Undercoating with used motor oil? - Montana Owners Club

DonandBonnie · 10-10-2012, 01:27 AM

Here's a new one on me. My step son told me that I should undercoat my truck with used motor oil. Didn't sound right to me so I asked the shop owner where I had my vehicles worked on. He said that he brings in a guy with a used oil pressure washer every fall to do it. The used motor oil impregnates the metal and prevents rust. He says it has to be used motor oil, new won't work. It has to be reapplied every few years and if you get it done you have to leave your vehicle for a couple of days for the excess to drip off.

Even if it's a great idea, not sure I want to do it to a new truck. Has anybody heard of such a thing

Tom S. · 10-10-2012, 02:03 AM

I'll pass. To begin with, used motor oil is a carcinogen and since I do my own maintenance, I try to avoid contact with it as much as possible. Next is the fact that oil attracts and holds dirt, including salt if you live in a state that uses it for winter driving. Nor will the oil stay in place long. It is a liquid and on a vertical surface it will quickly run off leaving no protection. Last, I use oil films as a method of determining leaks that need to be repaired. Pretty hard to spot them if the whole undercarriage is covered.

If you want to prevent rust, have your frame/undercarriage coated with rust proofing. It makes it miserable to work on afterwards, but will far better than used motor oil and is more environmentally friendly than used motor oil.

MIMF · 10-10-2012, 02:14 AM

Every year, I buy 2 or 3 spray cans of automotive undercoating. I get on my creeper and start at one end of the truck and spray the frame, inside of bumpers, etc. I have heard of people using old oil and often thought it could be messy for several days afterwords.

WeBeFulltime · 10-10-2012, 02:14 AM

Just as soon as you have this done and pay the guy, come see me.

I have an oceanfront lot in AZ I'm letting go real cheap!

Snake oil!

Tfthorp · 10-10-2012, 02:29 AM

I havent done it but I do know others that have and we have our fire trucks done everyother year. Works great wish I had done it on mine since it is now rusting away due to the salt put on the roads in Vt.

DonandBonnie · 10-10-2012, 02:33 AM

Sounded fishy to me too. My step son swears by it, but I can tell you it ain't gonna happen to my truck. By the way, he is in northern Ohio where there is more road salt on the highway than asphalt.

I don't need any beach front property in Arizona. Already got some in Nevada. Just waiting for California to fall into the ocean.

1retired06 · 10-10-2012, 02:50 AM

Agree, waste of money. If concerned about undercoating, get real undercoating.

racerjoe · 10-10-2012, 02:54 AM

I would go back to ford and have them undercoat it once. for about 500 dollars it is over,no returns and it is complete and dry. I can't imagine what the underside looks like after driving on dusty roads. at first,everything must stick to it. not my idea of fun..

DonandBonnie · 10-10-2012, 03:04 AM

I asked about undercoating. Ford says the entire underside is power coated and traditional undercoating is unnecessary.

Tom S. · 10-10-2012, 06:05 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by DonandBonnie

I asked about undercoating. Ford says the entire underside is power coated and traditional undercoating is unnecessary.

They are telling you that because they don't do undercoating. If they did, they would be telling something different.

Powder coating is OK, but it's not as durable as undercoating. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a big advocate for undercoating. I just figure I'll be long dead and buried before the rust on my truck frame gets bad enough to effect anything other than looks.

**DQDick** · 10-10-2012, 07:32 AM

Out here in the country I would be afraid of the oil holding the road dust and then the dust holding moisture from a rain and keeping the moisture up against the metal instead of protecting it. The rocks would put enough dings in the oil coating to make the dust holding the moisture thing work pretty well. Just my opinion, but I also quit planting potatoes under the full moon some years back.

Slufoot733 · 10-10-2012, 08:25 AM

Every spring I power wash the underside of my truck. I especially hit the inside of the frame rails where road dirt can collect and where the steel brake lines run. After a few days drying I follow up with plenty of Rust-O-Ieum and paint the daylights out of it. Any rusty areas get hit with steel wool, primed and then painted. Seems to fend off rust and looks good too.

Recumbent · 10-10-2012, 11:24 AM

This reminds me of a shoe story my father heard during the Great Depression. A neighbor bought a new pair of shoes and oiled the left shoe, but not the right one. The folks all ask how long the shoes lasted. His reply was that they worn out in about the same time as previous pairs, but the left shoe did last 30 minutes longer than the right one.

Sierra 117 · 10-11-2012, 09:42 AM

thirty years ago,I had my car treated with used oil every year. Properly applied inside the doors and hollows, it was more effective at slowing corrosion than factory undercoating. I stopped using it for several reasons. It has a disagreeable odor, it always drips in warmer weather and it is illegal here. Most new cars are sufficiently rust proofed at the factory so no need for additional rust proofing. Many of the aftermarket coatings like Krown do not contain petroleum products and form a waxy protective surface, don't drip and are odorless. These are much better than used oil.

TLightning · 10-11-2012, 12:46 PM

All new vehicles come under coated, plus I don't think I'd like the way it would make my truck smell.

Tom S. · 10-11-2012, 11:26 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by TLightning

All new vehicles come under coated, plus I don't think I'd like the way it would make my truck smell.

That is not true at all. Go to a lot and crawl under any new truck. You will see it is not under coated. GM uses a hot wax dip on their frame, but it is not undercoating, and will rust in places the wax doesn't cover or gets scrapped off. You will also see that none of the painted parts (truck bed, cab, etc.)are undercoated either.

steelpony5555 · 10-12-2012, 04:00 AM

Thirty years ago when cars would rot as soon as you drove them off the lots I used to do that. I also knew guys who would wipe their cars down with kerosene too. But cars and trucks now days do not rot away like they used too.

DonandBonnie · 10-12-2012, 04:06 AM

Now that you mention it, I do recall stories about kerosene to protect painted surfaces. That had to be back in the '70's or early '80's. Never had the guts to try it myself. I figured with my luck, it would cause the paint to melt off.

steelpony5555 · 10-12-2012, 11:31 AM

Uhhh yeah guess I am showin my age lol lol that's when that woulda been lol lol

TLightning · 10-12-2012, 02:58 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Tom S.

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by TLightning

All new vehicles come under coated, plus I don't think I'd like the way it would make my truck smell.

That is not true at all. Go to a lot and crawl under any new truck. You will see it is not under coated. GM uses a hot wax dip on their frame, but it is not undercoating, and will rust in places the wax doesn't cover or gets scrapped off. You will also see that none of the painted parts (truck bed, cab, etc.)are undercoated either.

Call it what you want, maybe "undercoating" was a poor choice of words. Here's a verbatim statement from a Chevy truck brochure:

"Chevrolet vehicles are designed and built to resist corrosion. All body and sheet metal are warranted for rust through corrosion for six years or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first. Application of additional rust prohibiting materials is not required under the corrosion coverage and none is recommended."

So whatever they are doing, it's enough.

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