Undercoat, Rust Protection, 3M From Who?

[HyperMOA]

The wife just got a new vehicle. It’s been well past a decade since we had a new vehicle. Haven’t been in the market for these services for a long dang time. Who would you guys use for the above listed services? (In Edmonton or area) Ziebart, Ming, JR’s, or the dealer? Any recommendations or horror stories?

Anything you would do or wouldn’t do? Little bit of research I’ve done says Expel is better than 3M. Undercoating I like for noise deadening over anything. Never used the rust protectant. Gonna see if Tirebob can hook me up with a winter tire package. Once the vehicle leaves the lot there is a bunch of costs to these cursed vehicles!!! Oh well, if this one lasts as long as the last I’ll be doing OK.

[Dean2]

Undercoating a car is a bad idea. It will eventually separate and then is traps water and salt between the undercoating and the car. Keeping the car clean, waxed and undercarriage washed off is a far better rust stopper than undercoating. I did try using the applied oil bath rust protectant "Rustcheck" applied by T and T Auto on 145St and 118 Ave. It is about $130 a year to apply it and if you are going to keep a vehicle for 10 or more years, it is worth doing. If you sell them more often, not so much.

As far as protective film, the best place I have found is Proform Auto Tint 3127-92 St Edm. Gerald did the last install and did an immaculate job, including Clay Barring the whole area before applying the film. They use a product called Premium Shield. It stands up far better than 3M and it does not yellow with age like the 3M does. He was about 40% cheaper than most of the other places I checked and WAY cheaper than the dealer.

[-JR-]

Is Ming still around ?

[elkhunter11]

I buy a can of Rustcheck, pull all of the plugs from under the vehicle, and doors, hood, tailgate etc, and spray it in myself. It will drip for a couple of days, but doing it every few years, I had no visible rust on my Tundra after 12 years. I do my own Scotchguard treatment as well.

[HyperMOA]

Originally Posted by Dean2

Undercoating a car is a bad idea. It will eventually separate and then is traps water and salt between the undercoating and the car. Keeping the car clean, waxed and undercarriage washed off is a far better rust stopper than undercoating. I did try using the applied oil bath rust protectant "Rustcheck" applied by T and T Auto on 145St and 118 Ave. It is about $130 a year to apply it and if you are going to keep a vehicle for 10 or more years, it is worth doing. If you sell them more often, not so much.

The car I’m done with is 12-13 years old and the undercoating is intact and lowered the sound in the cab noticeably. There are chunks scratched and knocked off, but no bubbles or pockets anywhere. I would think that if applied properly it should bond and not separate any easier than the paint bonds to the primer, or the primer to steel.

[gordfishing]

I just had the gm dealer take care of things

[HyperMOA]

Also, this car has the self-deploying running board/step so I can’t put on the nice colour matches fibreglass “mudflaps”. Are old fashioned rubber mud flaps my only choice to save the rocker panels? If so, who installs mud flaps professionally?

[nd4spd]

Originally Posted by HyperMOA

Also, this car has the self-deploying running board/step so I can’t put on the nice colour matches fibreglass “mudflaps”. Are old fashioned rubber mud flaps my only choice to save the rocker panels? If so, who installs mud flaps professionally?

Go see the guys at Styker Manufacturing in Edmonton. they make some really nice ones.

or go to Cap-it, Raven

[CaberTosser]

In June 2018 I got a new Sprinter 3500XD and I had the lower sills Line-X’d below the plastic body cladding line, the van is black so I didn’t need a custom color-match on the Line-X. I had them do the rear wheel wells, the front wheel wells were not necessary seeing as they have plastic liners. I also had them do an area on the back door under the door handle to protect from the wear a work vehicle experiences.

[Ice Fishing Maniac]

I had my 2017 Chev 2500HD CC LTZ undercoated and had the XPEL film protection pkg as well. I had the XPEL placed on the front and rear bumpers (white painted from factory), the front grill and headlights, mirror caps, front portion of the hood and front fenders, Roof pillars and front top of cab and entire tail gate. I also had part of the outside wheel wells as I had BUshwacker fender flares installed to help with rubbing from fender flares.

Almost 28 months later and no issues. No discolouration or lifting/peeling. There are a few rock dings and pitting from winter sand in front and rear bumpers and front of hood but not thru film. No rusting in painted bumpers. From towing trailers on asphalt and gravel roads no noticeable issues in tail gate or rear bumper. IMO worth the investment. No issues with undercoating either.

I had Xpel protection placed on my wife's new SUV last summer to front end and roof pillars and top of cab. Save it front winter sand abrasion.

[Rdamours]

I had mine done at JR's as he is a friend of a friend. They are very thorough and you can get a free checkup each year for touchups

[R3illy]

Keep in mind 3m has become a general term now a days most places will use a specific type of product now. I've used a couple different companies for this but the one I found best was pro form auto tint on the south side. They included a lifetime warranty and guaranteed the 3m would never yellow. Their pricing was more competitive.

When one of my cars got into an accident whatever stuff was used by a shop on the west end didnt make it past the first pressure wash that my vehicle had.

I just had my dealership 3m my truck out of simplicity for getting it done with an oil change. Had to fight them tooth and nail to get them to match the price everyone else was quoting. I hate dealerships.

[HyperMOA]

Originally Posted by nd4spd

Go see the guys at Styker Manufacturing in Edmonton. they make some really nice ones.

or go to Cap-it, Raven

I can see instagram pictures for Stryker but nothing else. Can't find any contact info. Looks like nice flaps, need to be able to find them though.

[coolpool]

I'm a true believer in rustproofing vehicles as I've bounced between AB and ON while in the forces. My 79 Blazer I drove for 22 years was sold with original floorboards, brake lines and gas tank in it in 2007. For me I've tried "Rustcheck" with good results but I'll go with "Krown" rustproofing over "Rustcheck" any day. The Krown product will actually creep up metal to get hard to reach places. Yes, it's messy, and yes it'll be ~130.00.

[Dean2]

Originally Posted by coolpool

I'm a true believer in rustproofing vehicles as I've bounced between AB and ON while in the forces. My 79 Blazer I drove for 22 years was sold with original floorboards, brake lines and gas tank in it in 2007. For me I've tried "Rustcheck" with good results but I'll go with "Krown" rustproofing over "Rustcheck" any day. The Krown product will actually creep up metal to get hard to reach places. Yes, it's messy, and yes it'll be ~130.00.

What is this "Known" product you speak of that creeps uphill? I presume it isn't undercoating but some type of oil that is reapplied regularly.

[coolpool]

Yes it's oil based like rust check. I's very popular with highway maintenance equipment to protect against salt/sand damage. Not to mention the positive results for the electrical under your vehicle. But as I said, it's not one and done, I do it every 2 years in AB and every year in ON. And it's Canadian!

https://www.krown.com/en/

[ak77]

Originally Posted by HyperMOA

I can see instagram pictures for Stryker but nothing else. Can't find any contact info. Looks like nice flaps, need to be able to find them though.

Hey, were you able to find the contact infor for those guys?

[HyperMOA]

Originally Posted by ak77

Hey, were you able to find the contact infor for those guys?

No I did not ever find anything more than instagram junk. I did end up at JR’s for undercoat, rust preventer, and Xpel film. Very professional and clean shop. I would highly recommend them.

[ak77]

Originally Posted by HyperMOA

No I did not ever find anything more than instagram junk. I did end up at JR’s for undercoat, rust preventer, and Xpel film. Very professional and clean shop. I would highly recommend them.

thanks for the info

[HyperMOA]

Originally Posted by ak77

thanks for the info

If you ever find info on the Stryker mud flaps let me know please.

[cfit]

I've been using Krown on my vehicles.

I got the first one treated at one of their authorized centers (someone already posted a link up in the thread). I didn't quite like their method, and I found it's better to just buy the product from them, and apply it myself. It comes in aerosol cans.

They mostly work on big rigs, and spray everything quite liberally: the undercarriage, under the hood, door sills and so on. They also drill holes in the vehicle body and inject the rust proofer into the body cavities like rocker panel. The treatment cost was around $150 a few years back.

Their application is quite thorough, but that has its problems. Areas of the vehicle not directly exposed to slush/brine spray (for example, under the hood) remain oily, and during the drier weather they attract quite a bit of dust and grime.

I prefer applying their product in a more focused manner, mostly to the undercarriage. This works well enough, however some high exposure areas like the hitch need to be treated more than once a season to remain rust-free.