Krown vs Penetroil vs other competitors for rust proofing?

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I recently picked up a 2006 mazda 3 hatchback, i also want to add that i live in canada. We have long winters here and "The city uses several products to manage the snow and ice, including a mixture of sand and salt, gravel, and magnesium chloride."


The car is in decent shape and not as bad as the other gen 1 mazda's that were in my price range. I want to keep the car for probably 2-3 years as long as no extremely large repairs. There is some light rust on the body just in some places but I don't mind too much, seems like the paint chipped off, and some light rusting in in the wheel well areas. I am looking to get the car professionally undercoated to protect against future rust/corrosion etc and was looking for recommendations. Also for the painted area's like wheel wells and where the paint is chipping off, or where there is already rust - I was thinking of repainting those areas with some touch up paint or something to cover the rust and maybe apply some product by myself every few months in those areas? thanks!

So in the city I live in, we dont have many places to get this type of work done since we are small.
There is a place that does Penetroil undercoating for $179 for my car, it seems to be a oil dripless spray type of thing, has to be reapplied yearly. This is just the undercoat quote, I don't want to spend more then this so I prefer to just get the undercoat done and do the painted places by myself etc

Outside of my city theres probably unlimited options like fluid film, corrosion free, krown etc
I called a krown dealer and seems like they can do the undercoat for $140 ish

So my question is:

1. if you were in my position which product would you get? even if its unlisted I can do some research and see what city has it. I am looking to just slowdown future rust/corrosion etc. in my case is it worth it to get krown done ? or is penetroil good enough since its local anyways? budget is no more then $200 would prefer a cheaper product if i have to have applied yearly like in the $100 range etc

2. which product do u recommend that i buy for myself which i can spray on the painted area's/places that the undercoating doesnt cover every few months or whatever


thanks!
 
Look into Woolwax. You can order yourself a gallon with a spray gun and do the whole project yourself. A little thicker product than some others thus holding up a little better. If you dont have a compressor then it can be applied with a cheap airless sprayer from harbor freight. Harmless product that works great.
 
Seems to me you're overthinking this.
Go with the do it yourself such as Woolwax or go with Krown, they do body cavities and underbody.
I just do the annual Krown for the home fleet and I don't worry about it after that.
 
It's an old car. It's already going to have lots of rust set in like you mention. If you don't have the means to DIY with an air line and compressor, I'd buy a case or two of any of the rattle can spray on products and DIY. Fluid film, krown, noxudol, etc.
 
That Mazda probably has more rust than you can see. Rust normally starts behind the panels and works outward. Have you jacked up the car and looked at the Rust on the frame and suspension parts?

If you have your own air compressor and want to invest in the spray gun, you can do it yourself for cheaper in the long run.

Krown and those products are only as good as the guys that apply them and hopefully they don't miss spots. Ask me how I know.
 
Thanks for all the replies! I don’t mind spending the $140 on krown or $180 on the one local. Just wondering if any of the products are noticeably better then the others because for example if one lasts longer then I would for sure prefer to try that one
 
I go to a auto body shop who is also a authorized Krown facility. I bought my Forester new in 2018' had it Krown sprayed before its first winter. So now after 2 Northeast Ohio winters it is Rust free! I have it resprayed every summer. Not a trace of rust! The undercarriage of my Subaru still has the film of Krown on it even 12 months after the application.
 
Have a look at Project Farm's analysis. Also, there are other informal tests out there on U Tube. Unfortunately Krown and Penetroil were not test subjects on PF. I ordered a case of Krown on Amazon.ca and use it to spot treat a 15 year old Taurus that spent most of its life in Kelowna, BC. If you like do your own test on your proposed choices. There is also a safety reason to pick a good product. I noticed the brake lines along the back half of the car are rusting. For now I have spray Krowned on them but I may have to replace them.

 
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great thanks! any recommendations on products i can use on the rusted painted surfaces? or am i just supposed to touch up paint those spots?
 
I'm a big fan of rustproofing/undercoating and have done it to my vehicles for years and years, including even doing it myself, occasionally, so getting anything done is better than doing nothing at all, imo.
Regardless, everyone has their favorites and like what has already been said, a lot depends on the applicator but I prefer Rust Check over Krown. I personally believe it lasts longer and when I did have my truck (13Ram) undercoated with Krown 2-3 yrs ago, this is what happened with my door seals over a period of time. I have read this is not unusual for Ram door rubbers but I wish I had of known about this prior! In all my years of using Rust Check on a variety of vehicles, this has never happened before. I know it is a specific Ram/Chrysler problem, but this really ticked me off.
 

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I'm a big fan of rustproofing/undercoating and have done it to my vehicles for years and years, including even doing it myself, occasionally, so getting anything done is better than doing nothing at all, imo.
Regardless, everyone has their favorites and like what has already been said, a lot depends on the applicator but I prefer Rust Check over Krown. I personally believe it lasts longer and when I did have my truck (13Ram) undercoated with Krown 2-3 yrs ago, this is what happened with my door seals over a period of time. I have read this is not unusual for Ram door rubbers but I wish I had of known about this prior! In all my years of using Rust Check on a variety of vehicles, this has never happened before. I know it is a specific Ram/Chrysler problem, but this really ticked me off.

So true that ANY oil or wax type spray on coating is better than nothing.

I have also heard good things about Rust Check. I know I looked into Corrosion Free in my area (which I believe is similar), but one treatment cost about what 4yrs worth of Krown would.

With your Ram door seal issue, I wonder if the place who applied it cut the Krown material with something. I know the one time I used a Krown outfit in the Buffalo NY area, I wasn't happy with the application at all and the product was very thin.
 
So true that ANY oil or wax type spray on coating is better than nothing.

I have also heard good things about Rust Check. I know I looked into Corrosion Free in my area (which I believe is similar), but one treatment cost about what 4yrs worth of Krown would.

With your Ram door seal issue, I wonder if the place who applied it cut the Krown material with something. I know the one time I used a Krown outfit in the Buffalo NY area, I wasn't happy with the application at all and the product was very thin.

I suppose that is possible and wouldn't be unheard of this day and age but I, of course, have no idea? I read or was told by someone that they, Krown, are suppose to apply a wax of some sort on these seals prior to spraying their product? I would assume, by the looks of mine, that I didn't receive the spray but again, I am unsure how true that is?

The thing with this issue, it didn't happen over night. I am unsure how many days/weeks passed before I noticed it as it is something one doesn't normally look it nor notice until it is too late. Regardless, I haven't went back and I will strictly be using Rust Check going forward for all vehicles.
 
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I have had my vehicles sprayed with CarWell and NH Coatings. Both done at shops.

I would talk to both shops and determine who is the more experienced person who will do the spraying vs which product.

NH Coatings seems to creep farther than other products.
 
I personally believe it lasts longer and when I did have my truck (13Ram) undercoated with Krown 2-3 yrs ago, this is what happened with my door seals over a period of time. I have read this is not unusual for Ram door rubbers but I wish I had of known about this prior! In all my years of using Rust Check on a variety of vehicles, this has never happened before. I know it is a specific Ram/Chrysler problem, but this really ticked me off.
I have also experienced that kind of thing with Krown. (worst on a 1990 Integra treated by a Krown franchise through the 94-2000 period) I also saw some early signs of it on other kinds of rubber on other vehicles lightly treated myself by Krown in aerosol cans.
 
24 cans free shipping.
smells great too.

How's it working? You got any pictures underneath in winter conditions? I want to see how that cosmoline interacts with the sand and salt
 
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