CLUB OF CAR FANS
WAR WITH RUST: ON THE FRONT WITHOUT CHANGE
A sad fact - cars rust - is known to all motorists. To a greater or lesser degree of corrosion, machines of all brands are affected. Time, an aggressive environment, mechanical damage do their dirty, or rather, a red-haired business. As the VAZ cars rust in comparison with well-known brands, the magazine wrote in 1996 (No. 7). We decided to conduct our own study of machines working in the editorial office.
Let's look at the Lada first. The editorial park is quite “fresh” - mostly two-, three-year-old cars. All of them after the purchase were subjected to additional anti-corrosion treatment. Nevertheless, rust already clearly appears on the side members and mudguards. Traces of corrosion are also visible on the defenseless lower part of the thresholds - the factory “anticorrosive agent” and the branding applied to help it did not last long. The floor cover is cracked.
By the way, anecdotal incident occurred with one freshly baked motorist. His first new “five” he first drove to the “anti-corrosion." The car was put on a lift, the hidden cavities were treated, the bottom was covered with a protective compound over a clean factory plastisol. After which he … did not slow to fall off, to the great amazement of the owner of the car. The openly rusty metal of the bottom opened up to the eyes of those present … To the credit of the sellers of the "five", I must say that they replaced the car, so this story ended well. Brief conclusions: additional processing does not guarantee complete protection of the car, a lot depends on the quality of the factory coating. We add that sometimes too generously applied anticorrosive is harmful: laying a heavy load on a previously treated surface can weaken the connection of plastisol with metal (the case described does not count, there was no connection here, and the additional protection was competent, without "excesses"). We offer you to judge the quality of bodywork at the VAZ.
Back to the editorial cars.
Through holes in the front of the floor, rust was detected in the amplifiers. The bottom of the car, of course, is susceptible to corrosion in the first place, but there are also pockets of rust on the paintwork. Only on the back of the one-year-old VAZ-2105 there are no (so far!) Yellow “wounds”. And on machines 1994-1995. Issues on the hood and front fenders revealed chips of paint and, as a result, rusty spots. Welds began to corrode, most of all in places where the roof is welded to the uprights, the outer part of the thresholds to the wings, the middle rack to the thresholds. Chips and rusty spots cover the wheel arches, the lower parts of the doors, especially on the inside. A typical sore spot of the Lada - the boot floor, under the spare tire - was hit on all the editorial machines.
Cars 1993 have a very unsightly appearance. The above "bulletin" has expanded significantly. On the VAZ-2107, rust literally climbs out from under the radiator lining, dropping paint off the hood with shreds. A tan strip creeps out from under the windshield seal. The boot lid is covered with rusty dots. On the same age as the "five" appeared rusty bubbles in the lower part of the windshield frame and the upper part of the doors. Corrosion hit even the roof! In general, the picture is how sad, so familiar to experienced owners of the "classic" VAZ models.
Now - the turn of "Samar" (year of manufacture - 1995). These cars feel much better. There are no pronounced foci of corrosion on the bodies either from above or below. True, the factory anti-corrosion coating on the bottom was also covered with cracks - possibly due to the uneven, sometimes excessive thickness. But there are no rust stains on the welds and the Samar paintwork. The paint in the trunk and under the "spare" well preserved.
“Samaras” rust much less and more slowly than “Lada”. Even the ten-year “eights” and “nines” found on the streets look, as a rule, quite decent, and for “Lada” ten years is a terrible time. They rot, one might say, alive.
Let's try to answer the question: what is the reason for this?
Firstly, the bodywork of front-wheel drive cars is more modern. So, welding points are almost two times less than that of the “classics”, ventilation of hidden cavities is provided (and acts). The Lada bodies are often welded so that the gaps between the amplifiers and the side members are either completely absent or so small that the applied anticorrosion completely covers them; about any "draft" we are no longer talking.
Secondly, part of the Samar body parts is made of zinc corrosion, which is highly resistant to corrosion - steel with a preliminary coating based on epoxy resins and zinc powder. The front wings, the radiator frame and its lower cross member, and a number of other details are subjected to such processing. By the way, VAZ-2110 already has 55% of body parts made of zinc metal.
Thirdly, factory anticorrosion, especially on welds, lies on the “classics” worse than on the “eights” and “nines”.
Fourth. From the very beginning of their production, “Samaras” use a modern and more effective priming method. In general, all domestic cars are primed by electrophoresis - a welded body after preliminary preparation (phosphating and washing) is immersed in a primer bath, where a voltage of several hundred volts is applied. The electrodes are the body and walls of the bathtub; the soil solution plays the role of the electrolyte. Particles of soil are deposited on the metal, forming a film, which is then dried in a special chamber. The difference between the old and the new methods is the polarity of the electrodes and the composition of the primer. With anaphoresis, “plus” is supplied to the body, “minus” - to the bath; the resulting coating protects the metal only from mechanical damage. With cataphoresis, the polarity is reversed, therefore, the mechanism of action of the primer is different, and when it is damaged, it is not steel that corrodes in the first place, but the coating itself. Here are the results of tests performed by VAZ: in salt fog, 270 hours elapse before salt corrosion occurs on a body with anaphoresis primer, and the body after cataphoresis can withstand 600-700 hours.
Since the advent of Samar, the progressive method has been repeatedly written, but for some reason we have not mentioned anywhere how the bodies of the cars of the popular “fifth” and “sixth” families are primed. We managed to find out that the VAZ-2105 body and its modifications are still primed with an anaphoretic method. In the 13 years since the appearance of the cataphoretic bathtub at the VAZ, the “fours”, “fives”, “sevens” have not reached it … With the VAZ-2106 models produced today, the situation is better. The VAZ-2110 infuses the thread of the conveyor, and the popular “sixes” are now taking over the already mounted cataphoretic bath designed for “tens”. By the way, this was the case with the VAZ-21013 1985-1986. release: they, too, were primed by the cataphoretic method in a bath intended for the then new front-wheel drive family.
Finally, fifthly, the “metallic” with which the part of “Samar” is painted is more resistant to mechanical damage than ordinary enamels. Rear-wheel drive cars do not paint “metallic”.
Summarize. The buyer is offered for 6-7 thousand dollars (the money is not very big, but not small, especially for potential customers of AvtoVAZ JSC) machines, the protective coating of which absolutely does not meet modern requirements. Zealous owners immediately after purchase subject the car to additional anti-corrosion treatment. This operation, which has become the norm in our country, is abnormal in itself!
The machine must be sold ready for use. Processing that protects the car from rust for at least a few years should be carried out by the plant (which is done by reputable manufacturers in the world). We have written whole manuals on how to process a new (!) Car more correctly and better.
But the most, perhaps, sad fact is the anticorrosion treatment of hidden cavities, underbody, wheel arches, the installation of wing flaps does not save the Lada from premature rust. Typically, the body of the "classics" have to be tinted a year or two after the purchase, and after another two or three years the car must be completely painted.
Yes, our roads are, to put it mildly, not ideal. There are enough stones, sand, saline solutions that help corrosion. But for some reason, ten-year-old foreign cars, falling into the expanses of the former Union, drive along the same roads, while retaining a neat appearance for a long time. Yes, and “Samara” quite steadfastly endure difficult domestic conditions. What prevents VAZ from improving the quality of anticorrosion treatment of “Lada”, bringing its level to at least “eight”? The response of factory specialists: "The level of protection corresponds to the class of cars produced." Comments are redundant.
So a buyer who purchases an unfinished product must be prepared for a war against rust, which, alas, will not come out victorious.
The fruits of a combination of poor-quality factory coating and a "fashionable" radiator grille.
The “nine” hood looks decent.
It's time to paint the trunk lid.
