I might be moving from my beloved Southern California to Maine. What do people do in the parts of the country where they salt the roads? Buy throwaway vehicles? Is there anything you can do to keep the road salt from destroying your rig? Would be a major bummer to have to start treating my FJ62 like a garage queen.
How do people in New England live? Is there any defense against road salt?
- Thread starter jebb
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it's a battle you can't win. My 60 gets parked from whenever the first salt is applied until around April 1st, though I imagine Maine will apply salt earlier and still be applying it later. There are coatings that you can apply, Woolwax and Fluid film are the most popular, they help but need to be applied seasonally and make a mess. I've got a monthly membership to the local touchless carwash that I use for my F150. It's got under carriage washing included and I go a couple times a week. Best advise buy a beater.
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I live in Northwestern PA ie the snowbelt of PA. I used Fluid Film on my 03 100 and 02 F350 7.3 Crew cab long bed dually for the first 10 years I lived up here. I have it sprayed annually in September or October. I switched last year to Woolwax, which is a thicker version of Fluid Film. The detail shop that applied the WoolWax and a 5 year ceramic coating could not believe how good the condition of the frames are for their age. You have 3 choices:
1) Park your beloved 60 for the winter and drive a beater
2) Apply Fluid Film or WoolWax annually and enjoy driving your 60 in its natural habitat. Undercarriage car wash when temperatures are above 30.
3) Drive it as is and deal with the surface rust each spring.
1) Park your beloved 60 for the winter and drive a beater
2) Apply Fluid Film or WoolWax annually and enjoy driving your 60 in its natural habitat. Undercarriage car wash when temperatures are above 30.
3) Drive it as is and deal with the surface rust each spring.
Oil undercoat every year for every vehicle I own plus my older cruisers dont see salted pavement during salt season
Best applied at end of summer when its still warm so it seeps into all of the nooks/seams for best protection
Oil undercoating is a consumable.....it wears off/comes off eventually so you need to reapply
NH Oil Undercoaters does a really great job
marshcat
SILVER Star
Same here. I prefer Krown to NH Oil Undercoating but both are good. All of my cars get a Krown treatment annually, and I park my 60 series in the garage from Dec - March
I do both.
I don’t know why they salt the roads in southern BC. But it makes me cringe hearing the salt fling up into my wheel arches.
So you gotta get a beater.
Do you just do the undercarriage coating or do you go for the full treatment that includes the engine bay and body too?
I’m thinking of just doing the undercarriage to avoid the rubber components swelling (I’ve only seen pics of this online)
marshcat
SILVER Star
I do all of it. After five consecutive years of Krown all the rubber looks totally fine and the car has stayed rust free.
marshcat
SILVER Star
Recent undercarriage photos
I guess I’ll give it a shot then. The Krown shop in Leominster, MA quoted me $169 which is much lower than I was expecting so not much to lose there anyway.
Wow that looks good
I doubt for that price they're doing the insides of the doors, rockers ,tailgate ,frame internals, behind the bumpers etc. You want to do every nook and cranny before exposing it to any salt or it will begin its damage.
marshcat
SILVER Star
Yes, they do all those areas. On my 60 series they even removed the taillight lenses to run a wand down the rear quarter panels.
The guys in Leominster are great and they make their money in volume - they have a dedicated Krown bay doing rustproofing 6 days a week.
That's a great deal.then
No way I would drive a classic LC in the winter, they are too valuable and prone to corrosion. Buy a Subaru to daily drive. I was so worried about it when I moved from CO to Michigan I sold my 80 (In retrospect this was dumb, but at the time I felt it was the best option).
marshcat
SILVER Star
Just the full Krown treatment! I never wash the truck. And it is parked outside and daily driven all through the winter.
And it is parked outside and daily driven all through the winter.
Another good east-coast tip: Don't park wet/salty cars in heated garages. The colder the garage/storage area, the slower the corrosion.
Another good east-coast tip: Don't park wet/salty cars in heated garages. The colder the garage/storage area, the slower the corrosion.
On the bright side, Maine doesn't have fires, landslides, earthquakes etc. just plenty of water and really whacky 2 leggers... I can say that as I lived in Southwest Haba' for a while. ayuh.. 
Back on topic, all the above tech recommendations are great.
Back on topic, all the above tech recommendations are great.
