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I hose and brush under the wheelarches and rocker panels every time I wash the car.
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I do it with cold hosepipe during winter, will do it with hot soapy pressure washer when I'm sure we've had the last salt, probably now.
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I have a fully galvanised car. As it's a re-hash of an old VAG model, I know it has a good record as a non ruster.
As such, I don't think structural rust is much of an issue now but I still hose out the wheelarches each time I wash it. My feelings are that preservation of the rather soft water based paint and gloss finish is worthwhile - frequent hand washing preceeded by the liberal application of water from a hose spray seems to prevent the build up of dirt the removal of which might entail paint damage.
Third world cars are another matter. I have seen criminally rusty sheet metal underneath some of these cars after 3 years or so.
659.
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Salt is not a problem when cars are galvanised and have an extended warranty to back that up. No body rust after my 6 1/2 year ownership of the Passat.
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My car is 8 years old; has no body rust (okay one barely visible bubble on a rear wheelarch). Galv body plus underseal means chassis is okay, but parts of the suspension can be susceptible. In winter if the weather is bad I put it through an automatic car wash (!), Arc car washes have an underbody spray.
My gf's MX5 is an 03-plate and that was showing a fair bit of surface rust on some of the suspension, had to give it a bit of Waxoyl treatment.
Edited by Rich 9-3 on 24/04/2008 at 17:18
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I dont worry about it with modern protection techniques. The second hand value of your car will be soo little by the time corrosion underneath becomes a problem that its not economically viable to even touch it. Sounds bad that doesnt it? Its a reflection on how cheap second hand cars are these day vs labour and parts.
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Regardless of salt I always hose under the arches and get mud and other muck from all the nooks and crannies. There's no point in leaving it and having damp mud stuck to the bodywork for days after a shower of rain, it's just asking for trouble.
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Ever since I had a Mark1 Mondeo I've never bothered with hosing salt off, modern European rep boxes just don't seem to rust (apart from Mark 3 Golfs and Merc E classes)
My bike (1976 Suzuki GT380) is a different matter. 32-year old chrome and salt do NOT mix happily.
However I've used ACF50 this winter -- one application by brush on all the chrome in November 07 and then ridden as normal (weekends, etc). Just washed it off and not a spot of rust anywhere.
It has impressed me, it does what it says on the tin and is much easier to apply / remove than Waxoyl, far less messy.
It's not for high-impact surfaces (like inside mudguards or wheelarches) but withstands salt & spray on exterior chrome etc easily.
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I used to know a chap who had been a main dealer mechanic in the 60's & 70's. I remember him once telling me that it was routine to get two year old cars in the workshop with rusted through wings and wheel arches.
The rattling of aerosol ballbearing agitators was once a common sound on driveways on a sunday afternoon. So much for nostalgia!!!
Edited by craneboy on 24/04/2008 at 19:06
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Would never have guessed so many of us wash under our vehicles to shift the salt.
Quite gladdens the heart, this surely means i won't be alone in the home for the bewildered in the not too distant future.
Will be heating the waxoyl for a big blitzing when it gets nice and warm outside.
I feel all springy...the summer wheels are going on the old merc this weekend, and (i'll annoy a few just for the hell of it) the hilux is begging for second oil change, well it has done 5500 miles now!
Thats another weekend i won't have time for diy or gardening, oh dear, how sad, never mind (i bet every BR regular knows who's line that was)
All the best.
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..over winter i lash wd40 over everything to tryand protect it some
WD40 is really no good for this - it dries off pretty quickly as you've probably noticed - basically it's paraffin with perfume in. I have a can of "Anti Rust Spray" that came from Lidl I think - that hangs around longer and I use it on nuts and bolts underneath, seems to work.
Best without a doubt is waxoil. You can thin it if you want to spray that way.
Yes I do spray inside the wheel arches, and splosh through fords when available. Not sure whether it does any good - best to stop salty water penetrating in the first place.
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Waste of time and more importantly, water in my opinion. Cars built in the last 10 years or so don't have nooks and crannies for mud to collect and suspension parts, whilst they may suffer surface rusting, are of thick enough metal not to be weakened by it. I can't remember the last car I sold (usually around 6 years old and >100,000 miles) that had rust underneath.
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I used to put a rotating garden sprinkler under my car after driving on salted roads.
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I used to put a rotating garden sprinkler under my car
And i'm mighty impressed, never occured to me and so obvious when somebody points it out, know what i'm looking for now.
It may seems a bit ott, this cleaning the salt away, but i've seen under hundreds nay thousands of cars in my job, and when cars are stood for even a few weeks during spring with the highly corrosive salt dried to a crust underneath, it will not shift once its dried to such an extent. If we dont get the heavy spring rains,whilst the salt is still damp, it just will not go. Seen the brake caliper pistons after such neglect?
A prime example is the front crossmember on a 210 E class merc, they literally rot away directly under the engine, the salt sits trapped by the under tray ironically.
Suppose it all depends if you are the nature to care for things or use and discard.
Bet there's a generation divide here too.
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Re the garden sprinkler under the car....What a clever and simple idea, I shall try that. It also has great potential for fun as well if you sort of grin inanely and drool a bit as neighbours walk by while you are doing it!
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I just can`t buy used due to other peoples neglect. Engine alloy corroded due to failure to spray with WD40 at the start of winter. Subframes and suspension parts rusty and salt `baked`into wheel arch lips, like a hard deposit of limescale, due to never being hosed off on returning home from a salted road.
I use a normal garden hose and regularly wash and re WD40 the engine bay and as you know, grease the subframes.
Its heartening to see there`s more than GordonBennet and myself doing it. I have never seen anyone actually doing it though.
While enormous effort is often put into multi product polish and waxing the visible paint, the underside of cars, subframes and suspension, must often be crusty with rock hard salt and scabbed with corrosion, just waiting for summer heat to boost the salts effect.
Maybe that`s why springs suddenly break on cars?, having been seated in a thick crust of road salt since the car was new?
A few years back after an operation, I called at a hand car wash place where they were using pressure lances.
That was a shock to them, someone wanting the underneath washed! and no, they couldn`t do it. Went home and managed to do it myself.
Stu, (and other valeters) do you do this as part of a valet? does anyone actually ask?
Regards
Edited by oilrag on 26/04/2008 at 10:56
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I tend to get the cars on the ramps and powerwash underneath every couple of months in the winter and have done them all for the last time I hope for a while last week.
I always wash the mud out of the wheel arches and on my MG its had 2-3 cans of waxoyl in the wings, wheel arches, sills etc and as others have said the suspension components look a bit crusty so they have been cleaned up and hammerited.
I have carried this practice out on our 97 Rover 200 for the last 8 years and its virtually rust free underneath and bodywise and as such will probably come to the end of its life with no rust and something mechanical killing it off! Cant prevent everything!!
I even look after my Audi this was as well although its galvanised its a habit that I dont think is going to do it any harm.
I have mates who might chuck their car through a car wash once or twice a year and let the rain do the rest of the cleaning but they only keep their cars a couple of years and then change them so it will be someone elses problem!!
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We had a Mini Estate (old style) which we bought at 4 years and kept for 10. No welding. Waxoiled and washed underneath regularly. It still rusted but less quickly.
1993 Peugeot 106 from new: washed wheelarches and waxoiled cross sections. Minor rust where sealnt has cracked.
2003 Yaris: Washed wheelarches. No vsisble signs of any crossmembers to rust.
1999 Fiesta: very badly finshed , underseal peeling. Waxoiled bits underneath. Painthorrible kept peeling.
I do put oil on exposed engine bolts etc.. once every 3-4 years.
Any more and I would see it as fanatical.
Of course if you change cars every 3 years, waste of time..
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Hmm. I'm going to have to have words with the butler the next time he takes the car to be washed.
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