Poll: Rust Proofing - An Analysis by Numbers
 

Hi Canadian friends,

I know there are a few threads on the regional forum regarding rust proofing of various sorts but I wanted to come up with some hard numbers to help fellow members (like myself) decide how to take care of this car for the winter. Part of it is a personal obsession with deciding based on numbers...

In an attempt to keep this unbiased and targeted, please only vote if you live in a province with significant winter snowfall such that salt is used on roads AND you drive/plan on driving through winter (I'm looking at you Vancouver haha)

You'll notice that you can vote multiple times so please check all that apply.

Let's not make this a post about what's wrong and what's right and keep it strictly empirical and by the numbers and let people glean what they will from the outcome.

Thanks for participating!

Didn't rust proof, but will next year. I think all cars are rust-proofed as they leave the factory? I could be wrong... friend's uncle who works at GM mentioned it before, the first year you don't need it at all and dealership offering the rust-proof are just for money-grab. Seeing as our cars are built in Japan though, I don't know what different procedures are taken.

Rust Proofed with Corrosion-Free, no holes drilled, annual application.

Where did you get it done with out holes?

I didn't rustproof since I leased my FRS. The car should be fine for the 4 years that I have it.

Rust proofed with Fine Details which used to use Corrosion Free but now use another Canadian brand that uses the same gel like, drip free substance.

How well does it work? No idea but the application wasn't the greatest. Missed some areas and oversprayed in some. No drilling. Also an annual 18 month application. Full car spray for $80.

Also heard that most new cars are coated with a rust resistant coating but I didn't want to take the risk.

For next year, I plan on buying corrosion free/rust check spray cans and applying it myself.

I'm quite intrigued at the number of responses for "no rust proofing" - any commentary to add from people who selected this response?

I didn't get mine rust proofed. Bought my BRZ in December of 2012. I chose not to rust proof it because I didn't like the way it looked (yes I'm a tad superficial) but mainly because I didn't really feel I needed it. I bought it with the diamond kote warranty, aside from that it basically has coverage over everything. Lastly because after this winter coming up, the car won't be seeing cold weather again anyhow. I'll be driving my 93' 240sx vert in the future winters after this one. :happyanim:

I won't have my car long enough to care. The next owner will probably be some kid who will kick the shit out of it anyway, so it will be long out of my mind when we part ways.

i too went to Fine Details and got Corrosion Free. I remember there was a study done by the Canadian Military saying that Corrosion free is slightly better than Krown or Rust Check. I went with Corrosion free mainly because it doesn't require to drill into my car and doesn't drip all over the garage. I used Krown before on my other car, it just made the car into a greasy dirty magnet.

Interesting re: corrosion free. No drip/dirt attraction sounds very promising + no holes.

Didn't rust-proof.

3 year lease and I'm probably not buying out the car.

If this was my car I'd either not be driving it in the winter or I'd go to Krown.

Poll: Rust Proofing - An Analysis by Numbers
 

Similar to the posts above regarding Fine Details application process, Corrosion Free doesn't require holes to be drilled. I went to Robinson Automotive in Mississauga, but just look up the Corrosion Free website for a location that can apply it for you nearby.

Also my reasoning for the rust proofing was because I plan to hold onto the car for as long as possible :)

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Rust proofing a modern car is totally pointless. If it needs it then the factory rustproofing is defective and adding after market rustproofing will not or prevent corrosion and might make it worse.

I used Rust Check, and had holes drilled, but not in the frame, so I didn't select "holes drilled in my frame".

Bought one of the rust inhibitor modules. Time will tell if it really works. Certainly no help for the exhaust (probably due to the rubber isolators).

I didn't get it because:

A) I don't drive my BRZ in the winter. That's what beater cars are for.

B) My father's 1972 Datsun 240z is rust free after being a summer car all it's life and they didn't give a rats ass about corrosion in those days, and after over 40 years it's in perfect shape. I feel like the BRZ will only be better.

I use electronic rust control module. Dealer installed and guaranteed against corrosion for 10 years.

Aww you fell for that snake oil?

A lot of doubters out there I know...

The science is sound, and oil doesn't really work.

NASA has been using this technology for 40 years.

they put those electronic things on snow plows for decades now and it seems to work

There is an absolute difference in the type of module a dealer puts on your car, and the ones used by NASA and Aeromarine applications. Do a little research and you'll see exactly what I'm talking about.

I can tell you it clearly didn't work on my friend's mazda 3.

I rust proof my cars myself when I switch the tires to summer, I just use cans of rust check and apply it to all the fasteners and suspension parts under the car, it's mostly to save trouble from future repair/upgrades. New cars are very rust resistant, they take from 5-7 years to start rusting from what I can tell, unless you have a mazda 3 lol.

got mine rustproofed from the dealership....i made a thread about it and how shitty of a job they did lol....basically made my engine bay look terrible

Here is the link to the thread
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...=rust+proofing

True. But the technology is still the same.

Why folks resist these advancements I will never know.

Oiling is cerainly NOT the way to go. Messy, unreliable and no warranties.

Because these "advancements" are unfounded and unproven (for automotive use). Sorry, but SNAKE OIL! :)

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe...article535224/

http://www.wheels.ca/feature/no-evid...ctually-works/

For those electronic "anti-corrosion" modules to work, they would need to be wired to each portion of the car, especially the metal that is far away from the engine bay.

As you know, electricity will take the shortest circuit it can. If the module is wired from your battery to your frame, and because the frame is grounded to the battery, it will take a very short circuit from the location it's bolted to the frame, back into the battery. There may be a very small portion of the engine bay that is protected against corrosion.

On a boat in the ocean... every part of the hull is connected to the anode ( a huge chunk of sacrificial zinc) by the salt water. Big ships will have these zinc anodes at regular intervals along the hull to ensure coverage.

The premise of the module is not to be sacrificial, but to use a small amount of current to reverse the flow of electrons that naturally try to leave the iron (oxidation) and bond with water.

To do the same in a car, we could either submerse the car in salt water, ensuring that all portions of the car form a circuit with the module, or fusion weld many small insulated wires every couple inches to every body panel or chassis component, and run them all back to the 'module'. This isn't practical of course, and if we tried to increase the current, we'd just short out the electronics, and possible cause over-protection, and just cause oxidation of the lead at the other battery terminal (+ve IIRC).

Salt/water/steel will always form a local circuit, which is why galvanizing steel is the only way to protect it, in an air environment. Galvanizing is a sacrificial zing layer, than can help protect steel for many years, even if the galvanizing layer is cracked.

Didn't rust proof as I'm leasing and I'll get the car washed once every two weeks during the winter to get the salt off (underbody as well).

did it at krown, no holes

I got the undercoating sound/rust proofing done by the dealership prior to delivery. Was planning on paying the $500 for the package after discount but they forgot to charge me for it. So all done for free! No holes drilled.

i didnt rust proof because my car isnt winter driven, and i have a beater which is rust proofed cuz i work at a dealership and it was done for free99, but if i did winter drive my car i would do the under body and quarters only. i hate seeing rust proof in the engine bay.

I've heard George Iny from APA.ca say that when he talks to body shops, the cars they *don't* see are ones treated with Krown. I've heard Doug Bethune (http://www.cbc.ca/maritimenoon/phone-in-regulars.html) say that when he does the same, he hears they don't see Rust Checked cars.

I went with Rust Check because they were closer and I know/trust the shop manager. The tech who applied it is trained how, not just some guy spraying oil. It took 13 years to run my Acura EL into the ground, and rust was a big part of "the end". I plan for it to take longer for my FR-S.

This information is unreliable. Anyone who has ever oiled their car can attest that it clearly works. If your paint falls off from the outside though due to stone chips or manufacturing issues (Mazda3), then nothing will save you.

I had mine oil sprayed and asked Krown for a spare can so I could do my own touch ups. I opted not to drill because I know there are plenty of access points in the car that I can get oil where it's needed - hence the spare can.

In the end, $125 is worth it to know that I'm taking preventative measures now and not trying to stop the rust later on. Aftermarket paint is garbage and rust will never go away once it starts.

...Plus I'll just degrease and rinse most of it off in the summer anyways. At least in the engine bay.

Doesn't rust proofing void the factory perforation warranty? I see rust proofing applied already on the bottom of the car from the factory (hence I'm debating whether to get the JDM aerokit under panels).

What makes you think it will void the warranty? That's like saying if you change the oil on the car it will void the engine warranty...

Manufacturers can only deny warranty if the part installed (or in this case service performed) is proved to have caused failure or fault of the part to be warranted. Generally it's the dealership that's put in charge of policing warranty claims for a manufacturer. If you stay in their good books, I'm sure they'd look the other way if something were to happen.

I've had a steering rack replaced in my old car under warranty even though the dealership knew damn well I raced the car with r-comps which caused the rack to fall out of tolerance. But stay on good terms and most will be happy to go to bat for you in the end.

Cuz I came from a VAG product and they are notoriously troublesome at making warranty claims with rust requiring the regional rep to inspect it and then argue / fight with the stealer (VAG comes with a 12 year rust perforation warranty and any aftermarket rust proofing voids that). Not that you really need to rust proof a German car to begin with (world's best quality steel comes from Germany and France). :D

Well so far my dealings with Subaru Canada hasn't inspire any confidence (my car didn't even come with a full set of user's manuals and my GPS card is outdated) so I guess I should rust proof the car myself come next year.

Did you ask for no holes?
personally i think getting the frame drilled with oil in there is the only way to go with krowns oil they use. I did mine 4 months ago and don't see much under the car anymore. They do seem the best though in terms of being thorough ( latches, handles, etc.). might go back if i have some extra cash after christmas for another one, i like how its cheaper everytime once you've had the holes drilled .


as for the rust mudules.. im no expert, but ill share my experience.

I bought an 07 black civic EX sedan 5 speed 2 years ago (first newish car) and opted for the rust module because at the time i thought i'd be keeping the car for a long time. upon purchase asking questions about the rust module the manager informed me the $1,000 you pay isn't really for the module, but simply for the insurance they offer with it. Fair enough i thought, id buy it and worse comes to worse itll rust and ill bring it in under warranty.


to cut this story short, before i traded it in on the brz 5 months ago, there was two spots of rust. above the rear wheel wells and behind the front, not HUGE, but definetly noticable on a black car. figured id take it back to the honda dealership before i traded it in for a better value on my trade in... they said the front was due to rock chips and exposed metal and not covered and the rear wheel well was "surface" rust and didn't orginate from the inside.


fought with them for a couple weeks about it, went to corparate, they wouldn't honour it.

so yea, payed an extra 1,000 just to get bent over the next year.

thats why ill never buy another rust module.

fyi if you really think they work, and dont want to pay for the insurance. they're at canadian tire for 100-200 bucks.

Yes I did

Dealer rust proofed mine before delivery. 6 year rust protection guarantee.

I got mine undercoated from dealer, if that counts.