Does anything rust in Tucson? (Phoenix: live in, airplane, suburbs)

[dintymoore]

I live in what I call Rust Central of the Universe here in Hawaii - the rust is even worse than on the east coast. I'm doing auto rust repair right now and started wondering about this.

I remember when I was in Tucson seeing cars with scrapes with no rust. But I know, unlike what some people think, that it actually does rain there (what a concept).

Do cars rust? Is rust ever an issue that you need to deal with?

[sickofIL]

The first time I visited Arizona (early 90's in Phoenix) I remember seeing some old cars and trucks, maybe early 60's vintage. Something looked wrong with them but I didn't figure it out until after I got home. (Illinois, Chicago suburbs) It finely dawned on me, they weren't rusted. They were old and worn with the paint mostly worn away but with no rust.

Here the only way you see old cars like this is when they have been restorred or have been storred away since new.

[szupergipsy]

I have a friend with a 65 T-Bird sitting outside for 10 years.He always tells me its just rusting outside. The otherday I checked it out, 0 rust, its a 100% body...cool...

[Bummer]

Bottom line, DintyMoore . . . rust is a rarity here in Tucson.

To confirm this fact, check out the Airplane Graveyards where row after row of old planes are lined up waiting to be adopted . . . w/ NO RUST.

Also, as others have pointed out, old vehicles rarely rust or rot away but, due to the extremely low humidity (often in single digits), their interiors and other rubber and vinyl parts deteriorate without regular care and usually need replacing.

[ArizonaBear]

Originally Posted by Bummer

Bottom line, DintyMoore . . . rust is a rarity here in Tucson.

To confirm this fact, check out the Airplane Graveyards where row after row of old planes are lined up waiting to be adopted . . . w/ NO RUST.

Also, as others have pointed out, old vehicles rarely rust or rot away but, due to the extremely low humidity (often in single digits), their interiors and other rubber and vinyl parts deteriorate without regular care and usually need replacing.

Unlike Wash DC

[BillyBaroo]

Not much rust, but if you don't have covered parking, the paint will fade. Juat look at the roofs, hoods, and trunks of older cars around here and you'll see what I mean. The prime parking spots are always the ones in the shade rather than closest to the door.

[Marcy1210]

A friend of mine from the east coast was visiting us in Colorado and he made the comment that he'd never seen so many vintage (he really meant old ) cars on the road. That's because of the low humidity in most of the west (Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and eastern Utah--probably Nevada and Montana, too). Things don't rust. But, you do have to keep the rubber gaskets, dashboard, anything vinyl or rubber, "moisturized" or it will dry out and crack. Also need to wax the outside if it sits in the sun. Our cars in Colorado sit outside all day, every day, and our 1994 Ford Aerostar looks almost new. And it's at 9200 ft. where the sun is intense.

The same holds true for furniture and wood. You need to keep the wood moisturized and keep fabrics out of the sun or they fade really quickly.

[Bummer]

Originally Posted by Marcy1210

The same holds true for furniture and wood. You need to keep the wood moisturized and keep fabrics out of the sun or they fade really quickly.

Don't forget your own skin, Marcy. ! ! ! !

[PylesinAZ]

I have lived in Tucson for 3 years now and can say that cars do not rust. I have mentioned before that I have never seen so many $500 cars on the road as in Tucson. I think one reason is that they don't fall apart from rust...There are other reasons, but we can save that for another thread.

[mdtoaz]

When we moved here, we took our Jeep Cherokee in for service. The first thing the mechanic said was, "Yeah, I can tell this is an east coast Jeep". MD was notorious for dumping the season's worth of salt on the roads as soon as the first snowflake hit the ground. Good stuff.