Stop Doing This (Unless You Want Your Car To Rust)
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- Опубліковано 5 лют 2025
- Heated garages are like torture chambers for your car if it's covered in road salt. The rusting process speeds up in warmer temperatures so in the winter, it's better to leave your car out in the cold!
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Oil undercoat to stop rust. Keep in garage to keep engine, trans, differential, etc warmish to minimize wear during warmup.
The other downside to bringing a cold car into a warm room is all the moisture condenses on the cold steel, speeding the rust as well.
Unless the door between the garage and the inside of your house is open for a quarter of the day or more, the garage is gonna be a far drier environment than what you are speaking of, as most of the air inside a garage is outside air that has been heated up by the walls bordering the inside of a house.
I paint my frame once a year. Rustoleum rust proof followed by rustoleum enamel. No rust problems. It's garage kept in Northern Midwest.
Totally agree. May I add to also wash your car whenever temperature passes the freezing mark to at least remove most of the salt. Washing before freezing mark will work at a certain point but during the night all your locks and windows mechanism will freeze and it's not very pleasant dealing with that in the morning. Wont remove everything but will help. But even taking all these precautions the engine bay always mess up, aluminum engine/parts surface corrosion occurs and in some conditions rust is building in the firewall. Very difficult to have a rust free vehicle here in the north, we a fighting against the elements and salty roads. Great video!
I'd like a carport - keeps it out of the snow but the wind can still help dry and it avoids temperature swings
This might slow down rust but you are putting additional wear on your engine and transmission anytime the temperature is nearing or below -20C.
It’s easier to replace an engine or transmission compared to replacing a body.
Block heater is ideal.
Plug in the car. It really annoys me how many people don’t do this the engine will stay warm and fire up very easy.
Transmission isn't too big a deal if you drive it slow at first.
Engine can be warmed with a block heater.
Absurdly false. Transmission can be still cold even when you heat up the engine, you need to first drive slowly to get temperature into your transmission. That's basic knowledge and clearly you don't even know that.
Rust needs three things to develop. Heat , Air and Moisture the warmer it is the more humidity there is in the air. The air interacts with the moisture and rust forms. The colder it is outside the less moisture there is in the air and rust can’t form. But rust only happens when there’s exposed metal anything that’s not protected by paint will rust once it gets wet and is exposed to the air. Not washing your car regularly degrades the paint and rust finds a way the chemicals used on the roads degrade your cars paint so it’s best to wash to your car regularly in the winter. And if you really need to park in a garage make sure you dry the car off first.
5:11 Not just every time there’s a storm, but every time the temp dips below freezing. Since they are a thin layer of very thermally conductive material exposed to the cold and damp atmosphere on both sides, car windows are frost magnets.
You can mitigate, not eliminate, the rusting issue by keeping your garage at a lower temperature. I keep mine at 0*C, chilly, but when it’s minus 20 outside and you step inside it feels pretty nice and no brushing or scraping
Never store a salted car in a heated garage. It is the kiss of death. Commercial automatic car washes recycle the water, so in the winter the salt is concentrated in the wash / under spray water. Better to hose off at home with fresh water. I have a Fluid Film treatment annually.
As soon as I clicked on the video I started to write a comment about the Arrhenius equation. 100% correct, sir. (Nearly) all chemical reactions speed up with temperature. That includes corrosion reactions.
It's the same reason batteries have less "charge" when it's cold out. The chemical reaction that drives the battery slows down when it's cold out. And if you get out a microscope, that's exactly what's happening with rust. Rust is essentially thousands of tiny little batteries on the surface of a metal at grain boundaries and interfaces between dissimilar metals. That simply just goes slower if it's kept cold.
I generally don't wash my cars until the temperature starts changing and store my car in my ice Cold Garage, there's literally a massive hole where a door is supposed to be in the back XD
Painting the undercarriage is terrible idea…moisture gets trapped between the paint and the frame….eventually long term the frame will rust inside out. Best way to protect frame is a simple oil based rustproofing. If it doesn’t drip, then it’s useless.
I only painted a tiny spot on the frame (which is covered in oil inside and out now). The rest was just the fuel tank skid so I'm not worried
So what you’re saying is, don’t fix my oil leaks. Say less
Yes and no, if you want it to truly remain almost rust free for >10y you can strip to bare metal, use rust converter/epoxy primer, apply UBS in all the seams and over the primer and then apply the proper wax over it so it doesn't dry out and form cracks. The only real maintenance would be to every few years check the wax coating if done right.
Just sprinkling oil over metal that might have rust in pores is not ideal even on new cars.
@@joef8487essentially the basics of water and oil doesn’t mix. Common sense pays off big time. There is no way to stop rust but we can slow it down…there are better ways to slow down the rust and there are worst ways. We want to avoid making barriers between metal….I can’t think of any better way other than using oil or wool wax….I prefer Krown but that just my experience of 30 years of owning vehicles in the corrupt land of Ontario. Ontario uses so much salt that it is paralyzed drivers how to drive on snow and ice.
Cosmoline would disagree.
Temperature is a catalyst for corrosion. If you put a bare piece of clean, dry steel in a freezer and another identical piece in an oven, the warmer metal will oxidize exponentially faster. If you add an electrolytic fluid to the surface of the steel like road salt, it further accelerated the corrosion. Coating the steel with paint requires coating the entire surface, which is why cars are dipped in a zinc concentrated e-coat which coats to protect the metal but also acts as a sacrificial layer. The paint then goes on top of the e-coat. For a truck frame, this is done from the factory with a wax coating because a truck frame is subject to a lot of damage like stone chips, off-roading damage, etc. because you can’t really prep the frame really well, painting it is not a good idea unless you dip the whole frame in acid and then e-coat. For most average people not doing a frame off restoration, coating the frame in a thin oil like that from Krown, is the best way to go. Never cost your frame with a tar based or shell-like protective coating. Those coatings don’t adhere well, and then they pull away and actually TRAP moisture behind these crusty cavities. Soft oil coatings like Krown stay adhered to the surface and they never flake off.
I agree except Krown does very poorly in salt spray tests. Fluid Film is mid range, Rust Check Coat and Protect is slightly better, Waxoyl is best but pricey.
yep! I own two Mazdas and a Toyota Highlander. The Miata (24 years old) is in the garage all its life and never sees salt (or rain, but that's another story) and my Mazda3 (11 years old) and Highlander (7 years old) stay outside 100% of their lives. Best way to keep the salt from corroding is to lower the temperature. I believe somewhere around -35*C, it's relatively innactive.
I'd love to wash my cars but I have no time to do so. I also use block heaters on the daily drivers so their engine internals, coolant, oil aren't totally freezing at startup.
Miata guys are weird.
@@Justin-lc1xz how so? the fact that I keep it from rain? Or the block heaters on our daily drivers?
ya that is true, I live in Canada.
One thing to add....While I live in Texas, the land of y'all....and have a garage, it is not heated. So should I not worry and park inside? Well....yes and no. If they hit the roads with the salt nasty brine liquid before and during a storm, and you did lots of driving those days. Leave the car outside. My "Unheated" garage usually never goes below 50 F (10 C), So anything frozen on it does melt overnight or the next couple days. It probably would outside too, but if the weather stays cold....then the same effect happens. When it warms up, I go get the car washed and can put it back inside my garage. Why can't we have a cookie!! Those looked good!!
Great tip 😂 with some humor ! Thanks new subscriber.
good as usual!
I use a dehumidifier in my garage and I squeegee out all the water that comes off my vehicle. Not ideal but it helps.
Garage science with Tim
Easiest way to prevent rust is wash the vehicle. Or at least spray under it to get the salt off. Use a sprinkler under it and it gets all the salt off
Then drive back on the road with a nice warm frame and pick up all the salt...expediting the rust process!
@MeltingRubberZ28 obviously let it dry... so no.
Been doing this for years. It’s fine! I undercoat my truck as well
I have my Tundra treated with Krown every 6 months.
I’ll trust a Canadian over an American on how to not rust a vehicle in the snow.
he has a point but reality is it will rust either way if it's sitting outside with rust or inside.. u would need to wash your car (and underside) everytime after u drive in a road with salt.
@@SHOUTband True, but the point is to slow down the rust, not completely stop it. Making the car last 25 years instead of 5.
@@SHOUTbandyou can’t wash a vehicle of it never gets warmer than -10degC for months on end. In those cases, keeping your vehicle cold will prevent rust.
Do you believe cars that are undercoated with oil spray should be regularly rinsed with a desalinization solution or salt/brine remover?
I leave the oil alone for the winter, but washing the body is fine
With a non deleted diesel, you have to park in the garage.
A heated garage 🙆 . I suddenly feel like i live in the 4th world not 3rd anymore.
Almost all my vehicle bodies are custom fabricated from carbon fiber, titanium, Monel and 316 stainless. The others are built from fiberglass, teak and, cedar and fastened with 316 stainless or Everdur, silicon, bronze. No corrosion issues.
Good for you bro
What if my garage is not insulated well and is cold as heck too
That’s fine he was talking about heated garages.
But when you put car with hot engine to garage. Snow start melting too and garage will be to much wet anyway.
I think car should not go to garage at all during winter.
Maybe it’s a dumb question but if I got my undercarriage / frame oil sprayed back in the summer, is it okay to still go to a car wash that sprays the undercarriage / frame as well? Or is it better to just wash the body only?
I live in Maine and I see no point in any car washes during the winter. I wash it in the fall, make sure the under carriage is thoroughly oiled up with Fluid Film and then I wash it again in the spring. I’ll clean the inside periodically, but not the outside.
Yeah you can wash the undercarriage frame no problem, the oil is there to protect the car against water and salt. It would be worthless if a simple carwash got rid of it. It won't hurt as long as a few days have passed after the rust treatment for the oil to settle in, and you don't use a strong shampoo or degreaser such as Varsol.
@@noseboop4354 Sweet thanks!
Thank god I don't live in a province that dumps tons of road salt.
W trailer park boys reference.
I had to do it to em
explains at 2:49
Hmm, what is this rust you speak of? 😁 Glad I dont have to deal with all that here in the desert southwest!
3:16 what can I say... That's a fantastic pot you got there
It's the 2nd best dutch oven we have (I'm the 1st)
It makes sense.
So next time, if you hate a person, tell them to have a garage or help them by telling them they can park in your garage! They think you are helpfull while you think about RUST!
Also, the salty runoff on the floor will rust the nice car...
Toyota's have always been rust buckets.
How does your wife or GF feel about this trick?
She's tough and loves the 4Runner so no complaints from her at all
Can confirm it. My garage isn't heated, but has no ventilation. I once washed my car in the summer and didn't allow it to dry in the sun, parked in the garage and after a few days my fender's wheel arch was rusty and the paint started bubbling. I understand that the arch was already rusty on the inside, but the warm and non ventilated environment accelerated corrosion so much.
I'm still going to park it inside.
Not leaving my 24 runner outside. I wash it twice after salt and park it inside.
What about a day when you have to go out three or four times? Are you washing your car 6 or 8 times a day?
Salt residue is on the roads for weeks after the last application. Any time you drive during the winter you're getting salt on the bottom. Go with a good oil like Fluid Film for the next year.
@@winstonpoplin I literally wash my car twice a day on salty days. And I fluid film it and frame is rubberized coated.
I also don't drive it in snowy salty days. Thanks.
Oh what a crock of shit. I've been parking in heated garages for 27 years now. Current truck is almost 13 years ago. The small rust it does have is from the design of the truck. In fact the same model and year I see of people that do park outside are way worse than mine ever will be Another 2017 in the same garage, zero rust. Previous cars or minivans kept for a decade, same thing, no rust. I also laugh at the people in -35 in Canada as they are scraping windshields, blowing off snow and getting into a rock hard frozen vehicle,. as their garage is full of random shit. So you park 100K of vehicles outside, to store 5K of stuff inside. Also means I can clean my vehicles when I want, or if washing them, park inside for them to dry and not have the doors and windows frozen closed. Classic cars, I never see parked on the street, where are they, inside the garage.
Im no mechanic, but I also call bullshit out when I see it. Because it also depends where you live and what they use on the roads in the winter.
That’s pretty interesting.
Absolutely wrong
How so