i just got the car
and the body looked decent on the outside but once i look under the car
it seems pretty rusty
is there something i should do to fix or help prevent more rust
ill take some pictures soon
and i live in minnesota so winters coming very soon
and i dont want this car to be a rust bucket after

 

There are companies that make a rust neutralizer like POR 15. You could put the car on jack stands outside and spray the under body with a good quality degreaser and then with a pressure washer and a lite duty tip, spray the underside to remove any loose paint and grime. Let the car dry a day or so then paint on with a brush the rust neutralizer of choice. This is all if you are interested in preventing the floorboard from rusting out in long run. Just my.02.

 

My car has never been driven in the winter, but I get it undercoated every year anyway, it has next to no rust whatsoever!

 

First, you need to fix any major rust by cutting out the section and welding in new metal.

If you don't have any holes and just want to clean things up, you can skip that step and go straight to coating.

POR-15 is the best around in my opinion. But you MUST follow the directions exactly, and it is not exactly a simple or pleasant task (the bottom of the car must be stripped, then etched, then cleaned).

Then undercoat the car every year with a good quality spray like Krown.

But if you really want to preserve the car, do not drive it in the winter.

 

POR15, definately. I have heard it described as 'bulletproof'. Check out their website, it is amazing stuff.
I live in Iowa, and they #$%! salt the roads in the winter. I plan on driving it very little in the winter and washing it once a week when I do. I am preparing to drop up to 4K next summer when I take the car apart down to the frame and body panels (and other steel parts) have it stripped of paint, sandblasted, then sprayed with POR15 followed by repainting it to the original white. Never have to worry about rust again.

You don't have to go to that much trouble if you just want to undercoat it. Remove any paint or undercoating and any loose or weak rust, weld in new metal if there are any holes that go all the way through (although POR15 makes stuff for that too) then clean the metal with this degreaser they sell, spray it with this prep solution called Metal-Ready (which etches it and deposits a zinc phosphate film) and then brush on the POR15. Just don't get it on you or your clothes, 'cause it won't come off-- ask Aaron (I've heard stories).

Don't try to spray it yourself, if you inhale the spray you could kill yourself (when brushing it on its not a problem) without an air supplied respirator. (The paint has a carbon-nitrogen group, similar to cyanide, so it reacts with moisture, and your lungs are very moist. This is probably why POR15 has been around for a couple of decades, but they haven't been marketing it directly to the public; they're afraid of someone killing themselves and getting sued. My guess, anyway.)

 

My car has never been driven in the winter either, they just dumped salt down for the first time the other day. I have no rust on the cars underbody, but I used that truck bedliner stuff that dries into a very strong plastic coating. I would clean up the bottom and try that. Goodluck

chris