How to Rust Proof a Classic Car - the Best Procedures to Use

Over the years things have changed a lot in the way that we rust proof cars. When you decide that it's time that you rust proof your classic car; it can be, and usually is a long process. You need to be ready to spend some time, and get dirty because you will be doing both of these things.

First an foremost: if your car has already begun to rust; it's imperative that you fix the rust before you begin this process. First I will discuss some of the products that I use; really just one product because I have found that it works the best out of all of them.

That product is POR15; there is nothing on the market that does as good of a job as POR15. It will survive anything that the elements can through at it. This stuff is as tough of a product as you can get.

When you begin a rust proofing project; the first thing that you should do is a through inspection of the car. You will be looking for areas that have got rust so they can be repaired first. After you do this it will be time to get down and dirty with your car.

The truth of the matter is that this may sound like an easy thing; but it can be a highly involved process, and usually is. It all depends on the condition that the car is in when you start the process. For this article I will assume that the car is not in top condition.

We'll take it from the top; to begin this process we will inspect the entire car, as I said at the beginning of this article. During this process we will determine what needs to be done to fix the rust problems that the car has, so get out your note book as you do it, and take detailed notes so you don't forget anything.

The first warning that I will give you is really quite simple; don't be in a hurry it will only cause problems. First we'll roll under the car on a creeper; unless you have access to a car lift. The lift is a much better way to do this.

We're going to look at the usual suspects when dealing with rust on a classic car. These areas are usually a lot the same on most classic cars; first we will look that the rocker panels; if your don't see any rust hols in them; you can add them to the doesn't need repair side of the list in your note book.

If you see even the slightest hole beginning to form on one of the rocker panels; plan on doing some repair work before you can rust proof them. Then well take a look at the floor boards; this is usually an area that needs work on most classic cars.

Be sure that you do all of the rust repairs before you do any rust proofing of the car. Now move on the the trunk ares of the car; for this you will need to open the trunk, and pull the trunk mat out if it has one. This will reveal any rust problems that the trunk floor might have, and this will need to be done also.

Now go back under the car and look at the trunk floor extensions on it. These are the pieces that attach to the sides of the trunk floor; this is due to the fact that most trunk floors are not made from one piece of sheet metal, but three.

If these need repair you need to fix them also before you can begin the rust proofing process. Assuming that you do this right, and your restoring the entire car, and it has just returned from media blasting; you should have no problem locating the bad areas on the car.

This is the right time to do a truly professional rust proofing job on the car. This is the place in the process that the factory would have done it back in the day; if they had the technology that we do today.

You should take an awl, or a Philips screw driver under the car, and see if you can punch holes in any of the panels on the car; if you can, you need to repair the areas that you found. After you have checked the entire car; you will need to fix the ares that you found, and then we'll move to the next step in the process.

In this step we will remove all of the old seem sealer that the media blasting left behind. In all of the areas where two pieces of sheet metal join we will be using seam sealer to seal up the joints in the metal, this is a very important step, and it need to be done right, so take your time.

The first thing that we will do here is mask the seams to make it look professional; I like to leave about a 1/8 inch bead of seam sealer; in some areas it will have to be a little wider then 1/8 inch though. Don't worry if it needs a little more, it's no big deal.

I use 3M Fast and Firm seam sealer in my shop to seal the seams, but the brand that you use in up to you; there are a lot of brands that do a good job. After you seam seal the entire car; you should let it harden for about 24 hours before you move to the rust proofing of the car.

This is the step where you do the actual rust proofing of the car; POR15 is what you should use for this, it's damn near bullet proof rust protection. You use a paint brush to apply it, and should never use it where sun light will beat on the car all of the time, it has no UV protection.

You should POR15 the entire underside of the car; I normally do three coats of it. The POR doesn't have to be wet to apply the next coat; if you let it dry a bit to long, don't worry about it. After you have done this; you have successfully completed the rust proofing project, it will last for years to come.

I will give you one warning about it though; it does not have any sound deadening capabilities; so you will need to put that on the floor board inside your car. Maybe some lizard skin; or something like that to finish the process, and you will have a car that is rust proofed the right way.

Car Restoration