I think this may have been chatted about before but I am not sure. My dealer suggested that, since I am leasing my Patriot, don't sweat rustproofing. I have heard mixed thoughts on the topic. Because I am loving my Pat, today I am confident I will buy out the Patriot at the end of the lease. So, this means I want to consider rustproofing. So...

My quandry is the type. Not sure the heavy *tar-like* stuff from Ziebart is available anymore - concern is added weight. A company here in Canada called Krown does an undercoat thing that looks oil-based but also adds the same stuff within the panels - concern is they drill holes in doors and inner fenders and potentially the stuff might block drain holes. Finally, and this is where I am leaning, there is RustChek which appears to be an oil-based chassis coating only.

I would have to do the RustCheck thing annually (no problem) but the Krown has to be done annually as well (as in they pop those seals again and blast more stuff in the panels?). Both are within about $20 of each other.

With winter coming (read as: lots of salt on the undercarriage), I am looking for the best solution.

I don't have a lot of faith in the electronic rustproofing method either though I am open to considering it. The kind that requires a sacrificial piece of iron.

Thoughts?

While I understand your quandry about keeping the Jeep looking new forever. I will plead my case for you to save your money: We live in nearly identical climates though your area does get a touch colder than mine. Both of our cities salt the daylights out of the roads in the winter.

As long as you wash your Jeep when it gets dirty than the salt can not do any damage. I wash about once a month, sometimes more frequently if there is a big snow storm. So far I have not had any problems with rust and I'm coming up on my 6th winter.

Now, I don't know if washing does much to help. I really believe that the new manufacturing processes and coating techniques are what keep most of the rust from forming.

I got my Pat rustproofed with Krown. I believe it is quite effective but my main complaint is how messy it is. It's an oil spray similar to Rust Check. After a month, I still get some drips, even though they say the dripping should stop in 2 or 3 days. I'm not looking forward to doing this again in 11 months time.

The Krown product won't plug drainage holes as it's a very thin oil.

They do drill holes but the plastic plugs they put in look very neat as if they were installed in the factory. They don't stand out at all.

Although regular washing will help protect against rust, I decided to go with Krown, as it will protect inside the panels where you can't get to when washing your car.

I am not sure how important rustproofing is, but I know it can be a negative depending on the stuff used and the methods used to apply it.

I decided to do something because I remember how quickly many suspension parts of my Wrangler rusted underneath. Cosmetic really, but I dont like the looks of the rust.

After some investigation, I went with Fluid Film (http://eurekafluidfilm.com/). Sprayed it myself. It's safe to use (wool-wax based), never hardens or dries, is water-displacing, and apparently the Navy uses it with good success. Probably needs to be done yearly though. One treatment used less than a half gallon (about $10 worth of fluid film) plus the $20 I paid for a cheapie undercoating spray gun.

I just put the Pat on ramps and sprayed the underside (touched up with a brush for some areas). I didnt do the inside of the doors, but I will try it next year (if you take the speaker out you have reasonable access to the lower part of the doors).

I've suggested Fluid Film before, IMO it's one of the best corrosion protectant sprays around. I use it on the battery/starter/alternator connections on my vehicles and have never had to deal with corrosion problems. I haven't got around to using it as an undercoating but can't see any reason it wouldn't work great.. plus it environmentally friendlier so you don't have to worry too much about drips contaminating things. If anybody wants samples I can contact the salesman on another site to post here for free samples.

If anybody wants samples I can contact the salesman on another site to post here for free samples.


Please do.

EDIT: Found this thread where you can contact them for a sample.
http://www.lawnsite.com/showthread.php?t=150122

Thanks
Jim

Rustproofing is done on almost on every single car sold as new in Finland. Salt is used throughout the country during winter months as it is quite useful even if it rusts out cars. They are developing other chemicals which would do the same job without rust and ground water contamination problems, but those are still years into the future (with replacing salt altogether).

The problem with the thougth of simply washing your car a lot vs. rustproofing is that you're basicly washing the 'visible' metal in your car. Even if you wash your car underneath it you will most likely still miss the spots it will most likely rust first. The whole idea behind rustproofing is to get it in places where salt/water will eventually start to build up and which you under normal circumstances cannot see or wash regularly. Rust won't be a problem for several years with a new car, but I'd say get it done if you plan to enjoy the same car for more than a couple years.

PS. I've seen ca.7-8 year old Chevrolets and Chryslers with rust HOLES in them... And those cars looked fine from the outside, so they had been washed no doubt.

I still stand by my reasoning that it's a waste of money but that is OK. It seems that more people still prefer to have their cars coated with some sort of product.

I will continue to research this. I thank you all for your input and I take all input seriously. So, srothfuss, I am listening :)

Being as risk adverse as I am, I may go the undercoat route. I definitely want to check out the Fluid Film stuff as well. Not sure yet if it is available in Canada.

When I say risk adverse, I have the full trail rated Patriot just on the off chance that someday I might need its capabilities just to get to wherever I need to get to. It's a "neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor dark of night" kind of thing.

Please do.

EDIT: Found this thread where you can contact them for a sample.
http://www.lawnsite.com/showthread.php?t=150122

Thanks
Jim

Good deal, here's the one I was talking about, more than likely the same guy.

http://www.plowsite.com/showthread.php?t=38370

Had my brother (he's a body mechanic guy) paint a high quality chip guard along the inside edge of the wheel wells to protect the paint and metal there. He continued the paint down along the plastic edges also ...just for looks.

I agree with srothfuss, I think the paint, prep, and materials/metals used in constructing the vehicle have come a long way in preventing corrosion. Also, the Pat's come with a 3/36 warranty on all panels for rust/corrosion and 5/100,000 for all "visible" painted panels. I realize the desire to hang on to your Patriot longer than that, but I think you have some time to see how well your Jeep holds up to the elements before deciding on rustproofing.

I agree with srothfuss, I think the paint, prep, and materials/metals used in constructing the vehicle have come a long way in preventing corrosion. Also, the Pat's come with a 3/36 warranty on all panels for rust/corrosion and 5/100,000 for all "visible" painted panels. I realize the desire to hang on to your Patriot longer than that, but I think you have some time to see how well your Jeep holds up to the elements before deciding on rustproofing.

Unfortunately if you wait till rust is starting to show, it's too late to save it with rustproofing.

While I agree that factory rust protection has come a long way, if you live in an area where roads are heavily salted, some additional protection may be warranted if you plan on keeping your vehicle for a long time. You can't count on the warranty for any protection against corrosion. Even a car with no factory rust protection will probably not have any visible rust after 3 years. Visible painted panels also shouldn't be showing rust after 5 years. The rust will probably start from within panels. Door panels are particularly prone as water and salt runs down the glass into the interior of the door before draining out the drain holes at the bottom. The interior of panels also have numerous spot welds which haven't received any factory rust protection.