HI new guy A simple wash with fresh water after each beach use is a good start. Dont forget to give a good spray underneath and in engine bay. To further protect your pride and joy can be a bit more costly depending on your DIY abillities. A product such as lanolin can be sprayed inside all panels and chasis rails. However to do this properly requires all trims to be removed. Might be best to take to a crash shop for this. There are other products you can use but i find the lanolin spray has less odour. All said and done proper cleaning after each use is always going to be the best and cheapest option.

Happy cleaning

Car's are a liability and not an asset. (this is your everyday average car, not a collectable etc..)

Do some calculations:

1. What is the current value of the car.
2. Calculate depreciation.
3. Calculate anual cost of washing the car weekly (if you use a car wash)

Work out if this exceeds the depreciation of the car. Some times it's not worth maintaining (except for scheduled maintenance) a car.

MY previous car was kept in IMACULATE condition. Everything was cleaned, every mechanical issue was resolved before it became major, all fluids (including diff and transmission) was changed every year and when the car was written of I got diddly squat for it.

I should've ran it into the ground and given it to a wrecker. I would've saved thousands in the long run.

So, if you've bought a falcon or commodore, wash it once a month and don't worry about salt corrosion. You'll only get a little more for an immaculate car than a poorly maintained car and if it goes through insurance, they don't care if it's a rust bucket, they'll pay you market value (if that's what your policy states)

I purchased the ERPS rust prevention unit for my landcruiser. In 1 year it has seen the beach approx 20 times.
My car has a small amount of rust on the front and rear bar where it has been grinding with rocks. The rest of the car it 100% rust free(that I can find). The other landcruiser that always tags along has rust everywhere.
I don't think they are a fail safe just an additional form of prevention.

You could always keep the interior wheel arches painted, spray fish oil everywhere underneath and under bonnet, grill near window wipers ect... ect... and as said, regular cleaning. Don't go to happy with the polish.

IMO sell it and buy a ****ter NOW...

Are yo parking it at the beach or driving on the beach?
If its just being parked in a carpark on the beach edge then wash it once a fortnight and put some polish on it twice a year. If your driving it along the beach on the sand every day dont worry about it and resign yourself to the fact that it is going to rot. No amount of fish oil, lanaolin or electronic trickery can cope with non stop beach abuse.

I used to work in a salt refinery everything was two tone white and rust red
Paint manufacturers used to bring test pieces with their latest anti rust creations
When they collected them up they walked out the rusty gate broken men
If there is a solution to this many would like to know and the discoverer would become wealthy The best coating we had in those days was tar epoxy
The electronic thing sounds interesting

A mate of mine is a corrosion engineer, I have a vague recollection of having this conversation with her a while back. The electronic anti-rust/corrosion thingies can work under some circumstances but they are current based so you need to complete a circut somehow, which is generally hard to do if you only have rubber wheels contacting the ground???

I've all but given up on the rust in my ute, it's now a beach bunky (minimum 20 hours a week on the beach) and I have a normal sedan to get me around and to/from Perth.

All good info in the answers above.

Me, I have a 1999 4wd L300 van which are known to rust in front of your eyes. I have been driving to the beach and parking in the seabreeze for 15 years but not on the beach. I used to wash it every week rain hail or shine and polish twice a year and have had no rust but I do use a gal trailer. It's now my 2nd car for work and beach and isn't loved so much, now I'm getting rusty scratches and a small rot spot in the roof gutter. Years ago a mate had one of these in 2wd but same, didn't look after it and it had mobs of rot around the windows in a year. I think dust dirt collects and damp salt air is attracted to it.

New cars are a lot better rust proofed from factory, just wash and love it

firiebob said...

Mark _australia said...

Which makes me wonder - can we just screw a sacrificial anode to our cars the same as marine stuff?

Yes but you need to keep it wet, I don't really know but might be where the electronic thing comes into play, just saying

Sweet - I will attach an anode to the towbar and back into the water when I go sailing.
Easy.

Those WAWA stickers that Mark gave me worked wonders.....



.....to temporarily (at least until it rains in Perth) cover up the rust on my van panels !!