Am I crazy? (Road salt)

I just moved to the north east from the west coast, where I’ve lived all my life. So, this is my first east coast winter, and my first experience with road salt. The first snow hit today and after driving to the airport, I get home and there’s a blanket of road salt debris all over the tailgate and doors on my crewmax. How worried should I be on a daily basis about spraying down my truck and ultimately corrosion?

I paid a local shop to spray honey coat, but beyond that, should I spray off the debris daily, weekly?

Thanks in advance.

 

Nothing to say here other than it is very bad for your vehicle.

Best you can do is Fluid Film or something underneath, take to the self-serve car wash, and hope everything you learned in Chemistry 101 is wrong.

Good luck. Shit should be outlawed.

SPP

 

Get it off as often as you can.

 

The number one deterrent to corrosion is the removal of the corrosive element.

Number two is to use corrosion resistant materials.

Number three is a barrier.

 

That was accurate, concise, but devoid of all shenanigans.





Who are you and what have you done with Spraynard?!

 

Get a membership at the carwash and use it religiously. That's why there's one on every corner north of the mason-dixon line.

 

I am of the opinion that overwashing is bad news, rust loooves water. I Also do not keep it in a heated garage, rust happens faster in the warmth.

 

I don't live in the NE, but get some salt spray now and again. First, a heavy fluid film on the chassis every fall. Then, after a day driving in salt spray I attach a garden hose to my hot water only spigot, hit the vehicle with soap foam gun followed by a hot steamy rinse to dissolve the chloride solids. The hot water also helps keep the hands warm and the driveway from becoming dangerous during the process. Nothing has ever developed rust problems in my fleet and I have kept several vehicles a good twenty years.

 

I also live in the NE. I’ll go to the auto car wash twice a month or more in winter. It does the undercarriage spray. I also try to do the hand sprayer wash once a month and get underneath really good. The car washes around here have garage doors and are heated.

 

I haven't used it yet (still have Fluid Film left) but Fluid Film's "Wool Wax" is thicker and heavier and should stay put longer. Check it out with a search.

 

Is it warmth? I had heard that lack of airflow (less drying) in a small closed space is what makes garage worse for parking in regards to corosion?

 

well now you made me look it up because i was doubting myself hah! Quick google seems to confirm corrosion happens faster in warm temps, though a nail will rust slower in warm water due to less disolved O2.
And i agree, airflow is very important in your garage.

 

I fluid filmed my new Tundra a month back. Don’t really drive it when the salt is on the roads. My Outback is for salt road duties. We’ll see how it lasts over the years…

 

I'm going to try my best to keep my new truck out of the muck for as long as possible and use my sacrifice car....we'll see how it goes. Had it undercoated with POR15 but that magnesium chloride is nasty stuff and really gets into every crack. They're putting a new car wash close to my office so plan on having the monthly plan and running it through every time I get. We'll see how it goes - hope to have this thing 20 years +......

 

TWSS

 

Ahh... to be sixteen again.

 

Damn you started late!

 

Once every couple wks is plenty and use touchless those swirlomatics are harder on the paint than salt.

 

My sex ed teacher said I was normal.

 

He lied, he just thought you were cute

 

Yeah, they know lying is normal!

 

Weekly, at least....

 

I had fluid film sprayed underneath and hit the car wash as needed. Gave it a good wax in early November. They love to salt the roads in New Hampshire. So far no rust.

 

Welcome to the suck.

I fluid film every fall. If they salt the roads and I drive on it, I will go pressure wash the vehicle including as much of the undercarriage as I can get.

It sucks when we get hammered and there is salt in the road for weeks.

 

Lived where mag-chloride, other salts, and small fukin rocks are applied to the roads for almost all my life.

Never had anything I would consider a rust problem on any vehicle.

...wash your car after the roads clear up. Undercarriage spray is a wonderful thing

 

Definitely wash as often as you can. Used to live in California and now since moved to Connecticut... unlimited car washes are amazing!

 

If you apply a film in the fall, why would you hose the undercarriage after every snow/salt trip?

 

I live in Minnesota can’t go anywhere without truck being caked with salt. I wash mine once a week at least, spray the Under carriage real good. I try to wait for the Warner days( at least like 15 degrees) real cold it doesn’t matter, salts not working then anyways.

I never cared about it on any of my past vehicles but when I first got my tundra I was all worried about it haha but then I realized I got other more important stuff to worry about and it’s inevitable. I wash it when I can and get it dirty on the drive home