I have a 2008 Mazda 3, bought a year ago May.  I allowed myself to be talked into getting it rust proofed at Canadian Tire last week. I've never had a car rustproofed before but wanted to protect this car as I will have it for a long time.

When I was leaving the lot after the job, I noticed greasy foam on the side of my car, under two doors. The guy who did the rustproofing came out and said he thought he washed the car off after the job but must have missed a spot. He told me to keep an eye on it.

The next day, more greasy foam under two doors and greasy spots all over my driveway. I went back to CT and the same guy took the door plugs out and sprayed inside with what he said was a cleaning solution. When I told him I was concerned about he job he brushed me offf saying that it wasn't a problem ....that I got too much solution...he said the solution is mixed with air and in this case his equiptment must have malfunctioned and all that went in the doors was the solution. He also said the foam that ran down the door won't hurt the paint.

A week later and I still have grease dripping from my doors and spots all over my driveway. I went back and spoke to the manager. He said the guy is getting new equiptment and if I want I can have the job done again "free"  with the new equiptment.

My concerns /questions are:

- Was this a badly botched job that will hurt my car?

- Should trust them to do the job again or should I get a refund and leave it alone? The fact that I had to go back three times disturbs me...they must have known something wasn't working the first time I pointed out that he doors were dripping ...it is advertised as "drip free" . Until I said I was concerned about the job, they didn't offer me anything.

- Should take it somewhere else and get it done.

Wish I had just left the care alone but here I am..........

Thanks for any advice you can provide......

Aftermarket "rustproofing" is IMHO a scam; you can get roughly the same effect by buying a half-dozen cans of Pam and spraying your car's undercarriage. Worse, they drill holes in order to spray inside the doors which actually exposes previously protected areas to rust.

They only time any corrosion-resistant coating can be successfully applied to any metal is when the metal is perfectly clean, and you are simply not going to improve on the processes the manufacturers use during assembly.

My advice is to get a refund, and then find a shop with the capability to steam clean the underside.

The next problem is the doors. That oily goo will eventually attack the electrical components in the door, degrading the insulation on the wiring and possibly seeping into the motors and solenoids. There is also the possibility the rustproofing compound will plug the drains in the bottoms of the doors which of course will turn your doors into reservoirs. You'll need to find some one competent to take each door apart and clean it out.

My suggestion is to go to the biggest, most reputable Mazda dealer you can get to and have a chat with the service manager or shop foreman about your problem; they are one's most likely to be able to handle everything.

I have my cars rustproofed by professionnals at Antirouille Métropolitain here in Québec.  They use a base of vegetable oil and they don't promise a drip free treatment.  Those drip free treatment may plug drain holes, crack and even retain water!

My 1998 has a little bit of superficial rust on the front exposed part of the rear fender, the part that is folded and that is in front of the tire.  No rust on the rear part of the fender, unlike other same year Civic.  No rust anywhere else, no perforation.  No problem with the few holes that were drilled.  My car is in great shape.

Only downside is that some plastics or rubber will expand when in contact with vegetable oil.  I've a EX-G Civic with all the electric options.  Never had any problem.

Rust proofing treatment works by making a film between exposed metal and oxygen in air.  It's a proven method.  On my Civic, the drive shaft onto wich motor oil drips when removing the oil filter has no rust while the ones going to the wheels are all rusted...!

By the way, it seems that Québec is among the to user of salt to deice roads...

DanB, Rimouski, Québec