Avoiding rust in the rust belt states?

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Chris B.

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Hey guys,
I have always lived in a state where vehicles do not rust. I may have to move to the mid-west(Missouri most likely) where vehicles rust out from the road salt and chemicals they use in winter. I'm just curios how bad the issue is and how quickly it can take effect and also what you can do to stop and eliminate it completely? I'm a car detailer and super protective with my vehicles and do my best to keep them in mint condition. I have never had to worry about or deal with this corrosion problem and would like to hear how you can stop it from happening. Thanks!
 
Look into rust proofing services. You won't eliminate rust completely, but hopefully slow it down enough so that the car will last you a while.

With that said, my current 530i is 16 years old and has been through many mid-west winters, drinking from the salt fountain, and there is still no sign of rust on its body, and it has never had any rust proofing applied. German cars in general seem to resist rust a little better than some of the others.
 
It depends on what vehicle you own.

Certain brands rustproof their cars at the factory during the painting process (VW,Audi, Hyundai, Kia, Porsche, and others).

Others don't.
 
Here is my review on the Fluid Film Pro Gun


I purchased this kit directly from the maker, so, I am not a verified buyer. I have a 20+ year old truck which was falling apart due to rust. I got the kit, read the instructions a few times, watched some Youtube videos, then did a perfect, professional rustproofing job the first time. I powered the sprayer with an ancient air compressor rated at 4.5 CFM at 70 PSI. A larger compressor would be better, but, this worked OK. I just had to wait for the pressure to build up a few times. The beauty of Fluid Film is that it goes right over existing rust and soaks in, making the rust itself a corrosion barrier. The only surface prep was washing under the truck with a car wash wand and letting it dry a few days. This is so much fun I have sprayed friends trucks if they buy the Fluid Film. If you live in the " road salt rust belt " this is a must have for an older vehicle. For spraying inside the closed box frame rails, I folded and taped cardboard into a rectangular tube the same size as my frame rail. I used the extension wand to spray inside the frame rail "mockup", then opened it up and checked the spray pattern. Mine worked best at about 80 PSI. The flow valve on the sprayer will need adjusting to get the spray pattern you want. Thank you for reading my review :)


I have never used any other rustproofing method. The fluid film works so well for me I will stick with it.
 
Krown if you can get it that far south. I wouldn't worry about washing the undercarriage or the car itself, there are many rust free cars in Ontario that get oil sprayed more often than they get washed.
 
Originally Posted by Chris B.
I'm a car detailer and super protective with my vehicles and do my best to keep them in mint condition.


This is the real issue that we should be helping you with. You need more calamity in your life. Wife. Teenagers. In-laws. Bad neighbors. Throw in a bit of serious illness (but not too bad). Maybe some bankruptcy. Become an alcoholic or drug addict?
 
If its a new(er) GM truck with the factory wax still somewhat intact don't use oil based sprays like Fluid Film. It softens the coating to the point it rubs off just putting your finger on it exposing bare metal. Another negative (IMO) about oil based sprays is how they stay wet and sticky, attracting sand, dirt, grit like flypaper. In my NH winter conditions thats not desirable. They use a lot of salt and sand on the hills around here which makes working under the truck horrible. I moved on from FF to a product called RP-342. Recommended by a Canadian. Its a military grade cosmoline wax in a spray can. Its self healing, flows good during application. Has no tacky sticky oil. In the cold the surface gets pretty hard so salt, sand, grit beads up and rinses off with water. Wish I had found this years ago.

Pic under the rear bumper after driving through snow, salt, sand.

20181106_175100.jpg
 
Originally Posted by LeakySeals
If its a new(er) GM truck with the factory wax still somewhat intact don't use oil based sprays like Fluid Film. It softens the coating to the point it rubs off just putting your finger on it exposing bare metal. Another negative (IMO) about oil based sprays is how they stay wet and sticky, attracting sand, dirt, grit like flypaper. In my NH winter conditions thats not desirable. They use a lot of salt and sand on the hills around here which makes working under the truck horrible. I moved on from FF to a product called RP-342. Recommended by a Canadian. Its a military grade cosmoline wax in a spray can. Its self healing, flows good during application. Has no tacky sticky oil. In the cold the surface gets pretty hard so salt, sand, grit beads up and rinses off with water. Wish I had found this years ago.

Pic under the rear bumper after driving through snow, salt, sand.
I'll have to check that out but you are 100% wrong regarding oil sprays. They are not sticky at all and are just a fine oil that creeps. It's actually quite nice to wrench on an oil sprayed car, the fasteners also get oil sprayed. They do collect dust, but if you wash your car once per year it is not an issue. Usually, the oil visible on the body is from when they spray the hinges and it creeps out. I live in a large rust belt city that sees plenty of salt and oil spraying is the only way to stop rust.
 
Missouri isn't really a rust belt state. You won't have to do anything special other than keep it clean top and bottom when possible. Winters are pretty mild anymore...(global warning !!! woo hoo!!) there are always a few days above freezing even in January, that will allow for a car wash.
 
The liquid beet brine ice melt is quite hard on under bodys, not sure if they use it in Missouri ,but they use it plenty here in Lincoln and Omaha area. It is worse than the rock salt for rust. The best bet is to get to a wash when there is a break in the weather and then when the spring comes give it a really good underbody spray down with a garden hose. I have managed to keep rust at almost zero by doing this.
 
Missouri is a far cry from the northern states when it comes to vehicle rust & road salt. It's still something to stay on top of, at least spray the car off after salt exposure. I lived in St. Louis for a few years, and while they do treat the roads heavily when it does snow (or freezing rain, which seemed to be more common when I lived there), it's infrequent. I remember it being only a handful of times each year, that was 4-5 years ago since I lived there. You'll see LOTS of rust free older cars (when you do see a rust bucket, chances are it was a transplant from somewhere up north.) My 22 year old Maxima spent nearly its whole life in St. Louis (with no special attention given) and only has one wee bit of rust in one wheel well which is hardly noticeable unless you're looking for it.

The climate here in northern KY is very similar, I rarely see vehicles with any noticeable amount of rust on them.
 
Lived in salt city my entire life. Best option is to not crash your car. Oem steel is galvanized then e coated prior to being primed and painted. Aftermarket re-pop body panels are not. Bump and paint with bondo and sanding is even worse. Don't wreck em...and wan em once a week. You will get at least 10 rust free years...even more with uni-body vehicles.

If you're aluminum....you're screwed. Nothing you can do to stop the oxidation.
 
Originally Posted by atikovi
Just park your nice cars during the winter and get a beater.



Between the salt and the pot holes in MI, this is the best idea...
 
The oldest vehicle I own is an old 4Runner that has spent 21 years on salt encrusted roads every winter. And time on the Bonneville Salt Flats almost every year. The only thing I've done is wash the salt off as often as necessary with a garden hose, (which can be a pain in below freezing temps) especially the undercarriage, and wax the body periodically. No rust.
 
Originally Posted by Oldtom
Here is my review on the Fluid Film Pro Gun


I purchased this kit directly from the maker, so, I am not a verified buyer. I have a 20+ year old truck which was falling apart due to rust. I got the kit, read the instructions a few times, watched some Youtube videos, then did a perfect, professional rustproofing job the first time. I powered the sprayer with an ancient air compressor rated at 4.5 CFM at 70 PSI. A larger compressor would be better, but, this worked OK. I just had to wait for the pressure to build up a few times. The beauty of Fluid Film is that it goes right over existing rust and soaks in, making the rust itself a corrosion barrier. The only surface prep was washing under the truck with a car wash wand and letting it dry a few days. This is so much fun I have sprayed friends trucks if they buy the Fluid Film. If you live in the " road salt rust belt " this is a must have for an older vehicle. For spraying inside the closed box frame rails, I folded and taped cardboard into a rectangular tube the same size as my frame rail. I used the extension wand to spray inside the frame rail "mockup", then opened it up and checked the spray pattern. Mine worked best at about 80 PSI. The flow valve on the sprayer will need adjusting to get the spray pattern you want. Thank you for reading my review :)


I have never used any other rustproofing method. The fluid film works so well for me I will stick with it.


Thanks for the review Oldtom. I have the same gun, I've been using it for the past three years.
 
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