User 2523

I'm currently awaiting the arrival of my 2006 Vel. Red GT. Very excited, should be here soon. Actually, I haven't experienced this level of excitement since Christmas time as a small kid. I turned down the dealer offered rustproofing and undercoating after reading through this and other forums. I realize this issue has been beaten to death here, and I'm not sure it's worth creating another thread, but I'm really struggling on deciding what aftermarket rust protection I need on my car before the winter sets in. The general consensus seems to suggest that traditional undercoating is a mistake and should be avoided. How about paint protection? It seams that Zaino is the way to go. Does that have to be ordered or can I pick it up locally in Edmonton? Is anyone in the Edmonton area familiar with Ming's product? or Ziebart? or Auto Details? Any recommendations would really be appreciated. Also, how about the 3M film on the hood and rear fender flares? What's the general opinion on that product?

expo1

I would just get the 3m Clear Bra on the front for chip protection. As for rust protection take a look around at cars from the 1990's that are still on the road by you. Are many of them rusted out? I think these days undercoating / rustproofing is not needed.

bean438

Rust proofing is not a waste, just make sure you get the treatment that actually works.

www.krown.com

or

www.rustcheck.com

Yearly oil sprays do make sense. I do all my cars every September. Even the RX8 that doesn not go out in the winter.

01Racing

Also remember that when someone else rustproofs your car THEY ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY for your rust warranty!

9291150

After being a lifetime oil sprayer, I switched to wax based rust proofing. Oil spraying does work, but the mess is severe, especially after many years. Plus, I had too many electrical burnouts to be a co-incidence. Just my opinion.

Got the dealer to do both undercoating and wax based rust proofing. Happy I did, will be happier if I keep it a long time. Although advances have been made with galvanized steel and liberal use of aluminium, there is still too much steel that doesn’t stand up to moisture over the long term.

bean438

After many years of oil spraying you will have a nice undercoating for "free".
Is that the mess you were refering to?

I have read that the wax based rustproofing is not as good as the oil spray to to lack of creeping ability of the wax, plus the wax can actually seal up the drain holes in the car.
Double whammy.

As for the electrical burnouts, what kind of vehicle are we talking? Could it be one that is just prone to electrical gremlins? Ford maybe?

9291150

Kinda, yeah. Years of oil spraying led to cake'd on gunk, especially the engine area, don't know if I'd call that free undercoating. Creeping ability? I think its all in the application. And drainholes are easy to locate and ensure they remain clear.

Electrical gremlins? I had problems on a VW and a Suzuki I owned, last piece was a failed $600 Bosch part that me mechanic showed me that was drenched in the stuff (2 weeks after an oil spray)! Told this to Krown, they said prove it...sure, let me fly in some Bosch engineers. Maybe it still would of failed, my VW was crap, but that did it for me.

My dad sprayed oil (still has an 89 civic wagon without a speck of rust), but uses wax now. Obviously oil works, I'd still recommend it, but I don't see the downside of wax.

Shogun

I found from experience with a very rust prone vehicle (Alfa Romeo) that the wax based rustproofing used back in the 70's (don't know how much they have changed since) does not protect in the long run. Stone hits on the chassis would break the surface of the rustproofing and water/moisture would eventually penetrate; the wax would eventually self seal and the moistre trapped would cause surface rust under the rust proofing. Don't think this would be an issue today with galvanized panels. If you plan to keep your RX for a long time; the wax type rustproofing is a pain in the butt to remove if you want to bring it back to a near concours condition as I found out with the Alfa . With Krown/Rustcheck, you should power wash any dirt off prior to any yearly re-application, as it would prevent dirt build up that cakes up on electrical connections. Most new cars have rubbertype seals that waterproof the electrical connections, so electrical gremlins due to bad connections are fewer now. When it comes time for restoration to concours condition down the road; a good power wash will bring it back to near factory condition. Also find a shop that will apply Krown/Rustcheck without drilling any holes, to keep it as original as possible.

User 2523

Thanks guys, I really appreciate all of your input. I looked up Krown in the Edmonton area and the only shop that I found that applies Krown here in Edmonton was 'McDonald Muffler & Brake'. Is there anyone out there that's had experience with these guys?

scoop

Oil spray works and works well but it does create a big mess but that is preferable to the car rotting out if you must drive it in winter. It will never be a concorse car if driven in winter, drive it one winter and with a two second look at the brakes I can tell it's been winter driven :-( I have had two cars repeatedly oil sprayed and had no electrical problems. I had one car sprayed with a single application tar type stuff years ago by a large company and had to claim on the warranty, the whole bottom of the front doors disappeared. The processes may be better now but I have no confidence in the concept. I wouldn't worry about automobile manufacturer warranties in terms of voiding or not voiding them, they are typically six years or something with some European exceptions. With proper rust treatment the thing shouldn't perforate for 12-20 years, at least that's my expectation from a car. This car is not well enough protected to not do anything and then dump salt all over it. When a car is assembled from galvanized panels the cut points, spot welds and crimps breach the galvanizing at just the locations where water can be trapped. My Subaru is built that way with galvanized panels, kind of similar construction quality to the 8 and I oil spray it every year. Look at the hood and tailgate crimps on a 5-6 year old Subaru that has not been treated, the rot is already evident on most of them around here. My 16 year old Audi winter car is of the assembled and dipped variety, then they factory wax seal the seams and put on indestructible plastic, not tar undercoating. That car has had no treatments, doesn't need any and has no rust. One size does not fit all . . . The Audi is a heavy pig in comparison to the 8, durability comes with a price and if you are trying to make light weight sports car some compromises will definitely be made there. I still think parking the 8 and driving a winter beater trumps all of these options, I don't think it really costs much more and there is peace of mind that comes with not caring about it . . .

YT1300

How long are you planning to keep the car?

I drove a Civic for six years, in Eastern Canadian winters, parked it outside and drove daily through the slush, salt, and snow. I even had my wife 'decorate' the car following a couple of too-close encounters with concrete poles in a parking garage. No rust protection underneath, and no problems with paint or surface corrosion. The engine bay was rust-free (dirty, but rust-free).

No tricks - just washed the car regularly, as often as I could during the winter (coin-op spray-your-own is the key...), patched over the raw metal, and kept the wheel arches and recesses clean. Corrosion, however, will set in on the exposed drivetrain and brake components - and no degree of rust-proofing wil protect against that!