Been working in the automotive industry for almost 30 years. We have seen many corrosion related issues. Most of this accelerated damage is likely due to the road chemicals used during de-icing (magnesium & calcium chlorides). These salt compounds just destroy metal, alum & electrical components

Your EvO was likely rode hard during the winter months & never given a water wash afterwards

We use a self sealing product that skins over nicley & is easy to apply. This company may not sell you direct but they can point you in the right direction. The product comes in aerosol can format as well a large containers
http://www.sgrpi.com/about_our_products.htm

 

Throughout my entire ownership it's always slept in a garage. I'm not sure of the previous owner though. The car did come from Maryland from the previous owner, but I did take super good care of it. Apparently not enough I guess

Once I get everything cleaned up and stabilized, I'll be looking into something like this. All though, I really don't drive it during winter. So you'd think it wouldn't be exposed to salt and brine.

 

by the way, all this salt that they spray on the roads over there, does that present an environmental impact ? I would have thought it would all wash down into the creeks and rivers and kill all the fresh water fish and turtles running around in there.

 

So after quite a bit of research, I think I will be going with this product.


Any recommendations as to why I should or shouldn't use this? The plan will be get rid of every bit of rust I physically can, then apply a good amount of POR15 with a brush over the cleaned up areas. Really want to get good coverage on everything.

 

I'd still use a dedicated converter like ospho/fertan/etc first before a cover product. I know por15 is made for that and people swear by it, but the cleaner it is before you coat it the better I think. The dedicated converters you can see your progress, if you didn't grind deep enough for example you'll see a color difference in the conversion to ferric/phosphoric oxide etc. With the one-step coating I feel there's possibility of just covering up something where not all of the rust is neutralized.
But I may be a bit biased, I don't use any permanent coatings over rust repair, just conversion and a wax type preventative for minor to eroded areas, and proper steel replacement and paint/finishing for heavy damage. I don't like not being able to see things are still okay

 

Got any links to those products? I've never heard of them, and didn't find too much info or reviews when searching.

 

seeing this thread made me start digging under my car although I have seen a couple of minor spots... crazy how it can creep up on you if you do not look under the car very often.

 

http://www.ospho.com is pretty much the industry standard, to the point that most stuff is just referred to as ospho, like "Coke". I have used a product called Right Stuff just because it is easily purchased (most auto parts store carry it) that is basically the same thing. Green water, wipe it in, wait for prescribed amount of time and check reaction, prep and paint as desired.
I can't seem to find any links to that, they may have gone out of business since last I purchased; a half gallon on that stuff lasts like a decade

Edit:. Looks like Right Stuff might have been purchased by Smart Prep. If you Google search for "Right Stuff #3000" you'll find pictures of the right stuff bottles but also smart prep bottles called #3000 rust converter... Likely the same thing.

Edit 2: yeah, same stuff, I should have just clicked in the link as the Smart#3000 says "formerly right stuff"
http://www.sunbeltchemicals.com/cata...leaning?page=2

Either way, both convert oxides of iron to oxides of phosphate (get it, ospho!) to chemically stop the rust process.

 

So are you suggesting after cleaning most of the rust off, I apply Smart 3000,

Then afterwards, possibly follow up with POR15? Seems like it needs something to seal it.

Though the Smart 3000 isn't available locally to me. So would need to probably wait about a week before getting it.

 

From reading reviews by some folks online, Corroseal and Loctite SF 754 Rust Treatment are also good candidates. I just looked at my car this morning and it has some very minor spots which I plan to clean up using one of these two products.

 

LOL, our all weather, high performance, AWD hot rods have become fair weather Queens

Even here in So. Cal, my EvO has only seen the rain once, on my way to the track.
Knowing what i know about di-icing chemicals, my EvO would never see any winter driving

 

This is why we keep our wintercars

 

This is exactly why I have my SX4 as my winter beater lol.

 

because they are becoming more rare and we want our cars to stay in good shape so driving in the snow isn't a good thing for longevity purposes.

 

Though, it's not really the snow that's the issue. It's all the damn salt and stuff they throw on the road to "treat it" lol.