Rust proofing with oil

[john@thepier]

Who has ever done it? What did you use? Hows it holdin up? I'm trying it for the first time this year. I plan to use motor oil, some wd-40 and maybe deisel fuel, pour it all in my weed sprayer and have at it.

[cdowns]

WAYYYYY back when i was a kid i remember the oldtimers preserving parked"i'm going to get to it someday" cars. by spraying them down on a regular basis with diesel fuel but as i remember they still ended up rotting away in the barns and out in the fields

[project 67 sub]

my friend has a tubbed and supercharged BBC 55 chevy bel-air with no paint on it, been sitting for a long time to and no rust. i asked him the first time i seen it,(probably 5 years ago) what he was using to keep it from rusting. i'm not 100% sure, but if i remember right i think he said he wiped it down with tranny fluid every once in a while.

[68gmsee]

This method was used extensively in the old days. I'm not sure what kind of oil was used, but I'm sure it was something that wasn't heavy in the detergents and chemicals that are added to the oils these days.

I don't know how all of those agents would react with rubber bushings and mounts -I'd do a little research first. Maybe ask some of the old timers that still work in body shops.

I do like the idea of keeping everything lubricated, but if you drive around a lot in dirt and gravel, like I do, it would be bad on the joints. On the other hand, those can be replaced a lot easier than sheet metal.

[68,69 K20]

An old timer that lives near me has half a barn full of old cars and trucks and most haven't seen the light day in a decade or so. He said he has sprayed the undercarrage's with oil before he parked them...Not sure what type, but he swears by it.

[scrapmetalart]

Chainsaw bar oil!

[68gmsee]

Originally Posted by scrapmetalart

Chainsaw bar oil!

Definitely sticky enought to stay on... However, I would think you'd want to find a happy medium between sticky oils like bar oil or stp and diesel fuel.
Maybe mix the two???

[19673ontree]

you don't have to be an old timer ! I have been doing this for 25 year's ! hey wait a minute ? if I have been doing the oil thing for 25 year's then that means I must be ? nahhh couln't be ! but the oil work's ! dirty engine oil is the best , the blacker the better ! wd-40 don't do any good ,

[JimKshortstep4x4]

I use the tar for foundation water proofing. Mineral spirits makes a good thinner so that it can be sprayed in a weed killer. Works good and it will run into cracks and crevices. A little messy but the tar can be cleaned off with mineral spirits.

Jim

[68gmsee]

Originally Posted by 19673ontree

you don't have to be an old timer ! I have been doing this for 25 year's ! hey wait a minute ? if I have been doing the oil thing for 25 year's then that means I must be ? nahhh couln't be ! but the oil work's ! dirty engine oil is the best , the blacker the better ! wd-40 don't do any good ,

Naw, man, you just a pup if you've only been messing with these old trucks for 25 years. I got you beat by about 20 years. But, I'm still not an old timer. Got to be at least in your 70's to be a legitimate old timer.

I think the burnt oil is a good idea. You get to do some recycling (somewhat) and most of the chemicals will have been burned or evaporated off.

[straitnate14]

pam cooking spray works good, left a bunch of sheet metal outside over a winter and sprayed it down with pam realy good, turns into like a black goo and stays on realy good

[scrapmetalart]

here is a good thread on eth HAMB...

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...&highlight=oil

[drivethechevy]

board member and one of my good friends and neighbors 53'gmc wipes his 53 gmc down in oil before every winter, his grandpa had done the same since he got the truck, its been a minnesota all of its life and its survies rust free aside from the battery box and some very minor surface rust, as far as i know he just wipe it down with used motor oil, i will talk to him tomorrow and confirm what he uses for you and get him online to help you out himself
nate

[Sport/Truck]

I've used gibbs oil on allot of stuff, it doesn't attract dust, it doesn't impair paint form sticking (if you decide to paint later). This stuff is truly amazing stuff. I'd use it on my under frame before anything else.
http://www.roadsters.com/gibbs/
s/t

[bucket]

a lot of plow guys like me use Fluid Film to protect equip and vehicles from the salt.

http://www.eurekafluidfilm.com/

[bucket]

Originally Posted by john@thepier

Who has ever done it? What did you use? Hows it holdin up? I'm trying it for the first time this year. I plan to use motor oil, some wd-40 and maybe deisel fuel, pour it all in my weed sprayer and have at it.

i do the 50 used oil / 50 diesel on my wood trailer beds. keeps them from rotting.

[DirtyLarry]

I bought my first new vehicle, a 1998 Z71, when I lived in Detroit where they throw salt on the roads every time a gray cloud blows over town. Being from Colorado, that roadsalt BS was all new to me and it killed me to see 5 year old vehicles running around with cancer. Until I moved there I never even saw a 1988 or newer body style truck with rust before. Out there you would think rust was a factory option that everybody ordered.

Well, anyway this ole GMC engineer I met at work and still work with today showed me where he used a squirt bottle to spray his inner fenders and rockers with ATF on his GMC every few weeks. ATF works well as it has detergent in it and washes off nicely when you are ready to get it off. I used his suggestion on my Z71 the next 4 years I lived there and seemed to work great. ATF sprays out of a bottle real nice too. The bottom of my hood never bubbled as most all of the rest did within 2 years. Still ditched the truck when I moved back to CO though….you can try to save the body from salt but you will never be able to save the wiring harnesses, underhood electronics and brake components. Glad I don’t live in the salt belt anymore.

[67shortie]

That 'ole leaky big block that my Chevelle was born with has preserved the floors on the car over the years, thank you bad gaskets and airflow

[special-K]

The old timers used to spray used motor oil up under their cars and run up and down the dusty dirt roads.They`d repeated this until it built up a decent coating and left it all winter.Then,pressure washed it off in spring.

[caminokid]

I have owned a few vehicle that self oiled themselves under neither. I never seen any rust under them!

[Sport/Truck]

Originally Posted by bucket

a lot of plow guys like me use Fluid Film to protect equip and vehicles from the salt.

http://www.eurekafluidfilm.com/

I seen that stuff at the John Deere store and looks good.
The label says it doesn't dry out, does it dry any or does it stay oily?
I remember he mentioned that some people were buying that stuff to spray their engine compartment to prevent mice from getting in.

I showed him the Gibbs oil and how it dries with out the oily residue.
I did my heater box with it probably 6 months ago and it's been in the garage ever since. My powder coated parts seem to get dustier! If you wipe you finger over it it's not oily.
I drenched my entire engine compartment before I painted (thinking I could live with the rust on the fire wall). you cant tell I sprayed oil on if you look now.
I'll put some water on it and see how it does.

The first photo shows the heater box before.

The 2nd photo is 3-4 months later after I painted over my firewall. (which was previously coated with gibbs oil). You can see the frame too and they both look dry.
The 3rd photo shows the box after I cleaned it in the first photo.


s/t

[1956cameo]

I agree that oil or ATF is good for areas that you can reach but for little crevices or in rust holes I use Penetrating oil. I use it for two reasons. 1. If it will penetrate thru the rust/metal on a bolt than it will do it for a hard to reach rusty area. 2. With the aerosol pressure and the red spray tube that comes with these cans it can get into very small areas that other methods wont reach. Since it is under pressure it will also spray and cover a larger area. I have a couple of rust holes right above my windshield. I spray penetrating oil in all directions into the roof area. I do this about once a month or before a rainstorm is coming. I must be putting good coats on because I can see in lower areas of the cab where small amounts of penetrating oil is bleeding out in between spot welds.

The only drawback to penetrating oil is that is needs to be re applied every month or two to stay effective. Fortunatley for me it only takes about one minute to hit all the vulnerable areas on my truck.

[67chevemall]

I pour, splash, spray any oil I can get my hands on all over all my vehicles...then just wiper down with a rag. Been doing it since high school. Beer and the backroads.

[dan42]

Hmmm....well, personally, I just drive mine all winter. Only occasionally are the roads a little wet. Our winter is similar to your summer - nothing really upsets the finishes out here. I lived in Utah for years, and I don't miss the salt on the roads. Nothing like spending $35,000 on a vehicle that has cancer 5 years later. God Bless California.

[70' GMC]

This why Im trying to find something good on gas and save money for a foreign device. So I can park it at a friends house in his barn to prevent rust I think?