MitchM

hey vanKo, some questions :

1/ have you been doing this Signal 150 by Beacon Lubricants treatment on yours since the van was young in miles??
2/ do the pros on this forum think the amish should do this (or something else) on an older van that was never treated, just washed ? (14 year old 3500) ) 3/ 3/ does some one clean off existing rust etc before the treatment ?
4/ what good does this treatment do if there is already a bunch of rust on the under carriage ?

and last, where are the amish who do this ?

VanKo

1. This was the first time I did any sort of undercarriage coating. I bought the van in the South in 2020 and drove it up to Ohio. The winter of 2020 was the first time it saw salt. I went to the carwash 4-5 times a week that winter. They washed the undercarriage with some sort of rust inhibitor each time. After the winter and salt was all gone, I drove it on the interstate in a rainstorm for 30 min to blast off whatever salt residue was left on the underside. The winter of 2021 I did the same things. I did notice some surface rust on the frame and white shock absorbers after the 2nd winter. It is superficial with no swelling, and only in some areas. This year I decided to have it oil sprayed so the rust goes no further. I know people with old cars, both treated and untreated and the treated ones have fared much better after many years in the salt.

2. I'm not an undercoating pro but I do work on cars/machines/metal etc. The little bit of the rust I saw after 2 winters - despite my obsessive washing all winter - prompted me to address it this year. Why let it keep rusting if I can stop it now? It's never too late, you're just stopping the further progression of rust. If you put oil on rust-free metal it doesn't start rusting. If you put oil on rusty metal it stops rusting.

3. The place I went does not clean anything, they only spray. Some professional shops will surface prep, pressure wash, let it dry, and then treat it. They'll keep the car for 1-3 days depending on size/condition/how busy they are, etc. The underside of mine was clean with no rust flakes/scale so I just had it treated.

4. If you already have rust, coating it with oil stops further rusting. The oil soaks into the metal and prevents salt and water from doing further damage. Unless the vehicle isn't worth more than $50 and you don't want to keep it, I'd say it's worth the cost of treatment to get more life out of it.

The place I went was Norman Good Farm in Marshallville, OH. They don't have a website because Amish but they are listed on Google Maps. It was quite a drive but I needed it done right away and they had availability. There are many others around but they were busy or closed. Very few Amish advertise on the internet. I asked around on Nextdoor and several people recommended this place. I don't use FB but I'm sure people in your area would know of a place or two.

jjrbus

Ditto what VAnKo said

David4078

I have an 85 G20, originally from Arkansas.
I have always,more than 30 years, had my vehicle sprayed with oil. The place I have always used uses warmed new chain saw oil.
First time they will drill holes to get inside door posts and doors as well as around steps.
There isn't a nut or bolt that won't come off because of rust anywhere on this vehicle and no rust anywhere.
I get it done every 2 years.

As a plumber for more than 45 years I have worked on installing car washes. All car washes I've worked on has the pre rinse go into a sand trap, just a tank that allows sand to settle, then gets heated and reused as pre wash and then wash water. In the winter you can imagine the amount of salt washed off a vehicle and then resprayed on your vehicle. Getting into the doors and all small crevices.
I would never take my vehicle to a car wash in the winter.

Also, the reason Zeibart failed in this area is because it never seeped into or around the spot welds on a vehicle, like hot oil does. And all the vehicles rusted out.

I will stay with hot chain saw oil for my vehicles. It drips a little for a day or so, so I just park it on dirt. Also you will get dirty working under it. But that washes off, better than busted knuckles and broken rusty bolts.

davidjohn

quiet helpful @hanky i will definitely try it