Zeibart RustProofing

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Anyone out there in consumer land wonder how good Zeibart rustproofing is. Just ask my wife, we had her car rustproofed in 2006, we never drive it in the winter, it's stored, today she decided to use it because all the salt here has been washed off the roads. While shopping her rear break line blew, because of rust. Thank God this happened when starting up to exit a parking space, instead of coming up to a traffic light.

Zeibart, what a joke.
 
Not to knock Zeibart, but I doubt that any rustproofing product that is applied only once will work for a long period of time. Up in Canada, we have Krown and Rust Check as the two major rustproofing chains. They recommend annual applications. If you have seen cars that adhere to that schedule, after 10+ years they look as good as new.

What was Zeibart's recommendation for re-application?

Regards, JC.
 
I had Ziebart on my then new 1987 Bronco II, what a waste of money. I went back every year for the inspection and respray, I had lots of rust and a much heavier truck.

I now use Rust Check or Krown, both are very effective.
 
My Dad was a mechanic among other things. When their slogan was "Ziebart or rust" he would say "Ziebart or [censored], same thing"

John
 
I don't see this anecdote meaning much. Ziebart may spray something under the car (which, like ff or many oils will surely wash off), but my impression and recollection from the one car that my parents had this in years ago, was that zip art is primarily additives injected via plugs into panels.

Nothing but good washing, and quality material selection is going to help underneath. Spraying something may defer the inevitable, but that's all a matter of how often it is applied and how it washes off.

The fact that the car is stored in the winter makes this even more anecdotal, and makes me think that the location it is parked at (dirt or grass perhaps?) or something else was partially culprit.
 
The brake like is not what I'd expect Ziebart to cover. I think they do the sheet metal:doors, quarters, rockers, fenders and floorplan. If you only did it once in 8 years, I'd say you are expecting too much. If you did it annually like they recommend and warranty, take it back.
 
Wow, I had my van done by them in the fall of 1987. It is driven in NY winters. I went for the free annual inspections and touch ups for a few years until they went out of business in the early 90's IIRC. I would throw the guy $20 and he'd take care of me. Fast forward to 2014, there's not one bit of rust on the van anywhere! Maybe I got lucky or maybe they did a good job. Food for thought.
 
This is only the 2nd brank line I've needed to replace in my life, I'm 71.

The first was a 1963 Corvair, back in 1965, I remember as I was in the Army and did the work at the shop at Fort Myer, Va. This was the 2nd one. My last car which took a dump was 15 years old with no problems till the valve seat went.

I normally drive my cars till the cost to repair becomes to much. Not unusual to keep my cars past the 15/20 year mark.

As far as the brake lines not being something that Zeibart is concerned about but they are concerned about the floor pan????????????????????????????????????????????
Do not the brake lines run along the floor pan? Mine do.
 
While it may be true that Zeibart is a joke, I'd have to wonder about a car that is never driven in the winter and has a brake line rust out. What year and model is it?
 
Kia Rio? So about the cheapest car on the north American market? Yup, nothing to do with it...

I'll bet they skip some corrosion protection stages in the name of cost savings.
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Kia Rio? So about the cheapest car on the north American market? Yup, nothing to do with it...

I'll bet they skip some corrosion protection stages in the name of cost savings.


LOL

Not a KIA bash they've come a long way. When I first started selling cars I worked at a Kia Suzuki dealership. I would take a customer for a test drive in a Kia and used that to sell a Suzuki. Now Suzuki is gone and Kia is doing just fine. Still I'm not a big fan of their cars they seem to lack in areas like corrosion resistance, I'll leave it at that.
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Like I said my 88 E-150 is fine, right down to the original brake lines. I really believe the Zeibart treatment helped, a lot.
 
I've fussed around with rustproofing forever it seems. Ziebart is OK, but like the rest-it's only as good as the application skill/care of the guy doing the job.
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Kia Rio? So about the cheapest car on the north American market? Yup, nothing to do with it...

I'll bet they skip some corrosion protection stages in the name of cost savings.


Yup, one of the cheapest cars made, which I had "rustproofed" has never seen salt on the highways, garaged/stored every winter and the brake line rusted thru.

Only other time in the 45/50 cars I've owned in my lifetime that this happened to was a 63 Corvair which rusted thru in 2 years 1965 to be exact.

IMO I very clear Ziebart is nothing short of being a joke, regardless of the price of the vehicle.

Thank God this happened in a parking lot when my wife put it in gear instead of coming up to a red light.
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2


I'll bet they skip some corrosion protection stages in the name of cost savings.


Using the word "bet" means of course you have no idea!
 
While Ziebart is not exactly a top notch rustproofing product, you would have to first establish that the brake lines were treated before blaming the product. I say this all the time in threads about rustproofing that the application is more important than the product.

This sounds like a sloppy application rather than the product not doing its job.
 
8 years is too much to ask from a rustproof application. By then it's hard and ready to slough off. It must be reapplied every few years so the barrier to corrosion stays supple and effective.

I had the same problem with the brake lines on my rustproofed vehicle. Apparently, corrosion developed on the side that was shadowed from the rustproofing. The rustproofing didn't wrap perfectly around the tubing. I'll know next time to bear down on the brake lines and fuel lines to encase it with rustproofing.

It also seems something is going on that you're not aware of for a car to rust when it's not driven winters. Either it somehow sees salt, or the conditions it sees - summer and winter - causes corrosion. Perhaps your old rustproof application has gotten old and hard, and has half delaminated, resulting in poultice corrosion. I have two summer cars that are 20 and 43 years old that are not corroding, nor are there imminent problems with the brake lines. They are not rustproofed.
 
Brake lines are in the process of being replaced. Being as the body is still in excellent shape and mechanically is excellent from this date forward it will be treated with Krown rustproofing. Well at least after winter this will happen.

No more Ziebart for my vehicles.
 
Well, the brake lines are fixed, and the cause of them going bad was a lack of rustproofing in the area where they rusted thru.

Thanks a bunch Ziebart!
 
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