Step Two

Cleaning

Dirt, road salt, sand, mud, etc. are blasted away with hot water from a high pressure cleaning machine (at times even with 120°C steam!) in a cloud of vapor. This thorough cleaning is done in places the owner cannot see, and normally never considers (clumps of mud behind plastic protective coverings, e.g. in the wheel well).

Note: A car should always be thoroughly cleaned, and rust removed (see Step 3!), then rapidly dried before priming & rust treatment (Steps 4 & 5).

Step Three

Rust Removal!

Method 1: High pressure aqua-sandblasting

Before aqua-sandblasting (top photo): The top photo was taken just after cleaning the dirt and grime, before sandblasting. Note the extensive rust... this is only a six year old Mazda 626!

Halfway through aqua-sandblasting: The top part is stripped of the deep rust, and the rust pits can be seen. Rust pits are places where metal has been lost to corrosion, and weakens the remaining metal structure. In some cases, especially with thinner metals like brake covers and underbody attachments, the metal can become paper-thin or even be completely destroyed.

After aqua-sandblasting: Note that the metal is clean and ready for bonding & the dangerous rust is removed!

Note 1: It can take more than a day, and six or seven sacks of brand new, special blasting sand to remove rust from an average car like this one.

Note 2: Even though the metal is now cleaned and will soon be protected from further rust with special paint and Tectyl, the pitting and deterioration that has occurred thus far is permanent.



Method 2: Mechanical Removal

Diamond drill: Mechanical methods (such as diamond drills, steel wire brushes, and high speed pneumatic tools) are also used to remove rust, particularly in areas near visible car finish, or deep corrosion.

Note: Rust should be removed from metal, before priming paint and Rust Protection is applied. This step is not necessary if the car is rust free; rust removal is a separate cost. However, many companies actually refuse to ever clean and remove rust, which is one reason they cannot offer a long-term, ironclad warranty, such as our Guaranty.

Step Four

Apply Yellow & Brown Primer Paint

After the car is cleaned, the rust is removed, and the car thoroughly dried, special 3-part primer and paint is applied to seal, bond, and protect metals.

Note: Primer is not necessary if the car is in new, rust-free condition.

Step Five

Apply Tectyl penetrating protection

Valvoline makes the world's best rust protection, called Tectyl. As an independent company, we can choose any rust protectant in the world... we have tested and compared all protectants available in Sweden. Simply put, Tectyl is the best. Therefore, we choose to offer the premium Tectyl product because your auto investment is worth it!

Rust must be prevented inside doors and inside the car's steel frame. Penetrating (thin) Tectyl is used inside the frame, hood, trunk, doors, and on all underbody surfaces. Access holes are used (and no, we don't drill holes in your car, like some companies do), with a special 2 meter applicator to reach these places which are sometimes overlooked others (see News).


Note: Unfortunately for the customer, many companies (such as Tuff-Kote Dinol) are forbidden by contract to ever use Tectyl! 

Step Six

Apply Tectyl outer protection

This is the front-line protection to save your car from the punishing road conditions that constantly attack your vehicle. Valvoline's Tectyl is one of the reasons we can offer our 6-year Warranty on all cars we fully treat.

After the first layer of penetrating (thin) Tectyl, three more layers of heavy (thick) Tectyl are applied from 3 different directions... this eliminates the areas missed by spray "shadows" which often plague other companies.  Our 4 layers are another reason we can offer the best warranty, bar none!  Many customers report a noticeable reduction in road noise, too.