Treating future rust issues - Opinions Needed!

[Guest sdpont]

I recently picked up a car in an old junkyard; the car originally came out of California and has been sitting in a yard for 8 years with broken windows and rain collecting in the pans.

I stripped out the soggy interior carpets of the car last night and to my surprise their is NO rust in the pans, only small rust bubbles or surface rust and even this is very little.

My question: I don?t plan on restoring this car anytime soon but I will be storing it in dry storage. Is their any product that I can spray on the interior pans that will stop the rust from developing any further? The car may sit for two or three years inside and I would hate to pull it out only to find it eaten away with rust.

Opinions Needed!!

[Matt Harwood]

I recommend and use Picklex-20, which is a metal conditioner that will destroy rust and micro rust and leave a protective phosphate coating that will last indefinitely if it is kept out of direct contact with water. I stripped the doors of my '41 Buick about two years ago, coated them with Picklex, and they're still bright metal after being stored in the garage all that time. It's also harmless, so you don't need gloves or special equipment to apply it. There are a lot of sham products and hucksters out there, but this is one that just flat-out works like they say it will.

Spray it on, rub it in with a wire bristle brush, then wipe off the excess after about 10 minutes. It may leave a chalky residue that you can wipe off and all rust will turn black (which is stable). You can even paint over it without removing it and it seems to help the quality of my welds, too, so I spray it on before and after welding anything on the car.

Here's an area I sandblasted then treated with Picklex. It is still white metal, even 7 months later.

I used it on the rear quarter panels as well. Since you can weld through it, I coated all the surfaces that will be inaccessible once the car is assembled. It shows up as the runs going down the panel:

I get it at http://www.autobodystore.com . It's a little pricey ($90/gallon or so) but a little goes a long way. A gallon will last for more than one restoration.

By the way, I'm not an owner or employee, just a satisfied user. Hope this helps. Check out my website to see it on the car.

[Guest sixpack2639]

I recommend and use OSPHO. It does basically the same thing as the stuff Matt uses except you don't have to scrub it in, wipe off the excess, and it won't wash off. It turns rust to Black Oxide and it's not nearly as expensive as the stuff Matt uses @ about 25 bucks a gallon. Check out their web site here... http://www.ospho.com/ Carl

[Guest sdpont]

I appreciate the input greatly! Will those products work even if the metal is not perfectly clean? I dont want to spend hours sandblasting the floors and wire-brushing (allthough I should!) Do you think they will work to simply spray it on and have piece of mind?

[Mark Shaw]

I agree that OSPHO is the best deal. I am sure that others will work fine, but this stuff is effective and relatively cheap. It also provides "tooth" for other coatings.

Mark Shaw