Busy day today

Facebook has been feeding me "reels" - little random videos - and one series is from a Michigan auto mechanic < Mike >

and he works on a lot of very rusty vehicles - even by my Ontario experience & standards. Do people there not favour the oil spray rust-proofing / under-coating ? I've been having my cars sprayed for decades - once per year, in the autumn. $ 100. well spent. The first time costs a little more because they have to drill holes in the doors, rocker panels, etc. John T.

I don't keep cars long enough to rust so it would be a waste of money.

Going back to the 80s, Rusty Jones was a big deal but they found that improperly applied it was causing more damage than it prevented. They went bankrupt.

It would appear Ziebart is still in the business of undercoating, and more

A shop like that would starve here. They might spread gravel on the roads in selected areas but not salt. There was a brief experiment with calcium chloride in problem spots but that's hell on alloy wheels and was dropped. I think there was an experiment with beet juice too.

Cars don't have rust problems and the body shops see increased business so it's a win-win.

I keep cars that long but even when I commuted in the snow, I iddn't notice rust being a problem. I did wash my car including underneath every spring.

I remember my mother's 58 ford fairlane 500, I think it was, had rust on top behind the headlights. And her car wasn't as bad as most. They've made a lot of progress since then, I think.

Facebook may have really stretched to find so many bad cars.

Very interesting.

Nope. I can't recall the last time I had it done.

Oh, they salt the hell out of the roads here. Hard on the roads and hard on the cars.

Well, there is that big salt mine under Detroit which predates the auto industry, after all.

I thought undercoating was likely to be includeed with a new car, especially the more expensive it is.

I never inquire because my cars are at least 7 years old when I buy them, and whether they had it or not, I'm not putting on another coat.

I've been having my cars sprayed for

I haven't had major rust problems with a car since I got rid of my first one I bought when I lived in Detroit. Do they rust less than when I was there, or is it just a local thing because of the huge salt mines under Detroit?"

I remember riding my bike to school in the winter, and I could taste the salt when car drove by. That, plus my bike rusted out too.

My dad told me about touring that mine. Interestingly, all the massive mining equipment they disassembled to get it down to the mine where they reassembled it, never rusts. That is because there is no water, because the salt absorbs any that gets down there.

There are dedicated rust-control businesses - Krown being a big franchise chain - but a lot of garages do it as a sideline or seasonal thing. The guy that does mine has a trim & detailing business .. John T.

Cars do have much better protection than they did in the past. That is one reason Rust Jones lost business.

I bought a 1964 Karmann Ghia convertible about 1972. It had a LOT of rust and the heat ducts were gone. Many patches on the fenders and rocker panels. With the top down, you could grab the top of the windshield frame and make the front fenders move.

The classic Ziebart caused mor rust than it prevented - it was a "hard coating that didn't self heal and trapped moisture/salt Some early rustproofing used petroleum solvent based oil undercoats. They deteriorated rubber parts. Now they use bio oils.

My 28 year old truck has been oiled from new - not every year - but there were a few spots that oil didn't get to. THEY rusted (parts of the box).

At 7 years it is time to start oil spraying - if not before

I too had a busy day ! We headed out for our usual Tuesday book sort (we volunteer for a Friends of the Library used book sale thing) as soon as I had my laundry hung out (I do mine ,,,) After sorting and categorizing the books , we retired with the crew for coffee at the local HITW restaurant , which turned into lunch for the wife and I . Then it's off to the recycle center to drop off and the gun shop next door for some stuff . Next stop is the hardware store for some bolts-n-nuts for a shop project - modifying valve spring seats of a Ford

Tomorrow is supposed to be bread day ... I suppose the shop stuff is just going to have to wait .

When I was in 7th grade, I don't recall how it came up, but the wood/electric shop teacher told us that water had nothing to do with rust. I guess he was thinking of the chemical reaction Iron and oxygen = rust. But anyone who's been around a while knows very well that it does. Maybe it's a catalyst and chemical formulas don't usually mention catalysts. No one argued with him.