Rustproofing in salty-road locales.

NotSerious

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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.
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CobraCommand

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I'm in Nova Scotia and had this debate back and forth to rustproof or not. Unfortunately the krown / rustcheck / corrosionfree places around here are all garbage. Quick jobs with sloppy results and if they accidentally plug up a drain hole then game over.

Going to opt for just keeping the car clean once a week or so and making sure salt is sprayed out from beneath.
 

M1KL83

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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.
Thanks for posting your research and taking the time to do that. I sign the papers to a new Civic hatchback over the weekend and I've been researching the best rustproofing option relentlessly ever since. Seems to me that corrosion free gets the highest ratings (there was a military test done a while back and they posted the results showing it to be the best) however I don't want to take a brand new car to Canadian Tire and have it worked on in a half-ass manner. I'm located about an hour north of the GTA do you know of any shops that you would recommend that provide corrosion free rustproofing in that area? The Shark Skin Body Guard at the Honda dealership sells seems great but at a price tag of over a thousand bucks oh my goodness I just can't stomach that. And it seems from reading the Corrosion Free website FAQ's that their product is similar if not the same as Shark Skin. Corrosion Free states that yes they are featured at new car dealerships and their service is known as Body Guard. If it really is one and the same and that is the case then getting their service at a outside shop for $120 per treatment versus over a thousand at the dealership boy oh boy the dealerships sure make their money on their add-ons don't they!? I'd love to know if sharkskin is the same product as corrosion free.
 
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NotSerious

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Thanks for posting your research and taking the time to do that. I sign the papers to a new Civic hatchback over the weekend and I've been researching the best rustproofing option relentlessly ever since. Seems to me that corrosion free gets the highest ratings (there was a military test done a while back and they posted the results showing it to be the best) however I don't want to take a brand new car to Canadian Tire and have it worked on in a half-ass manner. I'm located about an hour north of the GTA do you know of any shops that you would recommend that provide corrosion free rustproofing in that area? The Shark Skin Body Guard at the Honda dealership sells seems great but at a price tag of over a thousand bucks oh my goodness I just can't stomach that. And it seems from reading the Corrosion Free website FAQ's that their product is similar if not the same as Shark Skin. Corrosion Free states that yes they are featured at new car dealerships and their service is known as Body Guard. If it really is one and the same and that is the case then getting their service at a outside shop for $120 per treatment versus over a thousand at the dealership boy oh boy the dealerships sure make their money on their add-ons don't they!? I'd love to know if sharkskin is the same product as corrosion free.
I live one hour West of Toronto and use an independent ("Houghton" located in Kitchener). They only charge about $90 including taxes for oil spray. They also have undercoating for new cars. I got the oil spray because it is more effective but it must be re-applied every year.

I have used "Krown" in the past. They offer a very similar oil-spray technique but they charge about $120.00. It is a chain and they probably have a dealer near you. Because it is a chain, you don't know for sure what kind of experience the applicators have. Some applicators are inexperienced.

You will have to do your own research as to what independents you have in your area. Independents are usually cheaper than chains but good ones are hard to find. Word of mouth is the best way to find the best shops.
 

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buy krown aerosol, ask for the "waxy amber spray bomb" 3 cans will do every bit of the underside and 2 more cans will cover any other part you could possibly need to spray, get one of the oil ones to spray in ur door lock and inside the door (oil will constantly run around and wick away moisture/contaminants). Our door seals suck so no matter what you do they're going to be rotten in under a decade, unless you park in a stable garage 23 hours a day.
 


IaAsk

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This is how you do a real rust prevent. Called dinitrol

Honda Civic 10th gen Rustproofing in salty-road locales. 20180922_143157


Honda Civic 10th gen Rustproofing in salty-road locales. 20180922_103401


2layers 1 thin rust prevent and 1 thick body type layer. In doors and hood and other panels are the only thin one.
 
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eee.ccc

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@IaAsk
did you use any tutorials to take off the underbody plastic trim pieces? trying to find a DIY guide before attempting but am having trouble past the engine splash guard
 

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i did crown, since the shop is near and it cost only around 100euros
the guy said every 2 years is ok since roads dont get crazy salted where i live...
they drilles 6 holes in door step to get inside of a frame, very professionaly done no mess inside
or any damage

Honda Civic 10th gen Rustproofing in salty-road locales. nc_ohc=88YHjwfTcVoAX9uNd3Y&_nc_ht=scontent.flju1-1

Honda Civic 10th gen Rustproofing in salty-road locales. nc_ohc=ghim1eeO4lEAX8d_6UC&_nc_ht=scontent.flju1-1

Honda Civic 10th gen Rustproofing in salty-road locales. nc_ohc=f2Pv0Hn6Z04AX8H8P_1&_nc_ht=scontent.flju1-1

Honda Civic 10th gen Rustproofing in salty-road locales. nc_ohc=unvSg1_18bAAX9LPkmI&_nc_ht=scontent.flju1-1
 


 


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