been rubberizing my cars...but I guess that to each their own, as someone above said!
I find it surprising that the reaction to this post has been mostly negative: I love doing it, I love protecting the car, and I love how it looks after I do it. I have found absolutely no downside to this in the years that I've been rubberizing my cars...but I guess that to each their own, as someone above said!
Happy Christmas, you all!
I don't think anyone means to be negative.. I think they just see it as kind of messy.. Sort of like having a car painted but with the paint on hood/door/trunk hinges too since no body sees them even though they could have been taken off or covered!.. You know what i mean? I'm sure it probably does no harm, but most people here like myself would probably take off all the suspension.. spray a proper coat in every corner.. Clean the suspension parts, paint them and then put them back on.. I guess some would find that weird
Thanks for sharing. Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you as well.
I find it surprising that the reaction to this post has been mostly negative: I love doing it, I love protecting the car, and I love how it looks after I do it. I have found absolutely no downside to this in the years that I've been rubberizing my cars...but I guess that to each their own, as someone above said!
Happy Christmas, you all!
I know what you are dealing with having grown up just West of the Cities. Having to fight rust on cars that are only a few years old from the salt or whatever they are using on the roads now, sucks! What you are doing has to help prevent the deterioration. Good luck in your battle, and use the car wash undercarriage blasters often....
I know what you are dealing with having grown up just West of the Cities. Having to fight rust on cars that are only a few years old from the salt or whatever they are using on the roads now, sucks! What you are doing has to help prevent the deterioration. Good luck in your battle, and use the car wash undercarriage blasters often....
Or maybe I should just move to Nevada... or Colorado! :-)
12-18-14, 06:01 AM
Rubberizing the undercarriage
