Rust protection?

[Zonaman]

Color me ignorant. I've lived in the Arizona desert most of my life. Now it looks as though I'll be moving to the high country - Flagstaff where my '69 will be an everyday driver- including snow, ice and salted roads. Is there something I can do to slow down the rust issues I anticipate? Maybe and under coat or something?

Thanks.

[glimmertwin01]

they dont salt much in Flag do they? get it ziebarted... or the gooey stuff u can apply yourself with a shutz gun.... Im a native upstate NYer where we salt everything... I park my old girls in the winter

[Zonaman]

Thanks. Ziebart is out. No dealer near me. I'm being called to a job and won't have time or access to tools to do it myself. Any Arizona guys out there with a suggestion ?

[Mister-B]

Clean and then wax your truck with some Zymol cleaner wax before winter hits, and then in the spring, summer, etc. Go through spray off car washes throughout the winter, and make sure to get the under carriage and if possible use the spray wax setting on the under carriage

[54belair]

Eastwood sells a Rust inhibitor, I would spray that on the complete under side of the truck. They also have the same product in a spray can with a 2' long plastic nozzle----I would pull the plastic plugs in the front of your rocker area and spray the entire area between your inner and outer rockers. It will drip out of the bottom when you spray it so be sure and be prepared for the drip mess. In the winter, salt and other corrosives git into this area and causes all the rocker damage. Also spray all around the cab corner area and across the lower back of the cab----------as well as cab supports.
Spray it all!!!!
Bottom line is--even in Phoenix youre going to get some rust----but coating you bed and cab bottom and front fender cups (sheet metal) is worth the expense. Then, clean, clean, clean.

[zeldman]

I have seen some massive snow in Flagstaff, very much like what I used to see in Alaska. If your job requires you to be on the road much you might consider a 4WD. I had planned on selling my 4WDs when I left Alaska, but after 7 years in the high desert, I am glad I still have them. As for the salt issue, I just wash, wash, wash. I flood the underside with water as often as I can. Enjoy your time in Flag, it is a very beautiful area.

[Bill72]

Used to live in Flag. It's been awhile, but back then they only used cinders on the road, no salt. It may not be as bad as you think. All the previous suggestions are worth following whether they use salt or not though.

[88Ironduke]

When I was a kid...... My father sprayed all of his vehicles with 1 part used motor oil, 1 part linseed oil and 1 part mineral spirits to thin it all out. Put down card board all around the vehicle, wear old clothes and prepare to get dirty. Its not expensive at all. The most expensive part is setting up the Harbor Freight spray gun to run off the air compressor. About 30 dollars for the complete set up and you can use it every year.

This method does work, my 72' was sprayed for 40 years and is nearly free of rot. The original brake lines are still silver underneath on the rear axel. This truck has well past 100K on the odometer and was driven entirely in north west PA where they use salt on the road like a second religion. Perhaps not the most eco friendly or "green" option but it is effective.
Just my .02 cents on the subject....

88

[Zonaman]

Thanks for all the ideas! I learned two things about Flagstaff (since I lived there 37 years ago): 1) They have been using salt on the roads in recent years as well as cinders. 2) They now have an extensive bus system and I may be able to park for a good portion of the time! At least until I figure out what to coat the underside with.

Next Item- What's the deal with snow tires? Do they have a tire deals with snow and ice that can used all year round?

[Mister-B]

Originally Posted by Zonaman

Thanks for all the ideas! I learned two things about Flagstaff (since I lived there 37 years ago): 1) They have been using salt on the roads in recent years as well as cinders. 2) They now have an extensive bus system and I may be able to park for a good portion of the time! At least until I figure out what to coat the underside with.

Next Item- What's the deal with snow tires? Do they have a tire deals with snow and ice that can used all year round?

All season truck tires will usually be best, unless you're in a very icy part of the country. In that case, studded tires for the back would be good, but they're a real pain. Gotta put them on in the winter and off the rest of the year. They don't handle so well on dry winter days, and they're noisy

[54belair]

Maaannny years ago I lived in northern Az. I lived both 60 miles west of Flag and 60 miles east of Flag. Winters in northern Az. were always something! But, what I remember the most is the constant blowing of Adobe. Dust year around until it rained, then Adobe mud. Now, to my point--- The undercoating with oil, while an idea that will work, poses a different issue in the southwest. If you coat with oil---then get a coating of adobe (dust or mud), you end up with a very hard coating. As long as the oil is present on the surface you would be protected--but as the oil evaporates it will be replaced by moisture which will be trapped to the metal surface.

I have bought some resto projects out of Az. down thru the years and while the lower humidity and lack of moisture usually makes those vehicles far superior to projects from the mid west or other areas--I have found that on some vehicles where the adobe trapped moisture, the rust was as bad as it would be from anywhere else. (plus, the adobe coating almost has to be chiseled off) I honestly believe Id rather go with a chemical based coating or sealer.

[724x4LB]

I'm from Pa.. An like NY we salt everything. I followed Chip Foose idea. He uses the wd-40 fogger and coats the entire under side of the vehicles. I did this to my jeep yj one year and it worked amazingly well. Spring came and it looked no worse for wear. I washed it regularly during winter and reapplied the fogger once or twice also. It also slows any existing rust to a crawl.

[Mister-B]

Originally Posted by 724x4LB

I'm from Pa.. An like NY we salt everything. I followed Chip Foose idea. He uses the wd-40 fogger and coats the entire under side of the vehicles. I did this to my jeep yj one year and it worked amazingly well. Spring came and it looked no worse for wear. I washed it regularly during winter and reapplied the fogger once or twice also. It also slows any existing rust to a crawl.

Cool. Is that just your typical WD40?

[Coley]

Well as a Canadian who has lived through a few eastern Canadian winters I'll throw my two bits in.
Like a lot of the guys from the North East and great lakes areas some parts of Canada get a tough heavily salted winter.
Full disclosure: I don't drive my truck in the long winter months...its off the road from November until April.
Regardless, it still sees moisture, rain and a lot of d.d usage, etc. So what I use and swear by is 'RustCheck'.
http://www.rustcheck.ca
This is a somewhat specialized chemical spray product that has rust/corrosion killers and etchers in it. As well, it has special creep agents and moisture chasers in it (like WD40). Its a pinkish colour, thicker than WD40...sort of similar to trans fluid in appearance and viscosity.
The process is not difficult...takes about 1/2hr to 1 hr if you want to do it right.
I start at the front of the truck and target all of the typical rust areas of these trucks as follows:
Starting at the lower area of the rad support, inner fender join lines, down the upper cowl vent area- both sides, don't forget around the battery tray. Inside both doors and up through the doors (cleared) drain holes. Then in the cab: remove the 2 upper sunviser hold clips and spray left and right up through that upper part of the cab where it rots along the upper gutter metal.
I follow that up with a bead where the kick panel meets the floor (pull the carpet, etc back for this. Then into both inner cab corners (inside).
Then I get under the truck and spray both directions (fwd/back) through the rocker panel drain holes...use extra here. Also try to get the nozzle down through the any other access holes, seams or cracks and spray....really hit the rocker panels both sides, all directions.
Then at the box, again I do all join line points between the bed, the box sides and wheel wheels. A really important area (to me) is to spray up from below towards the back of the box underside area (below the gate). This area is famous for collecting road debris and rotting up from the bottom through the box.
Then I spray the inside of the tailgate...through any little orifice I can get the little tube into.
This covers the basics for me...I hit a few more miscellaneous areas including running a bead along the whole length of both upper/lower mouldings.
Important point: the 'bead' of the this product 'runs and creeps' down in behind the items you are spraying...so don't worry about it, its not caulking.
Now: DON'T wash the truck for 3 days...it will leak/drip a bit of this stuff while it finds 'home'. After that the truck will wash up clean and new and show well....none of this stuff will be visible to the eye. PLUS, when you go to undo bolts over the next few years, it will help a bit with that too.
When you are done.....sleep well through the winter....rusting is no longer a concern.
I've done this every year on my trucks and its always been bulletproof while I've watched other nicely restored trucks start to 'bubble' after a couple of years...too bad. Some of the guys didn't want to do it...."takes a little too long to do.....don't want to mess up my truck"...kind of comments, oh well...to each his own. Personally I hate rust and I'd rather rebuild a complete drivetrain than to have redo a body every 6-7 years or whatever.
I usually use 2 to 3 cans per season per truck....love it, works great and its never failed to deliver on the 'no rust' guarantee.
My two/four and 6 bits.
All Good
Coley