Let’s Talk Rust Proofing, Shall We?

I just bought a new car this month! So, in the name of longevity I decided to look into a subject I had never considered before rustproofing treatments.

Before my new Jetta, all my cars had been used and well, shall I say, advanced in age when I purchased them. Because they already had a little bit of rust and minor nicks and scratches, I thought it would be a waste of money paying for rust protection.

On top of that, investing money into my already “well-loved” cars that were only worth about $1,500 didn’t make a lot of sense to me. Anyway, now that I have something worth protecting I took the time to do some research.

Long-Term/Permanent Rust Proofing

From what I’ve learned, to properly protect your vehicle, you need to get a treatment or a check up annually as soon as it comes under your care. With that said, there are two methods that offer longer-term protection: The Tar-Based spray treatment and the Electronic Module.

The tar-based spray gets applied once and lasts for about ten years, give or take. The catch is, it doesn’t cover the entire body of your car and you will still need to get the work checked out once a year, so it won’t save you a lot of time; but the thicker layer of protection on the undercarriage is extremely effective.

The jury is out for the Electronic Module. From what I’ve read it can be hit or miss. As it’s a one-time installation, it could potentially save you time, but since it’s a more expensive method and not entirely reliable, I feel like it’s safer going with traditional methods until the tech catches up with the tried and true methods.

Annual Rust Proofing Treatments

The Oil Spray method is the most popular option for protecting your vehicle against rust and one of the most recommended by experts. It involves small holes being drilled into your car and a yearly reapplication.

This rust treatment comes in two forms, Drip and Dripless. Like the names would suggest, one drips and the other one doesn’t. What does that mean in terms of protection? While being slightly more inconvenient, the drip spray is formulated to get to the hard to reach spots of your car while the dripless spray is formulated to be less of a hassle but slightly less protective as it doesn’t have the same reach as its counterpart.

Your situation will decide which option works best for you. If you park on the street then you might not mind that oil stain under your car, but if you park in your pristine garage that acts as a lounge as well, then maybe you’d be more into the dripless option.

Price-wise, it’s always best to shop around for rust proofing treatments. Dealerships offer hands down the most expensive treatments, while specialists generally offer more competitive pricing. In addition, a specialist will generally perform a more skillful application.

While I was looking at the UniglassPlus/Ziebart site for options and other protection ideas, I stumbled upon something awesome. In addition to rust proofing the underside of my car with the tar-based spray, some companies apparently offer an alternative and super-thick layer of protection that reduces sound and vibration while driving, in addition to a thicker layer of rust protection. Just like the tar-based spray it is applied to the underside of the car.

This extra layer of protection cuts road noise and vibrations down by 60%. For me, this was the perfect option, rust proofing with a little something extra. I understand the importance of rust proofing, but at the same time, there was still part of me that didn’t want to pay for it. But, as someone who is somewhat sensitive to noise, I couldn’t resist the idea to protect my new baby from rust while at the same time reducing noise in my car making my overall driving experience more pleasant!

My Final Decision

After familiarizing myself with all my options, I decided on the sound-proofing option. As I said before, it felt like I was getting more value for my money that way. I made an appointment for that same afternoon. The appointment took about an hour from start to finish and my driving experience has significantly improved.

These days when driving with passengers we can all hear each other more easily making conversations with the back-seat passengers not nearly as annoying. In addition, and more importantly for myself, when I’m driving solo I can hear my music crystal clear without needing to crank up the volume. Guitar solos and vocals are purer and aren’t overshadowed by the vibrations of the road and that constant hum of air passing under your car.