Have I gone too far?

[Don]

Back when we first got the wife's Jeep, I let her talk me out of getting it undercoated - not exactly detailer-like wanting to put oily crud all over parts of their car, but necessary in NE Ohio, AKA the Rust Belt.

Well after all the work I've been forced to do to the Jeep because of this omission (welding in new floors, extensive use of tar & other nasty things to seal all the gaps and seams etc.), I decided to do a bit of preventative maintenance on the Suzuki. After I deep clean the undercarriage, I’m going to start with a good coating of cold galvanizing and follow up with some brush on bedliner.

Here is the car and you can see the gray where I’ve already coated the undercarriage and took the rear bumper cover off so I could get to the hard-to-reach, but swift-to-rust areas of the car. I even took out the body vents so I can clean them and the bottom of the fenderwell. Who knows how deep the obsession will take you?

[Raymond]

Re: Have I gone too far?

One more reason I love living in Florida. At least you care enough to do that stuff man, too many people out there wouldn't even tough that kind of work/dedication. Keep it up!

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: Have I gone too far?

I think its great. Your vehicles are going to last forever. Great attention to detail.

[CAShine]

Re: Have I gone too far?

Sounds like a lot of work. I am sure you are saving a ton by doing it yourself.

[gb387]

Re: Have I gone too far?

Does sound like a lot of work... quickly looking over the photo I thought you were going to talk about a wrecked car! Anyway... I am sure its good preventive maintenance.

[Forever New]

Re: Have I gone too far?

I agree with the guy above, another reason I live in Florida. Good to see you taking the steps though to protect the car.

[Don]

Re: Have I gone too far? New pics

Here is the finished results just before reassembling the rear end:

[christian6984]

Re: Have I gone too far?

great work its for the best, and in england cars need to have good protection from the damp environment it rains tons, and winter there is salt on the roads every day. protecting the car from rust is essential as it could prove more costly to fix than the car is worth eventually, We find it hard to keep classics over hear as cars that were say pre-1980 are suffering and the ones from the 70's and 60's i am told by my dad were rusting terribly in just a year or two after purchase.

Another thought, Suzuki being japanese is to your advantage as they are well known or were for their paint quality. my sister runs a 1990 nissan micra and the paint finish is outstanding, i bet it has twice the paint of a modern car on it. Plus under the bonnet is all painted properly and all the shuts, these areas on new cars get a quick once over hence sometimes look dull or rough which is bad for the long term in less than perfect climate conditions.

Christian

[Mark2]

Re: Have I gone too far?

Here in Scandinavia Japanese cars are not considered to be very well protected against rust. Reliable yes, but rust quickly. But it's way better now than a few years back. And some brands put extra rustproofing on cars that come here.
Audis and VW are very well protected from the factory.

[yalerd]

Re: Have I gone too far?

You did a fantastic job
It looks very nice and clean

[Jokeman]

Re: Have I gone too far?

Looks good. Check into POR-15 or Eastwood rust proofing. I know both work great!

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: Have I gone too far?

It looks like you did a very good job. She will last forever now. Good work.