Wheel wells with rustproofing. Need advice...

F

FitSport

New member
Hey fellas,



So, my Honda Fit comes with the 5-year rustproofing. Any advice on how to clean the wheel wells and possibly the underbody as well without stripping any of the rustproofing off? Thanks. :)
 
I'm pretty sure all cars come with rustproofing these days and all you bought was some sort of "insurance."



Anyway, I don't think you have anything to fear if you're just using water and soap & water. However, if you start using heavy degreasers on the underbody, then maybe it might do something. I'm really not sure though... I've been wondering the same thing myself - and especially what do I use to protect the underbody after I've degreased it?
 
paul34 said:
I'm pretty sure all cars come with rustproofing these days and all you bought was some sort of "insurance."



Anyway, I don't think you have anything to fear if you're just using water and soap & water. However, if you start using heavy degreasers on the underbody, then maybe it might do something. I'm really not sure though... I've been wondering the same thing myself - and especially what do I use to protect the underbody after I've degreased it?
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I don't think anything is needed to protect the underbody, especially here in Florida since we have no salt on the roads ever.



To the OP.. if the rust proofing you are talking about is the rubbery textured undercoating there is pretty much no way you will be able to accidentally strip it off while just cleaning in the wheelwells. Then again, this material probably is more for sound deadening than anything else. I'm pretty sure all cars these days come with some type of electrocoat applied at the factory to the bare metal before painting to resist corrosion.



I just hope you didn't pay for this so called rustproofing you speak of, because if you did the dealer pretty much made 100% profit right there. Kinda like paying a thousand bucks for for them to apply paint sealant. I personally have never heard of 5 year rustproofing, but many manufacturers warranty against rust for five years though so in no way should you have paid for this.
 
clnfrk said:
I don't think anything is needed to protect the underbody, especially here in Florida since we have no salt on the roads ever.



To the OP.. if the rust proofing you are talking about is the rubbery textured undercoating there is pretty much no way you will be able to accidentally strip it off while just cleaning in the wheelwells. Then again, this material probably is more for sound deadening than anything else. I'm pretty sure all cars these days come with some type of electrocoat applied at the factory to the bare metal before painting to resist corrosion.



I just hope you didn't pay for this so called rustproofing you speak of, because if you did the dealer pretty much made 100% profit right there. Kinda like paying a thousand bucks for for them to apply paint sealant. I personally have never heard of 5 year rustproofing, but many manufacturers warranty against rust for five years though so in no way should you have paid for this.
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The Honda Fit comes standard with no electrocoat or any sort of sound deadening/rustproofing from the factory...well, there is sound deadening, but only in very key areas I'm assuming. I've seen the bare underbodies and fender wells, and they do expose painted metal.



Any suggestions then on what would be considered a mild degreaser? Thanks. :)
 
clnfrk said:
I just hope you didn't pay for this so called rustproofing you speak of, because if you did the dealer pretty much made 100% profit right there. Kinda like paying a thousand bucks for for them to apply paint sealant.
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What is that "paint sealant" they charge $1000 for? I've never done it, but I have a friend who bought a Toyota last year and paid to have that "paint sealant" applied. Is that a scam?
 
Vintage said:
Is that a scam?
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yep, with the $$$ you spent on that, you could buy a PC & some supplies and enjoy doing it yourself.

for them (dealerships) it's $$$ in the...
BL%20cash%20register.jpg
yet, another un-needed accessory they make $$$ and rip people off! :mad:
 
BigAl3 said:
yep, with the $$$ you spent on that, you could buy a PC & some supplies and enjoy doing it yourself.

for them (dealerships) it's $$$ in the... yet, another un-needed accessory they make $$$ and rip people off! :mad:
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What exactly do the dealers put on the car and how is it applied? Wow, if I would have known my friends was going to pay for this, I'd have done it for free and used the Klasse twins!
 
I would recommend two products that work pretty well.

Adams Undercarriage Cleaner

P21S Total Auto Wash.

Both products do a good job of cleaning.
 
joshtpa said:
I would recommend two products that work pretty well.

Adams Undercarriage Cleaner

P21S Total Auto Wash.

Both products do a good job of cleaning.
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Thanks Joshtpa. I was afraid you'd say P21S since it's a bit on the expensive side, but I'm always willing to try. Should I bother diluting it though? And where can I get Adams Undercarriage? I've never heard of that before. Thanks. :)
 
clnfrk said:
I don't think anything is needed to protect the underbody, especially here in Florida since we have no salt on the roads ever.



To the OP.. if the rust proofing you are talking about is the rubbery textured undercoating there is pretty much no way you will be able to accidentally strip it off while just cleaning in the wheelwells. Then again, this material probably is more for sound deadening than anything else. I'm pretty sure all cars these days come with some type of electrocoat applied at the factory to the bare metal before painting to resist corrosion.



I just hope you didn't pay for this so called rustproofing you speak of, because if you did the dealer pretty much made 100% profit right there. Kinda like paying a thousand bucks for for them to apply paint sealant. I personally have never heard of 5 year rustproofing, but many manufacturers warranty against rust for five years though so in no way should you have paid for this.
Click to expand...



Have you ever noticed a vehicle that gets parked near the ocean? I just moved from Michigan, (which is in the salt belt) and those cars pale in comparison to those types in Florida. Vehicle manufactures coat wheelhouses for sound reducing, but don't spray the undercarriage or inside the unibody, thus leaving metal exposed to the elements. Foctory e-caoting helps a little, but it's protection will wear off. Rust proofing has a value to someone that keeps their vehicles for a long time and is more exposed to damaging elements and areas of the country. Rustproofing/Undercoating costs probably about $20-$30 in materials, the warranty can cost another $20-$30 plus the labor. So, it's not 100% pure profit.
 
Vintage said:
What is that "paint sealant" they charge $1000 for? I've never done it, but I have a friend who bought a Toyota last year and paid to have that "paint sealant" applied. Is that a scam?
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If it's properly applied and is a good product, it's a good investment for someone who isn't an Autopian. $1000 is a total rip off. That's not the normal rate from what I've researched. It can cost $1000 for a total protection package (interior/paint/rust/sound), but not for just 1. :wow:
 
David Fermani said:
Have you ever noticed a vehicle that gets parked near the ocean? I just moved from Michigan, (which is in the salt belt) and those cars pale in comparison to those types in Florida. Vehicle manufactures coat wheelhouses for sound reducing, but don't spray the undercarriage or inside the unibody, thus leaving metal exposed to the elements. Foctory e-caoting helps a little, but it's protection will wear off. Rust proofing has a value to someone that keeps their vehicles for a long time and is more exposed to damaging elements and areas of the country. Rustproofing/Undercoating costs probably about $20-$30 in materials, the warranty can cost another $20-$30 plus the labor. So, it's not 100% pure profit.
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$30 for materials.... $30 for the warranty... they pay the "lot lizard" $10 an hour, it takes him 15 to 20 minutes to apply the "materials"..figure dealer investment is $70 dollars...

then the dealer charges anywhere from $300 to $500 for "rustproofing"...



You are right.. the profit margin is a lot higher!
 
I notice a lot of people use tire foam or undercarriage spray (like Adam's) in areas such as this (undercarriage). Do these products really offer THAT much protection?



To really get protection... wouldn't you have to use one of those "rubberized undercoating" sprays or such? I'd imagine that could get really messy!



And you're right - Floridians don't really have winter salt problems. However, I have been to the beach a few times with my car and even if you're just there for a few hours in even a paved lot... your car has a sticky layer of salt all over it by the time you leave! :(



Just imagine what the cars of people who actually live at the beach look like :soscared:
 
joshtpa said:
I believe it is at adamspolishes.com
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Thanks Joshtpa. They don't list a cleaner just a spray of some kind that looks more like a dressing solution. I guess it's P21s then. Thanks. :)
 
DaGonz said:
$30 for materials.... $30 for the warranty... they pay the "lot lizard" $10 an hour, it takes him 15 to 20 minutes to apply the "materials"..figure dealer investment is $70 dollars...

then the dealer charges anywhere from $300 to $500 for "rustproofing"...



You are right.. the profit margin is a lot higher!
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I'm going to assume that Mercedes Benz doesn't offer such an option. I worked at a Benz dealership for almost 2 years as a service technician and didn't once see any type of rustproofing work being performed. Same goes with any other dealer gimmicks. And, I'm pretty sure that "lot lizards" are not authorized to use a lift, which would certainly be necessary to apply any type of rustproofing. I just don't see how you guys can think that the dealer can apply something to help combat rust better than what the manufacturers didn't already apply at the factory. Dealers are in the business to sell cars and anything else on the back end that they can convince people to pay for to increase their bottom line. So, I still think that dealer rustproofing is a total waste of money.
 
clnfrk said:
I'm going to assume that Mercedes Benz doesn't offer such an option. I worked at a Benz dealership for almost 2 years as a service technician and didn't once see any type of rustproofing work being performed. Same goes with any other dealer gimmicks. And, I'm pretty sure that "lot lizards" are not authorized to use a lift, which would certainly be necessary to apply any type of rustproofing.
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Every dealer(not manufacturer) offers some type of extra protection service(especially MB). It doesn't have to be applied at the dealer and in alot of cases their done off-site at an application center. I'm not a big fan of rustproofing either, but I think Fabric and Paint Sealants work great (when applied properly). I don't buy into the hype about them lasting for 5 years and most of them are marketed and explained incorrectly. They usually require reapplication each year or when they appear to have failed.
 
clnfrk said:
I'm going to assume that Mercedes Benz doesn't offer such an option. I worked at a Benz dealership for almost 2 years as a service technician and didn't once see any type of rustproofing work being performed. Same goes with any other dealer gimmicks. And, I'm pretty sure that "lot lizards" are not authorized to use a lift, which would certainly be necessary to apply any type of rustproofing. I just don't see how you guys can think that the dealer can apply something to help combat rust better than what the manufacturers didn't already apply at the factory. Dealers are in the business to sell cars and anything else on the back end that they can convince people to pay for to increase their bottom line. So, I still think that dealer rustproofing is a total waste of money.
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When did you work for MB and where? Call a Mercedes Benz dealer here in NY and I can guarantee you that their eyes will light up if you ask for undercarriage/rust proofing and their eyes will light up even more if you ask for a sealant protection with that new car :)



These "special" services have profit margins that NO dealer in America can ignore! Heck if I owned a dealership I would do it :D
 
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