Keeping the Rust at Bay: Undercarriage Protection Tips

If you've been driving on the beach, standard water won't always shift the salt film. I reckon you should grab a salt neutraliser like Salt-X or even the Bowden's Own Muck Off. A customer once brought in a HiLux that had only been on the beach once, but they didn't rinse it properly. Six months later, the brake lines were pitted. Use a dedicated salt-dissolving wash in a foam cannon or a spray bottle and let it dwell for 5 minutes before rinsing. It makes a massive difference.

Don't bother rolling around on the wet driveway with a pressure washer wand. It's a pain in the neck and you'll just end up soaked. Spend the $60 on an underbody water broom, it's basically a trolley with four nozzles that you roll under the car. I use one every single day in my mobile business. It gets into the spots you can't see, especially around the fuel tank and transmission tunnel where that nasty red dust loves to hide.

After 15 years doing this, the best protection I've found for raw metal and chassis rails is Lanolin spray. It's made from sheep's wool grease, so it doesn't dry out or crack like some of those cheap black 'bitumen' sprays. Those black sprays are actually dangerous because they can trap moisture underneath and you won't see the rust until it's too late. Chuck a light coat of Lanotec or Fluid Film over everything once a year. It smells like a wet sheep for a day, but it works like a charm.

When it's 40 degrees in the shade, your exhaust and gearbox are running bloody hot. Be careful spraying cold water or thick waxes directly onto a hot catalytic converter, I've heard of them cracking from the thermal shock, though I've never been silly enough to try it myself. Give the car half an hour to cool down at the servo before you go mental with the hose.