Dog tag rust provention test

[expat]

I decided to do a little test today. About this time of year I apply something that I hope will keep the Tin worm at bay.

These are three of the things I have tried:

Fluid Film.

Homemade concoction of Chainsaw bar lube and melted paraffin wax.

Pro Form wax based permanent rust proofing.

I cut three 'Dog Tags' from a rusty Toyota door panel, most of the tag was cleaned to bare metal, acid washed, rinsed, rust bloom was allowed to form, then they were coated one side with each of the above products.



The tags have been hung by zip strips, from the rear frame member of my truck.

I will post the results when I change back from winter tires in the spring.

 

[dlundblad]

Ill be looking forward to this.

Thanks for taking the time to do this.

 

[cat843]

What was the middle one treated with? It does not look good already. I suspect your homemade brew.

 

[expat]

Originally Posted By: cat843
What was the middle one treated with? It does not look good already. I suspect your homemade brew.


Yes. The tags are stamped for identification.
the middle one was crudly coated with the remains of the Bar oil and Paraffin wax.
It was a little dirty having some bits muck in the tin, as a result of brushing it on inthe past.

 

[cjcride]

Interesting plan. No Rust Check or Krown arosol?

 

[Ducked]

Been meaning to try something like this, but I don't have any commercial products for comparison with the home-brew. Well done for actually doing something, er...but....

Some quibbles/suggestions:-

Painted metal may not be the best starting point, since its quite difficult to get it consistently to bare steel. Pallet strapping might be better.

Even in Canada, that's probably not a very high-threat test environment, since, though exposed to (salty?) road spray, they'll likely dry off quite quickly.

It might be worth clamping or screwing (perhaps with a self-tapper) a couple of tags together, with some overlap. That'd give you an area where water might be drawn in by capilliary attraction, and might be a better model of a car rust trap.

It'd also potentially give you a test of ease of application. Dipping is a bit more thorough than real whole-car treatment can be. If you sprayed on a sandwich tag, you'd get an idea of how well the stuff penetrates and subsequently protects, which is probably an important feature.

 

[demarpaint]

Subscribed.

 

[expat]

I am on Vancouver Island and close to the sea. Winters here are quite mild, but tend to be wet. I also drive a fare bit off road.

We are not Michigan, but rust is significant.

We do not have a Krown franchise on the Island (as far as I know). I have not seen Krown products sold locally.

 

[dailydriver]

I'd like to see this same type of test done with the more permanent solutions out there;

Wurth's Rust Guard

POR-15

etc.

 

[expat]

Originally Posted By: dailydriver
I'd like to see this same type of test done with the more permanent solutions out there;

Wurth's Rust Guard

POR-15

etc.


Well YOU could do it.

The reason I use the oily waxy stuff is, my truck was undersealed, and the underseal is in basically good condition, but I know it tends to dry and crack.

I could clean and scrape and apply POR or even primer paint or more underseal, but that is a heck of an amount of work. Plus I could miss areas I can't really see.

 

[buck91]

One of the reasons people opt for products like Fluid Film is due to ease of application and very reasonable effectiveness. If I was able and willing to strip my chassis, sandblast and proper recoat with POR-15 then I'd be all for a permanent solution.

FWIW, I did the proper application of POR-15 starting with marine clean, then the etcher and phosphate finishing with the POR-15 and no UV topcoat on an old very rusted machete blade about a decade ago. It sees mixed use up north every summer from light brush to batonning logs for a fire. The POR-15 has held up amazing with just some errosion along the edge bevel as well as the spine from use, but otherwise its holding up great with no peeling or rust.

 

[dailydriver]

I've done an "improper' application (NO stripping/cleaning, and ONE coat brushed directly onto rust spots) of the Wurth Rust Guard, on the under side of parts of my unibody, and they are holding up very well to 5+ years of our 'salt soup' winters here.

 

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted By: expat
Originally Posted By: dailydriver
I'd like to see this same type of test done with the more permanent solutions out there;

Wurth's Rust Guard

POR-15

etc.


Well YOU could do it.


Actually, right now, I could not since Wurth has stopped offering this product due to supply reasons.
When they find another supplier, and start manufacturing it again, then yes, I could.

 

[dlundblad]

Have you taken a look at these yet OP?

 

[expat]

Yesterday the weather was good and I was able to give the truck a post winter clean.
More importantly for this tread, I was able to retrieve the dog tags.

The tags were attached to the frame by two links of zip strips and were possitioned behind my undermount spare tire and the rear bumper. My thoughts were in that possition, they would get a good blast of water, salt, road muck etc.

We have had a very mild winter here on Vancouver Island, but very wet. We did get several days of sub 0c and the truck was exposed to salt. I also put quite a few off road/mud road miles
On the truck, and I was beginning to think the dirt wash could be so severe, that this experiment could be inconclusive.

Here are the tags as they came off the truck yesterday:

[img:left]http://[/img]

The tags are Left to Right Wax and Oil mix, Fluid Film, Pro Form.
Not much to see here.

The tags were then cleaned in hot soapy water, and rubbed gently with my fingers.
The Fluid Film and Wax and Oil tags could be felt to still have coating.

[img:left]http://[/img]

Both the Fluid Film and the Wax and Oil tags were unblemished! The Pro Form tag shows heavy rust. I did NOT expect this result!

Here is another shot:
[img:left]http://[/img]

I have no interest in Fluid Film or ProForm products. Both were bought from my local Auto supply store.

The Wax and Oil mix was a home brew made several years ago from Chainsaw Bar oil (summer weight) 2 liters heated to melt 4- 5" wax candles (Ikea)

 

[buck91]

Wow, impressive results from Fluid Film! Despite its fan base, most concede that it washes/rinses off easily in highly exposed areas; looks like your test blew that theory out of the water.

Looks like I have chosen well for our family fleet

 

[sciphi]

Thank you for posting an update!

Good to see that there are several effective rust preventatives available both commercially and DIY.

I've seen FF in areas on our two cars where I could have sworn it would have been washed off. It doesn't need to be super-thick to be effective, that's for sure.

 

[expat]

Frankly I was 'as' surprised how POORLY the Pro Form performed as I was how WELL the Fluid Film and the home brew did.

I might re-do the test with the FF, the home brew and perhaps another product to see how they do in a longer term and summer use.

 

[turtlevette]

I'm not understanding. They all look rusted to me. None show evidence of oilyness or waxiness from the original coating. It looks like you polished the left 2 with a buffer wheel.

 

[sciphi]

Originally Posted By: turtlevette
I'm not understanding. They all look rusted to me. None show evidence of oilyness or waxiness from the original coating. It looks like you polished the left 2 with a buffer wheel.




It's showing that when the dirt is removed, the metal underneath is rust-free.

Having used FF for 5 years on our cars now, I'd agree with those results. Bolts that look all sorts of crusty turn out to be merely dirty (and easy to remove).