How is it possible to keep a car for a few years without severe body damage due to rust? Here's some basic advice.
Rusting is avoidable by applying strict winter maintenance. First, give the car a thorough washing every week during the salt-use season. This includes the undercarriage, since salt finds its way up into the cracks and crevasses of the undercarriage. During the freeze, the salt lies dormant until water, acting as a catalyst, mixes with it causing oxidation -- or rust. At the risk of being redundant -- wash the car on a weekly basis!
Next, have rust protection done by a rust protection specialist. And I don't mean undercoating or oil spray -- professional rust protection. This is where the specialist has a blueprint of the frame and body of your car and knows exactly where to apply the undercoating and anti-rust foam. Typically, during a professional rustproofing, holes are drilled on the inside of the body panels and hard-to-get-at frame areas. The undercoating is applied to the inside surfaces, then a foam is injected, filling the cavity. This foam hardens and seals out moisture and salt. The whole operation is similar to what happens when insulation is blown into the walls of your home. Ziebart offers the best rust protection system I have ever seen.
Undercoating and oil sprays are just surface protection. In a choice between oil spray and undercoating, I recommend undercoating since oil washes off with the weather elements. Undercoating, being a manmade substance, is a little more durable.
A 1992 Cornell University study shows that most rust action is the result of road salt. It is 20 to 30 times greater in spring than in winter because rising temperatures, like humidity, trigger salt-caused oxidation. Cornell researchers warn to keeping cars out of heated garages during the winter because heat increases salt corrosion.
Living in the Salt Belt, even if a car is rust protected, it must be washed at least once every week during salt-use periods. What counts the most is washing the underside, especially under fender wells and other enclosed areas such as doors. Paint doesn't rust, the metal behind it does. At a commercial car wash, ask if fresh or recycled water is used. The Cornell team found that recycled water often contains significant amounts of road salt which, of course, is sprayed all over your car's accelerating rust! The Cornell team suggests not patronizing a car wash that uses recycled water.
Another reason to wash the undercarriage weekly is because of the effects of salt corrosion on the electrical wiring and connections of the vehicle. If salt gets into the wiring via cracked insulation or a bad electrical plug, corrosion inhibits the electrical flow and causes malfunction of a component or circuit.
In summary:
If you live in a "Salt Belt" state, have professional rustproofing done on the car (we recommend the Ziebart system).
Wash the car (undercarriage included) on a weekly basis.
During the salt-use season, do not park the car in a heated garage because heat triggers salt corrosion.
Inspect for rusting at least annually and repair as necessary.
When adding new parts such as a fender or door, make sure that they are rustproofed before installing.
Remember that rust is like cancer, leave it untreated and the car will rot away!
