How I was able to remove rustproof overspray...

F

FitSport

New member
So, my beloved '07 Honda Fit Sport was poorly sprayed with rustproofing before delivery. This is the one and only time I will have this done to any of my future purchases. Rustproofing out here is basically a necessity, but if the job is going to be done this poorly, then I might as well either a) do it myself or b) take it to a more skilled 3rd party shop. From what I can tell, my wheels took the brunt of the excessive overspray. My engine bay, fender wells, front/side/rear valences, and doors also have some but not as annoying as my wheels.



Here is before:



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Amazing Roll-Off (undiluted) and P21S Wheel Gel Cleaner only removed the brake dust and typical grime. I was hoping ARO would be strong enough, but it didn't make a dent whatsoever. I also tried claying using Meg's mild clay with very little - and I do mean little - effect.



So, my neighbour said "Try this" and I'm thinking, well I spent the last 2 hours cleaning two wheels without any sort of progress, so I'm pretty much up for anything at this point. So, he gave me some 87 regular unleaded gasoline, and my wheels after came out like this:



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Came off with very little effort using a clean cotton cloth. I did both sides as even the front side had overspray. After, I went over it again with P21S Gel using an artist's brush. Then clayed it again with Meg's mild clay before applying KAIO and 1 coat of Collinite 476S. :)



PS: Photos were done using the Olympus C4000 Point-and-Shoot. I wanted to show you guys how I detailed my car including the above work, but this camera cacked out on me, and my dSLR was "unavailable" at the time.
 
Unfortunately, many "technicians" are not interested in providing first rate service and we autopians have to go back and finish/fix the job. I have also discovered that gasoline is a handy and effective solvent with lighter fluid being a close second. Thanks for sharing and many happy miles in your new Honda! :2thumbs:
 
Cool!



Say, did you ask him for a second... and third... and fourth gallon of gasoline which then later mysteriously disappeared into your gas tank? "I ran out - my wheels are really dirty, I swear!"



:lol
 
Wow.. That's pretty amazing. Is it correct to say that using gasoline would be (in terms of safety+health), safer than an acidic or basic wheel cleaner like Meguiars Wheel Brightner or Eagle One wash?



I might have to try this on the insides of my 14 year old Acura wheels. Dunno if it'll make a dent though, those insides are prettty bad...
 
the honda dealer got rustproofing all over my wheels and some in the engine bay of my 07 civic si too. does your dealer wash cars with a big brush that looks just like a cheap shop broom too? lol
 
FitSPort- Sheehs, they didn't even pull the wheels off to do it :rolleyes:



Glad you got it off. My father used gasoline and Stoddard Solvent for all sorts of things back before people got all safety-conscious (heh heh, I'm surprised nobody has :nono you for using the gas). Think I woulda used some other solvent instead (AutoInt/ValueGuard New Car Prep most likely) but hey, it worked and you didn't burn down the neighborhood ;)



And yeah rustproofing is something that's very DIY-able. The product and the guns are very cheap, but you do need a compressor unless you want to use the aerosol spray can version (which can work fine too). I kinda enjoyed doing the Blazer, it ended up being borderline fun. I'll be doing the Yukon later this summer and there's no question in my mind that I'll do a better job than any guys at a dealership. But to be fair, I knew a guy at the Chrysler dealership where I worked as a kid who was utterly *meticulous*, he always did a great job...I learned a good bit by watching him.
 
mikebai1990 said:
Wow.. That's pretty amazing. Is it correct to say that using gasoline would be (in terms of safety+health), safer than an acidic or basic wheel cleaner like Meguiars Wheel Brightner or Eagle One wash?



I might have to try this on the insides of my 14 year old Acura wheels. Dunno if it'll make a dent though, those insides are prettty bad...
Click to expand...





There are safety/health issues. 1) You shouldn't be near any open flame or spark. I had to warn my neighbour not to smoke within 10 yards of me. 2) Inhaling fuel vapours for too long can be cancerous if I'm not mistaken. And 3) you should wear protective gloves to minimize any skin contact. I didn't do this, but then again I did all 4 wheels relatively fast. I see this as a last-ditch option when your regular car care chemicals are just not cutting it. As far as it being safe on wheels, I believe it is. I believe it is alkaline rather than acidic because if it was acidic I wouldn't be able to type right now. The darn thing ate through a dixie cup within a minute. I inspected my wheel after, and it seems that the clear coat was left undamaged. The scratches you see on the wheel edges (on the above photos) were there before I used the gasoline.



BTW, post befores and afters on those Acura wheels. I'm interested to know as well. :)
 
dmcphee07SI said:
the honda dealer got rustproofing all over my wheels and some in the engine bay of my 07 civic si too. does your dealer wash cars with a big brush that looks just like a cheap shop broom too? lol
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My dealer only laid their filthy hands on it upon delivery. I have yet to take it back to them for any sort of service. From my understanding though, they use an automatic car wash with those stupid rollers that fling dirty towels onto the paint. BTW, be careful in the engine bay. You could potentially start a fire in there. :)
 
Accumulator said:
And yeah rustproofing is something that's very DIY-able. The product and the guns are very cheap, but you do need a compressor unless you want to use the aerosol spray can version (which can work fine too). I kinda enjoyed doing the Blazer, it ended up being borderline fun. I'll be doing the Yukon later this summer and there's no question in my mind that I'll do a better job than any guys at a dealership. But to be fair, I knew a guy at the Chrysler dealership where I worked as a kid who was utterly *meticulous*, he always did a great job...I learned a good bit by watching him.
Click to expand...



Accumulator, do you have any links to guides or info regarding doing this by yourself? I'm very much interested in learning. A friend of mine here told me it's better to just pay $100CAD a year to have someone do it, but if you're saying it is very do-able by a one-man team, then I'm all ears. :)
 
FitSport- Sources for products: Automotive International - Valugard Product Line and Eastwood Company Home Page .



Eastwood might have some info on how to DIY it, AutoInt will probably assume that you either know how or should pay somebody (who used their stuff ;) ) but Ron Ketchum at AutoInt can be very helpful about how to do this stuff.



I pretty much figured it out myself but then I've been around cars since forever and I've taken enough of 'em apart to know what areas need protection. It seem *sorta* like common sense would be sufficient:



Wash everything off well and get it dry. Wipe as much as you can with a solvent like PrepSol.



Spray a bit in drain holes but not so much that you clog them; spray nooks and crannies of the undercarriage where salt will collect between washes; spray undercarriage areas that show (use Eastwood's Black Heavy Duty Anti-Rust for that, great stuff) and areas that will be subjected to wear from road-crap getting tossed up.



You *could* get more involved and take off door panels/etc. to spray in there, but I honestly don't think it'd be required on your Honda. No, you won't do a perfect job the first time, but I think (especially with the attention to detail and patience you have demonstrated on other projects) you'll do a perfectly satisfactory job. The Hondas are pretty well-built so what you do will just be added protection.



I never undercoated the MPV and it only has some very light surface rust after five Ohio winters, nothing to worry about. Even a cursory job would've prevented that little bit of surface rust. It did have one spot of serious rust where they botched up the passenger door construction (common problem, not winter/salt-related) and had I sprayed a little pf the AutoInt stuff in the adjacent drain hole I bet it wouldn't have happened. Your Honda will be far less rust-prone than MPVs are so whatever you do will almost certainly be sufficient.



IMO you won't have to touch it up very often. After this last winter I sprayed maybe six square inches total touching up the Blazer, and most of that was from where my dealer's lift scraped it off the frame rails. These products stay put so it won't be an annual job.



For the Fit, I think I'd get two cans of AutoInt's aerosol (Aerosol Rust Inhibitor - Automotive International) and three cans of Eastwood's Black Heavy Duty Anti-Rust (Eastwood Company: Auto Tools, Body Repair, Classic Car Restoration, House of Kolor Paint, Powder Coating ).



That'd be a little more product than you'll need, but you'll have plenty for touch ups.



I'd also get a can of AutoInt's New Car Prep to use when cleaning up (there'll be a little overspray).
 
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