Under vehicle oil wash... question

[68gmsee]

I was talking to an old timer (sounds funny being as I'm considered one these days) about rust under my trucks and he was saying that back in his heyday they would do an oil wash on the underside of vehicles to prevent rust. Rather than dismantling, he seemed to think that was the way to go.

Any of you had this done? Maybe shed some light on what is involved or how it's done or is it worth looking into?

[ChevLoRay]

Wonder if he was just usin' a mixture of kerosene and used motor oil? Think about all of the old dirt roads that used to exist and what a mixture of oil and dust looked like. I've seen my share but the oil got there because of the leaking seals and the oily vapor from the road draft tube.

I guess it was an early undercoating, whatever the mixture may have been. Kerosene or Varsol...either one is thin enough to get into nooks and crannies if you sprayed it. But I'm gonna guess that some of it just got mopped onto the bottom of the chassis and floor pans.

[cdowns]

there were alot of practices like that// when i was a kid my father knew a collector that would spray his cars waitng restoration down with deisel fuel to prevent further rust damage and these were hiend cars duesys lincolns caddys etc from the 20-30eras// and i also knew of people that sprayed the undersides with oil and or diesel// my favorite low tech way was during the summer when the road crews went to treat the back roads spraying recycled oil on the dirt roads you'd just get your buddies and a couple of quarts of beer at night and go rippen anound those oiltreated dirt roads fishtail away till you figured the chassis was coated or you ran out of beer// i used to love doin that with the big old merks buicks hudsons from the 50's nobody wanted them they were 10-20bucks each back then

theres alot of better safer and more effective alternatives nowadays

[ChevLoRay]

My aunt/uncle had a '47 Hudson coupe with a "wiggle stick" as my aunt called it. My cousin was learning to drive and took us kids around the block. The streets (dirt) had been oiled with used oil from whereever. For some reason, as she drove and rounded a corner, the Hudson swapped ends. I seem to remember the road having a shiny look....could have been freshly sprayed over the packed oily dirt, but that was...oh, maybe 50 years ago....or more.

[screamin_c10]

Originally Posted by cdowns

you'd just get your buddies and a couple of quarts of beer at night and go rippen anound those oiltreated dirt roads fishtail away till you figured the chassis was coated or you ran out of beer// i used to love doin that with the big old merks buicks hudsons from the 50's nobody wanted them they were 10-20bucks each back then...

CDOWNS, that is a side of you I never would have thunk existed....

I new a farmer that use to slather his wrecks with grease out of a five gallon bucket to "protect" them from the elements.

[Longhorn Man]

I add oil to my undercarrige every day.
I don't recomend it.


As for the actual question at hand.. I wouldn't do it to something of value. An old beater/crap bucket that you are just trying to get a few more years out of, yeah sure. But something of value... I wouldn't bother.
The difference between today, and 50+ years ago, we travel down the freeway in the rain at 70 MPH all the time. The blast of water will work the oil off of there. And, looking at it from the 'green' point of view... every bit that gets washed off, has to go somewhere. One quart of oil contaminates 100,000 gallons of drinking water.

[68gmsee]

I suspect the old guy was talking of driving on dirt/gravel roads. I found this in a site on the subject. Came from "Tom's Corner." I guess it answers my question.

If you intend to keep the car for a significant length of time (four years or more) have rust protection applied by a rust protection specialist. And I don't mean just undercoating or oil spraying. Let's take a closer look at these two methods. Undercoating seals up whatever rust has started and creates a waterproof underbelly where water and rust get trapped and continue to eat away at your car. Oil spraying creates a potential fire hazard if the oil was to be ignited by hot exhaust. Also, with the first good blast of winter weather most of it gets washed off along with any rust protection the oil might have offered. It's quite ineffective, to say the least. And you can forget about the magic electrical boxes that supposedly set up an electrical field to prevent rust. These systems have been found to be fraudulent by the US Government. Giant electrical systems set up to protect bridges powered by high energy generators might offer rust protection for bridges, but a little box powered by a 12 volt electrical system exposed to the weather is little more than a waste of your money.....

http://www.americascarshow.com/tc/?a...Ol__Man_Winter

[Longhorn Man]

Besides... you are in Waco... you don't have too much to worry about.

[68gmsee]

Originally Posted by Longhorn Man

Besides... you are in Waco... you don't have too much to worry about.

Yeah, I guess it's mostly surface rust under the truck. Since I'm retiring, I guess I'll have plenty of time to dismantle, sandblast and replace the real bad parts...

thanks for responses...

[dan42]

...Or in Central California. Although surface rust here is a pain.

[Longhorn Man]

Originally Posted by dan42

...Or in Central California. Although surface rust here is a pain.