nap@hou5h.UUCP (Nadine Pinkerton) (07/22/83)
I recently purchased a new car and refrained from having the dealer undercoat it because it seemed overly expensive. I have also heard that undercoating might not be that good for cars afterall (it may contain chemicals that cause corrosion and it may trap in moisture). Has anyone else read anything bad about undercoating? If I do get it done, I was thinking about going to Ziebart on Route 9 in Lakewood (Toms River?). Has anyone ever had any experience with them or any other undercoating place. I appreciate any mailed responses. Rusting away again in Oceancountyville, Nadine Pinkerton
rwhw@hound.UUCP (07/25/83)
Undercoating is a great money maker for the people that provide it. Many
car owners believe that it "protects" a car from rust. Perhaps to some
degree it does. The greatest thing that undercoating does is to reduce
the amount of road noise. The metal on the cars today has been coatd with
a "zinc chromate" like paint to prevent rusting. The final coats are then
applied. The drain holes in the quarter-panels and the wheel wells are
closed by the undercoating causing moisture to be trapped there.
This trapped moisture is what causes the body of a car to rot away.
More attention should be given to the paint on the body itself. The first
places that show signs of rust are around the edges (doors, trunk deck etc.)
and under the body trim moldings. Rust will start with a "nick" in the
paint so keep a small jar of your body paint for touching-up nicks and
scratches. After the car is a year or so old the trim moldings should
be removed and the paint surface under them should be touched-up.
A good waxing a couple of times a year does wonders for the paint. Always
have the car washed as soon as possible after being exposed to the
chemicals put on the roads to melt ice and snow, making sure that you
also rinse off the underside with fresh water.
Save your money, keep the car clean and waxed yourself.
Royheliotis@rochester.UUCP (Jim Heliotis) (07/26/83)
I slightly disagree that this stuff is a waste of money. First, if you are talking about undercoating, not rustproofing like Ziebart, then I am inclined to agree. Rustproofing, if done right (most dealers don't) coat all unpainted surfaces of the car, including the ones facing between-layer spaces you can't see, but moisture does get to. Second, even this can be a waste of time, depending on where you live. I am in western New York (state), and the use of salt on the road for all the snow we get (often above 100") /mandates\ rustproofing. Where my family lives, in central New Jersey (Somerville), I would say it's a waste, judging by the current appearance of my mom's unrustproofed '76 Chevy. That goes even more for a place like Phoenix, say. However, my brother-in-law lived in the panhandle of Florida by the Gulf (Panama City), and he complains that /everything\ in his garage rusts due to the salty air. Living in Toms River might put you in this salty-air category. Check with your local friends. Jim Heliotis
jeff@tesla.UUCP (Jeff Frey) (07/28/83)
Cars don`t die by rusting in from outside; it`s the other way around. Salt doesn`t necessarily kill them either, it just makes them ugly. The rust that kills is the rust that eats out the structural members and is usually related to moisture entrapment or condensation inside hollow members. That`s why Ziebart or equivalent processes are good: not for what they do to the bottom of the car, but for what they do inside the hollow members. The Swedes, who keep their cars on the road a long time (and they`re not all Volvos) discovered this years ago, and the result was Ziebart and its imitators. The important points in rust prevention are to have a Ziebart or similar treatment done to the INSIDES of important parts (hollow frame members, doors, trunk lids, etc.); to keep drain holes clear (especially after the Z. treatment); and to keep your car OUT of a heated or attached garage in wintertime. Heated garages not only cause condensation (moist interior air hitting cold car) but also speed up the chemical process of rusting. A further point is to have the Z. redone every four years or so; if it`s good stuff, it`s made to NOT harden, so may run or otherwise uncover interior metal. About four years was the time when the originators of the interior-wax processes discovered a re-doing was necessary. For cosmetics, you should wash a car as often as possible in the winter. If you want to see the danger spots for your own model look at a rusted example of the same model, and hit the same points. I interior-waxed my Plymouth Horizon five years ago with kits sold by Sears (it took 3 kits and 3 nights and the money I saved really wasn`t worth the effort and goop in my hair) and after four upstate New York and one California winter I can`t detect any inside-to-outside rust. Of course, this is also a function of the car`s design and the materials of which it`s made; I haven`t seen any other rusted Horizons or Omnis either. Oh yes, it`s been kept outside (in a carport) all the time. JF