Back in the 90s I used to get my 1990 Integra sprayed by Krown every year. It stayed rust free except for a serious issue at the top of the windshield that came blistering out from under the trim. I think that during a windshield replacement the seam and coatings were damaged allowing rust. Others said it was clogged sunroof drains (which I don't think were ever clogged since I checked them every now and then).
Other than that, as the years went by I started getting thumbs up and specific comments from mechanics (even dealer mechanics who never talk directly to customers) about how easy the car was to work on compared to everything else they see.
One thing that bothered me was that every sunny day until about June oil would come dripping out of all of the drains. Furthermore my spare tire well and other similar areas were full of pools of Krown which ran down from the C pillars and the like. I didn't DIY much of anything in the early 90s and had nowhere to work on the car (first a student, then a high rise apartment dweller).
When I got my current 1998 BMW in 2001 it was recommended to me by several people (mechanics, forums, owner's clubs) NOT to spray it. This is partially because the seam sealing and galvanized construction was a far cry from what Acura was doing - supposedly. All of the important suspension and subframe components are also aluminum so they are not subject to rust. I was starting to DIY a lot of things and I know I didn't particularly want everything to be sitting in pools of oil and have dirt attracted all over so I left it.
I still rust protect myself by getting under the car, spraying inside cavities etc... I've used Amsoil MP and MPHD, Rust Check (thin and thick), Krown, Wurth Body Cavity Protection spray, Wurth Stoneguard Lite, straight Tremclad paint in some areas of the underbody and a bunch of other things. This daily driver, salt encrusted BMW has developed little rust.
One area was the lower seams in the front doors. On closer inspection it appears that the seam sealing machine was malfunctioning the day my car was built and wasn't properly heating the stick of sealer. In some places it was still a rectangular strip of plastic like material sitting on top of the seam and painted over. Nice. Krown may have prevented this. Either way I didn't let it progress very far and had a body shop reseal the seams. All of the door cavities receive a thin treatment like Amsoil MP, Krown, or Wurth BCPS.
Another area of trouble has been the trunk lid. I am not severely stressed over this area because in the very worst case it is a removable component which could be replaced. I have issues along part of the seam of the lid. No rusting is visible but the seam sealing, again, looks a little off. This area is always kept rust proofed 12 months of the year and hasn't changed in appearance since 2002. There is light rusting around the trunk release switch. The area is not visible unless the switch is removed and you're looking up from the ground so I simply keep this area clean, primed and painted although it's a very difficult area to do the job properly so I need to clean it up once per year or so. These trunk areas are "common" places to check for the model so no shockers there.
The final area is my side mirror mounts. The corrosion is whiteish and started underneath so I am led to believe it's aluminum. It's blistering under the black trim paint now, however, so it's not acting like aluminum. It's taken years to progress to a point where it's visible when you're not lying on the ground under the car and at least it's a fully removeable unit for refinishing and isn't connected to the frame or body panels.
Everything else is shiny and looks showroom. There's minor corrosion and surface rust on fasteners and some seams on the underbody. I clean and protect all of the welds and spray inside any plugged cavities I can get spray into. I'm contemplating going into a Krown location before they get busy and chat with the owner/operator about not wanting drilled holes and not wanting pools of Krown in every body cavity that comes pouring out the drains until mid-summer. It's also possible that they use less product now so that wouldn't be a problem in the first place.
I am now kind of wishing I started taking this car to Krown about 6 years ago as it would probably have zero issues. On the other hand I am still DIYing reasonably effective protection and I don't have any of the mess I got between 10-20 years ago with Krown.
Other than that, as the years went by I started getting thumbs up and specific comments from mechanics (even dealer mechanics who never talk directly to customers) about how easy the car was to work on compared to everything else they see.
One thing that bothered me was that every sunny day until about June oil would come dripping out of all of the drains. Furthermore my spare tire well and other similar areas were full of pools of Krown which ran down from the C pillars and the like. I didn't DIY much of anything in the early 90s and had nowhere to work on the car (first a student, then a high rise apartment dweller).
When I got my current 1998 BMW in 2001 it was recommended to me by several people (mechanics, forums, owner's clubs) NOT to spray it. This is partially because the seam sealing and galvanized construction was a far cry from what Acura was doing - supposedly. All of the important suspension and subframe components are also aluminum so they are not subject to rust. I was starting to DIY a lot of things and I know I didn't particularly want everything to be sitting in pools of oil and have dirt attracted all over so I left it.
I still rust protect myself by getting under the car, spraying inside cavities etc... I've used Amsoil MP and MPHD, Rust Check (thin and thick), Krown, Wurth Body Cavity Protection spray, Wurth Stoneguard Lite, straight Tremclad paint in some areas of the underbody and a bunch of other things. This daily driver, salt encrusted BMW has developed little rust.
One area was the lower seams in the front doors. On closer inspection it appears that the seam sealing machine was malfunctioning the day my car was built and wasn't properly heating the stick of sealer. In some places it was still a rectangular strip of plastic like material sitting on top of the seam and painted over. Nice. Krown may have prevented this. Either way I didn't let it progress very far and had a body shop reseal the seams. All of the door cavities receive a thin treatment like Amsoil MP, Krown, or Wurth BCPS.
Another area of trouble has been the trunk lid. I am not severely stressed over this area because in the very worst case it is a removable component which could be replaced. I have issues along part of the seam of the lid. No rusting is visible but the seam sealing, again, looks a little off. This area is always kept rust proofed 12 months of the year and hasn't changed in appearance since 2002. There is light rusting around the trunk release switch. The area is not visible unless the switch is removed and you're looking up from the ground so I simply keep this area clean, primed and painted although it's a very difficult area to do the job properly so I need to clean it up once per year or so. These trunk areas are "common" places to check for the model so no shockers there.
The final area is my side mirror mounts. The corrosion is whiteish and started underneath so I am led to believe it's aluminum. It's blistering under the black trim paint now, however, so it's not acting like aluminum. It's taken years to progress to a point where it's visible when you're not lying on the ground under the car and at least it's a fully removeable unit for refinishing and isn't connected to the frame or body panels.
Everything else is shiny and looks showroom. There's minor corrosion and surface rust on fasteners and some seams on the underbody. I clean and protect all of the welds and spray inside any plugged cavities I can get spray into. I'm contemplating going into a Krown location before they get busy and chat with the owner/operator about not wanting drilled holes and not wanting pools of Krown in every body cavity that comes pouring out the drains until mid-summer. It's also possible that they use less product now so that wouldn't be a problem in the first place.
I am now kind of wishing I started taking this car to Krown about 6 years ago as it would probably have zero issues. On the other hand I am still DIYing reasonably effective protection and I don't have any of the mess I got between 10-20 years ago with Krown.
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