Guest Posted January 30, 2002 Posted January 30, 2002 I hope not to offend serious collectors with my desire to restore and maintain my 1989 Jeep Comanche pickup. Its not that old yet, or rare but, is out of production and will be somewhat of a classic. I am replacing rust through areas and checking into rust treatments, rust proofing, washes, coatings etc. that all may help slow down the rusting process (an ongoing concern here in Michigan!). Does anyone have experience with Rust-Stop, CounterAct, Electroshield etc. types of electronic rust prevention? I seek independent testimony as to which brands (or methods) may work the best and will welcome all comments. Thanks! Ben Goddard
RoadsterRich Posted January 30, 2002 Posted January 30, 2002 Ben,<P>I can't answer your question, however, I have been curious myself as to if these work or not. Also what types of environments are they good for? I live about 3 miles from the ocean, I suspect not a great deal is going to help me other than keeping the car out of the salt air in storage, and wiping it down every time I take it out. I look forward to seeing some responses.<P>Rich<P>PS: While this may or may not be a popular opinion, I think putting effort in to preserve a vehicle is a worthy thing.
ronbarn Posted January 31, 2002 Posted January 31, 2002 Back in the '70s we lived on an island in the Pacific about 2000 miles west of Hawaii. The island was 3 1/2 miles long and 1/2 mile wide. You cannot get much closer to the ocean than that. Our fleet of vans, pickups and cars would show visible effects of rusting in less than six months and major rust through in about a year. We started using a Zee-Bart coating inside the body panels and chassis. Rusting virtually stopped and the vehicles showed minimal rusting (no more watching the road through the floorboard) at the normal tradeout time of six years. Good product but sort of messy and may not be acceptable for some older vehicles that never had undercoating.
Guest Posted February 2, 2002 Posted February 2, 2002 Take a page from the German automakers and install zinc or magnesium anodes at points where galvanic couples occur, body panel mounts, bottom of frame rails etc. VW puts zinc strips under every fastener that is part of the exterior body panels.<P>The electric device you speak of basically tries to accomplish the same thing, I not sure it works quite as advertised. I do know that properly grounded sacrificial anodes placed strategically around the car will give the corrosion something to attack besides your precious sheetmetal.<P>How and where they should be placed can be somewhat of a science, but basically anywhere metal touches metal through a mechanical fastener is a good candidate.<P>I think aluminum tape will yield a similar effect but haven't I tried it myself.<P>Think about it, it works in your water heater why not your car!
Guest Posted February 2, 2002 Posted February 2, 2002 My thanks to Roadster Rich, Ronbarn and Chuck da machinist for their responses! Chuck, - what you say does make sense. Never thought about the water heater anode rod! Didn't know that VW used anode technology in their production but this seems to jibe with what I have read about "sacrificial anode" technology. I wonder if VW somehow creates an electrostatic field to enhance their anodes such as CounterAct? (I will do some checking!) Rust-Stop also purports to use electrostatically aided anodes BUT also incorporates "Impressed current" which, they claim gives protection in both wet and dry climate rust situations. I hope for more responses! Ben G.
D Binger Posted February 2, 2002 Posted February 2, 2002 One of the largest casket companies uses a system called Cathodic Protection on the top<BR>of the line caskets they manufacture. It is very simple in the way it works. There is an<BR>insulated magnesium bar attached to the bottom of the casket with a 50ohm resister<BR>attached between the bar and the casket. 50ohm is the point of resistance where rust will start to grow. When the resistance of rust or corrosion reaches the 50ohm point<BR>magnesium molecules are released to help in the stopping of the rust and or corrosion.<BR>I believe that Porsche has this same system on their cars. I have heard that the<BR>magnesium bar is in the trunk. <P>Dan
1937hd45 Posted February 2, 2002 Posted February 2, 2002 Rust proof caskets? Guess there are still snake oil salesmen out there. Personally I like the boxed in wood boxed for good method.
Guest Posted February 2, 2002 Posted February 2, 2002 After Chuck da machinist's post I did a Google search useing "Volkswagen body assembly anodes" and one of first mentionings is "ABRN - a primer in rust". Click CACHED and an 8 page report is shown covering this subject extremely well. While sacrificial anodes are discussed no mention is made of the many commercially available electronic vehicle units. I'm still searching for actual users and appreciate all comments! Ben G.
Guest Posted February 3, 2002 Posted February 3, 2002 I just wish I was half as smart as 1937hd45 thinks he is. I'm getting a little tired of some of his inane posts and so are some others on here.
fordee9r (Ron Springstead) Posted February 3, 2002 Posted February 3, 2002 Who are the "others"? Just curious....
Guest Posted February 3, 2002 Posted February 3, 2002 fordee9r,<P>I do not think it is my place to "out" anybody on this forum. They will have to answer your question themselves. If they do, they do. If not <P>Dennis
Guest Posted February 13, 2002 Posted February 13, 2002 Another method is to use a quality coating that actually inhibits electron exchange and thus rust development. <BR>Zero Rust is NOT a snake oil treatment and many DIYer's are discovering this to be true. We state on our website: "...it isolates steel from the electrolysis process which converts steel to rust."<BR>Check us out as a viable alternative and an effective yet relatively inexpensive way to maintain your restoration project. <BR>HTH<BR>WK Irish<BR>See ya' on the net at <A HREF="http://www.zerorust.com" TARGET=_blank>www.zerorust.com</A>
Guest Posted February 13, 2002 Posted February 13, 2002 I wonder if 1937hd45 thinks he's smart because he is. He knows quite a bit about old cars, anyway. Everyone's entitled to a smarta$$ comment now and again. What a dull place it'd be without them.
Guest Posted February 19, 2002 Posted February 19, 2002 TKS Irish, I'm going to give it a try on my utility trailer. Nothing so far has worked for long. The Rustoleum black I used last did exactly that--rust.
Guest Posted February 20, 2002 Posted February 20, 2002 Well, its been 20 days since I first posted looking for users of electronic rust prevention devices. I also posed my query on several other vehicle collector/enthusiast sites. I have received, by far, the most response and help from this forum. Thanks AACA people!<P>While I still haven't found any past or present users I did find out the US FTC ruled against "Rust Evader" and "Rust Buster" and its "inventor" and owner David F. McCready in 1996 for false advertising, deceptive business practices etc.. This is the only adverse information I have been able to find and it appears this WAS a snake oil scheme! (If you search Rust Evader you can read ftc file.)<P>I did order a Rust-Stop ERPD from S. Africa and will install it on my Comanche. I plan to take many pictures of the present rust areas on this 13 year old truck before I do anything. Then I will do rust-through repairs, painting etc., and conventional rust proofing. Hopefully, the Rust-Stop unit will retard further rusting and keep my truck on the road a long time. (I anticipate necessary routine body maintenance, cleaning etc., and periodic anode replacement if the unit does its job.) <P>Unfortunately, this cannot be a scientifically controlled experiment and any results I achieve with Rust-Stop will be clouded by other efforts I've made (Zerorust etc.), - and over a long period of time, - so don't expect a report. If anyone ever has specific questions they are welcome to e-mail me! Thanks Again. Ben Goddard, Chesaning, Michigan. BKGoddard@Centurytel.net BKGoddard@Centurytel.Net
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