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Dealing With "The Shame of the North" - RUST


frost

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OK fellow Frost-Backs from north of the 49th parallel, I know this is a topic near and dear to your hearts and wallets. For several years (well, since new, actually), I have had my 1988 SDV Oil-Gard'd and now there it sits - at the ripe old age of 17 there STILL ain't no rust covering her flanks. Last Fall however, the Oil-Gard franchise here in Ottawa folded up their tent and stole away into the night with nary a door jamb sticker left on their premises.

So I went with Metropolitan Rustproofing for the '88 SDV, my newer '97 SDV and a surface spraying (no drilling of holes) of my showcar, the 1972 Mustang Coupe. I have had mixed feelings as to their product and the way it is applied.

What I am wondering though, is what is used by the rest of the good people on this forum. Has anyone used Zeibart? KROWN? Others? Good? Bad? Awful? Does anyone have a good story to tell about their experiences with any of the suppliers? Horror stories?

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My grandfather (native of Grand Rapids, MI) always had a Zeibart sticker on one of the car windows, so I assumed that's what he used and that's what he liked. He quit doing it do the newer vehicles because the rust-proofing from the factory is so much better than it used to be. His '99 Grand Caravan is still spotless, and it hasn't had any rust treatment.

Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond)

"When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?"

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... Has anyone used Zeibart? KROWN? Others? Good? Bad? Awful? Does anyone have a good story to tell about their experiences with any of the suppliers? Horror stories?

Frost!

Used Ziebart back in the '70's.

Total Crap! The material got hard and flaked off.

In two years it was like peeling paint on an old house!

They didn't keep any records, so your certificate was the only

thing you had for proof of purchase. (See below...)

We had a '70 Ford Custom 500 at the time, bought new....

This is when Ford started using Japanese steel...

Within a few years the rear wheel wells rotted out, even though

the car was garage kept in mint condition...

Took the car to Ziebart for repair...

Guess what????

Only refunds were given, not repairs!

My dad got his money back, (He was Pissed!), car was trashed...

he bought a new Oldsmobile! (F*** Ford!)

I would think the material is better today, but what is their warranty???

As an aside, I had a friend who worked there.

He would set up appointments for Saturdays, when they were closed.

He would do the work, hand out the certificate, and pocket the cash!

He made thousands of dollars until he got caught! LOL

my .02

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We had a '70 Ford Custom 500 at the time, bought new....

This is when Ford started using Japanese steel...

Within a few years the rear wheel wells rotted out, even though

the car was garage kept in mint condition...

Ford made their own steel in the '70s - they used too much scrap steel in the steel mix in the early '70s which made them prone to rusting much faster.

Kevin
'93 Fleetwood Brougham
'05 Deville
'04 Deville
2013 Silverado Z71

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All well and good, Onyx, but you don't have the tons 'n tons of salt that they cheerfully dump on our roads here from the first snow flake sighting in Oct until Easter, fer Chrissakes!

Underspraying is a necessary evil, I'm afraid.

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Illinois is by no means shy about dumping salt on the roads. I have had good luck by simply going to a DIY spray wash as soon as the roads dry up after a salting and flushing the salt off, both topside and under side. Seems to work fairly well.

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Frost, I have been using KROWN for 4+ years.

Works fantastic here, best rust protection voted by several Automobile magazines.

"Cadillac, it's not a car, it's an obsession"

-W.Kingdon

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sounds intersting Cup - I'll check into KROWN and see if there ar any "issues" with spraying over someone else's product - although I kinda doubt it,,,,,,

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NOOOOOO!

DO NOT USE ZEIBART!

I use to work there, and it is terrible!

I actually was written up 3 times by the owner of the franchises, cause I used too much product.

Mind you this was 20 years ago.

I still have a bad taste in my mouth about this company, and I swore I would tell ANYONE I could.

Big Jay :angry:

Life is too short to grow up!

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4 years really isn't a testiment as the the longivity of what is snake oil. Many manafacturers offer that amount of time as warranty against corrision.

The downsides of "rustproofing" has nothing to do with the amount of salt used on the road, and everything to do with sealing in moisture and/or allowing mositure to acculiminate. All manafacturers put forth considrerable effort at corrision resitiant products. Why wouldn't they use "rustproofing" if it worked. Cost isn't a factor because when it's incorperated into a an assembly line, the cost is virtually zero. Any additional costs that needed to be passed on to the consumer would turn into clever advertizing. After all, the general population isn't that smart: Look at the level that "cash back" discount has reached. Now we have "employee discount." All it would take is rust proof enhancment, and a fresh net full of fish would be hauled in.

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Ohhh, I don't know why the maufacturers don't include in their builds as good a rustproofing system as you can get in the open market.

Could it be because they want to keep selling us cars?

Could it be planned obsolescence?

Salt bears no impact on rustproofing discipline? What colour is the sky in your world?

Salt has a Hell of alot to do with corrosion in vehicles. When mixed with moisture and then subjected to heat (as in underground parking garages) rust will cheerfully munch away on unprotected, virgin sheet metal - dooming the car to an early demise and the owner to unwanted financial pressures exerted on his back pocket.

There are as many different ways and formulas for protecting our investments from the scourge of oxidation as there are companies who provide the service. Annual application of OIL GARD was one of the good ones - and my 1988 SDV is a visual testament to it - over 200,000 MILES and still no visible rust, either underneath or topside. And that is after driving the car through 17 long winters.

Unfortunately, they are no longer around my neck of the woods. The nearest one is in Kingston, a good 2 hour drive away - but I will seriously consider doing it if I can't find something as good around here,,,,,,,,,,,,,

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Ohhh, I don't know why the maufacturers don't include in their builds as good a rustproofing system as you can get in the open market.

I think most cars (certainly Cadillacs) have the body dipped and electroplated during manufacture.

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Frost,

I used to live in Iowa many years ago, (want some steel with that salt?)

A number of folks would spray oil on the insides of their clean fenders, etc and then pick a freshly-graveled road to build up a film. This does not seem reasonable, with dirt and moisture promoting corrosion. On the other hand - it was cheap and worked for them I guess. :unsure:

The only rust prevention I know for sure - is to live in the Nevada desert with only 5" of rain annually. I have seen vehicles with the paint off the lower panels due to gravel etc and still no signs of rust! :blink:

On the other hand, if the vehicle is out in the sun and heat - the paint suffers quickly, in particular metallics. :(

Good Luck

Add power to leave problems behind. Most braking is just - poor planning.
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