Important Rust/Screw Question..

[IdahoMan]

I've noticed on some of the screws that I have removed, such as the kick-panel and drip-rail screws, there is a hard amber-colored rubber/wax coating involved.

Being very rust-paranoid, I'd like to ask just what this coating is, where do get it, and how is it properly applied. I assume it is some kind of coating to help keep the threading of the socket from corrosion? A lot of these screws go straight through the body metal.

It would suck to go through a lot of hard work restoring something, only to have rust start growing right from a corner, hole or socket because it wasn't fastened or sealed right. What's the proper procedure for drilling/screwing??

Thank you.


Sincerely,
IdahoMan

[IdahoMan]

Anyone?

[SilverMiner]

Hey, pard - I don't have a definitive answer to your question, but I figure us Idaho guys got to stick together so here's what I think may be the case:

Check out this old GM video on YouTube that describes how the 1979 Suburbans were built: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgDK6LVyUmI#t=130

I set the link to the correct part of the video where they show a GM line worker spraying what the narrator says is an "aluminum wax preservative" on the inside of a door panel. Although the color isn't exactly the same as what is shown in your picture, I still think that is the stuff that comes off of certain interior screws. I've noticed it myself many times as well, and until I saw this video I was never sure of the cause.

I've never added any additional goop when replacing such screws, but maybe I should have. I look forward to hearing others chime in on this.

[cadillac_al]

That was my guess, some kind of rust proofing inside the body either aftermarket or factory. I don't recall it in my trucks but other GM cars I have worked on had a reddish brown coating inside some body panels. You would have to be creative to reapply it in those areas that are no longer accessible.

[IdahoMan]

When I removed my drip-rails, the screw's tips had been dipped in some kind of amber colored rubber/wax.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by SilverMiner

Hey, pard - I don't have a definitive answer to your question, but I figure us Idaho guys got to stick together so here's what I think may be the case:

Check out this old GM video on YouTube that describes how the 1979 Suburbans were built: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgDK6LVyUmI#t=130

Thank you for posting that; I had never seen it before.

As you might know I started at the Flint Truck plant (the only plant building Suburbans at that time) in June of 1979.

Originally Posted by IdahoMan

When I removed my drip-rails, the screw's tips had been dipped in some kind of amber colored rubber/wax.

This is correct. Certain fasteners were received with the tips pre-dipped in some type of sealer.

K

[IdahoMan]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

This is correct. Certain fasteners were received with the tips pre-dipped in some type of sealer.

K

Thanks Keith!

But why? What is it? Where do I get it/how do I apply it properly?


IM

[IdahoMan]

BUMP for answers.

Rust and cancer are two things you never want to deal with.