Bee wax rust preventive... is that good ?

Louise,

I too am very interested in whether or not we should get have our new Ody (due next week) treated to prevent rust.

When I search the internet, I find that the majority of positive comments come from companies that sell or apply the rustproofing materials, or from people who just bought the treatment.

There are many reports from people who have kept their untreated cars more than 10 years without rust.

We get LOTS of salt here in Chicago in Winter (too much salt if you ask me). Anyway, our 1985 Prelude has NO undercarriage rust nor does our 1988 Lincoln (with 150,000 miles). We've replaced some exhaust pipes and mufflers, but that's it. Neither of these two cars has any rustproofing treatment, other than we often take them to car washes when salt is applied, which can occur between November and April here.

I can't find many research studies that say rustproofing actually works.

The April 2001 Consumer Reports article "Are Today's Cars More Reliable?" states that body rust problems have almost completely vanished due to new materials, design, and construction techniques.

Some newsgroup posters said that their beeswax treatment melted onto their driveways on hot summer days.

Some preventative treatments actually make the problem worse by trapping salt and moisture against the metal.

Until I read some thorough and convincing analyses, I'm going to stay away from undercoating.

It would be helpful if someone could post some web links to scientific articles on this subject. Can anyone help here?

Regards,

------------------
Maugham

"I plan to live forever. So far, so good"
'02 RP EX-L due 10/17
'85 Prelude that we'll keep!
'01 Ninja folding aluminum scooter
'00 New Balance Model 658 Shoes w/ '01 White Laces

[This message has been edited by Maugham (edited 10-10-2001).]