NotSerious
Senior Member
- First Name
- Me
- Joined
- Oct 20, 2017
- Threads
- 46
- Messages
- 413
- Reaction score
- 408
- Location
- GreatWhiteNorthEh
- Vehicle(s)
- 2018CivicLXSedanCVT
- Thread starter
- #1
I have been researching rustproofing for my brand new Civic and I came up with a solution that works best for me. I thought that I would pass along what I have learned (Note that I do not have much experience with this, so I am talking as an "internet expert". Your mileage may vary.).
Although cars are better protected against rust than they were in the past, salt will still do damage to many of your car's parts over time. If you plan on keeping the car for more than 7 years or so and you live in a locale that uses a lot of salt on the road, you will probably want to take some defensive actions to protect your car. I had my previous car (2001 Civic) oil-sprayed and after 17 years, my mechanic noted that it was more rust-free than most 5 year old cars. Take a look under the hood of most 5 year old cars and you will see all kinds of rust on the bolts at the top of the struts. My car didn't have any rust there after 17 years.
I believe that the oil-based sprays that are reapplied every year or two may work best in locales that use a lot of salt in winter. In Canada, Krown, RustCheck and CorrosionFree are the three most popular. Krown has the most franchises and seems to be the most reliable alternative. It cost about $120 per application. There are many non-franchised local companies that do it as well. Some independents are good and others are not. I use a local independent myself and believe that they do a better job than most Krown outlets for much less money. Of course, the quality of the application is key to the oil-spray's effectiveness. Even Krown is known to have some inexperienced sprayers.
Because these sprays are petroleum-based, they WILL do damage to your rubber door seals. Krown claims that they spray these rubber seals with a silicone-based aerosol spray to prevent damage, but most customers claim that they still get the damage to their rubber parts. I suspect that aerosol sprays will NOT protect the rubber seals in your doors/hood/trunk because they are not "pure" silicone. I suspect that Krown uses the aerosol simply because it can be applied quickly. Taking more than 5 minutes applying a substance to save your rubber seals is not "economical" for them. REAL silicone grease will not damage rubber parts (petroleum-based greases do damage rubber).
After doing much research, I came across a product that MAY prevent damage to the rubber in your doors/trunk/hood that oil-based sprays cause. "Shin-Etsu Silicone Grease". This product is sold by many Honda dealers (Part Number 08798-9013). You will have to apply this to the rubber parts yourself (clean the rubber first) BEFORE you have your car sprayed with the oil-based rustproofing. It can be used to prevent many rattles in doors, sunroofs,... as well.
Most oil-sprayers do prefer to drill holes in the metal in inconspicuous places to apply the spray even though there are access-points that are available when the cars are newly manufactured. Because the paint-protection is compromised when you drill the metal, some people may experience rust in these drilled holes.
The better oil-sprayers will use some sort of grease on the metal around these holes to prevent corrosion. Then they plug the holes with rubber plugs. If they don't treat the metal around the holes, you should probably remove the rubber plugs after having your car sprayed and apply some grease yourself. Use silicone grease so that the rubber plugs are not damaged over time by petroleum based greases.
It is best to get the oil-spray applications done when the weather is warm and dry (September) and your car should be cleaned and dried before hand. Remove any stuff in your trunk before you leave your home to get the car sprayed so that the trunk can be sprayed properly. After the spraying, your car will drip oil onto the ground. Park it somewhere where oil stains don't matter so much.
Again, I am not professing to be an expert. I am just passing on what I have learned.
Although cars are better protected against rust than they were in the past, salt will still do damage to many of your car's parts over time. If you plan on keeping the car for more than 7 years or so and you live in a locale that uses a lot of salt on the road, you will probably want to take some defensive actions to protect your car. I had my previous car (2001 Civic) oil-sprayed and after 17 years, my mechanic noted that it was more rust-free than most 5 year old cars. Take a look under the hood of most 5 year old cars and you will see all kinds of rust on the bolts at the top of the struts. My car didn't have any rust there after 17 years.
I believe that the oil-based sprays that are reapplied every year or two may work best in locales that use a lot of salt in winter. In Canada, Krown, RustCheck and CorrosionFree are the three most popular. Krown has the most franchises and seems to be the most reliable alternative. It cost about $120 per application. There are many non-franchised local companies that do it as well. Some independents are good and others are not. I use a local independent myself and believe that they do a better job than most Krown outlets for much less money. Of course, the quality of the application is key to the oil-spray's effectiveness. Even Krown is known to have some inexperienced sprayers.
Because these sprays are petroleum-based, they WILL do damage to your rubber door seals. Krown claims that they spray these rubber seals with a silicone-based aerosol spray to prevent damage, but most customers claim that they still get the damage to their rubber parts. I suspect that aerosol sprays will NOT protect the rubber seals in your doors/hood/trunk because they are not "pure" silicone. I suspect that Krown uses the aerosol simply because it can be applied quickly. Taking more than 5 minutes applying a substance to save your rubber seals is not "economical" for them. REAL silicone grease will not damage rubber parts (petroleum-based greases do damage rubber).
After doing much research, I came across a product that MAY prevent damage to the rubber in your doors/trunk/hood that oil-based sprays cause. "Shin-Etsu Silicone Grease". This product is sold by many Honda dealers (Part Number 08798-9013). You will have to apply this to the rubber parts yourself (clean the rubber first) BEFORE you have your car sprayed with the oil-based rustproofing. It can be used to prevent many rattles in doors, sunroofs,... as well.
Most oil-sprayers do prefer to drill holes in the metal in inconspicuous places to apply the spray even though there are access-points that are available when the cars are newly manufactured. Because the paint-protection is compromised when you drill the metal, some people may experience rust in these drilled holes.
The better oil-sprayers will use some sort of grease on the metal around these holes to prevent corrosion. Then they plug the holes with rubber plugs. If they don't treat the metal around the holes, you should probably remove the rubber plugs after having your car sprayed and apply some grease yourself. Use silicone grease so that the rubber plugs are not damaged over time by petroleum based greases.
It is best to get the oil-spray applications done when the weather is warm and dry (September) and your car should be cleaned and dried before hand. Remove any stuff in your trunk before you leave your home to get the car sprayed so that the trunk can be sprayed properly. After the spraying, your car will drip oil onto the ground. Park it somewhere where oil stains don't matter so much.
Again, I am not professing to be an expert. I am just passing on what I have learned.
Sponsored
Last edited: