I keep my firebird stored in the garage and I'm not driving it much right now, and in the winter is just stays there. I've got a cement floor, now I know it's not good to store a car on cement but I don't really have any other option. Is there any way to counter the effects of rust from the cement floor? Is there a coating you can apply or something I can put down on the floor and park over? I'm sure the effects of rust are not going to happen drastically but I would like to prevent as much as possible and stop it from getting worse. Any suggestions??

 

Park the car over plastic. This will help prevent condensation from collecting on the bottom of the car.

If you have an attached garage, installing a gas garage heater so the temp never goes below 30 degrees is also a good idea. You can also crank it up to 60 or 70 degrees if you want to work out there.

 

My garage is not attached, it's basically a 1 car garage. I thought about a heater out there for the winter, but I didn't know what kind to get and my wife thinks it would be dangerous...don't want the garage to catch on fire. I think it's fairly ventiliated but it's not heated. I stored it out there last winter. How much of a problem is it to store it unheated?

 

Being un heated I don't think would be a problem.. it's the potential condensation that could form when the sun warms up the inside of the garage in the winter. I store mine outside under a shelter I put up each winter so it at least has a roof and some walls over it. But I keep the front open to keep it ventalated. I assume your garage is insulated right? Personally keeping the temperature even, and adding moisture collectors inside would probably be best, I'd do it if I could.. As Dens71TA mentioned parking over plastic will help prevent the condensation from collecting. I do the same, but being outdoors I slope the ground under the car to prevent the moisture from collecting under it.

 

They make some sort of bubble, I know a few people on this site have one and I also saw it in a Corvette magizine. I think it is fairly expensive, it depends on how much you want to spend to save the car from rusting.

 

I would't lose any sleep worrying about your car rusting in a unheated garage, unless its coated with road salt nothing much is going to happen to it over one winter.

 

 

I realize this, I'm looking more into the long term effects. People always say it's not good to store cars this way, but that is why I'm asking.

 

car bubbles link

there is one example of the car bubble I found. It is funny I think.

 

You are not storing this car long term per se ony not driving it during the winter months, There is a big difference when you say I am going to store a car for a indefinte time frame.

 

my 87 sport coupe got worse over the winter. although it was rusted anyways. it got worse over the course of a year

 

Old carpet or plastic on the floor will help protect your car. Also put the car on plastic ramps or blocks to get it off the ground. don't use jack stand because the suspension can sag over a period of time.

 

When I lived in an apartment, I used to keep my GTA in an underground heated garage. It was always bone dry down there. The only problem was with dust.

I live in a house now and I also store the car in a regular garage.. It's insulated and I can heat it, but it would cost me an arm and a leg to heat it all winter. Where I live in Canada, winters are long and very cold

I find it's at it's worst in the spring.. The car and concrete pad are still very cold from the winter. When warm and humid air gets in to the garage from outdoors, it condenses on the cold underside of the car... This spring I actually had water dripping under the car from all the condensation.

I might store the car outside next winter ( like
FastElectrics does) with a good cover and plastic on the ground to keep the ground moisture from coming up...

 

I have stored my car in my garage and it was attached. What I did do was place a dehumidifier in the garage in the fall to help remove the moisture. The rusting was kept to a minimum. One suggestion I do have is to put open baking soda in the car in a few containers to help keep moisutre out of the interior. I put a little down, but there was still moisture in the car. Next winter I am not going to cheap-out on baking soda.

 

I was told that a concrete floor is way better than Sand.

I parked my car in a garage, (Barn) on a concrete floor over the winter, and I will tell you this. In the spring there was a very light coat of rust on my brakes, (where the brake pad rubs). I could still see the silver in places from the fall before. All I had to do was pull it out of the garage, and they are all shiney again.
I washed my car a few weeks later. My brakes looked more rusted after its bath than after the entire winter.

IF you put a piece of plastic down, you have to have some sort of barrier between the cement and the plastic, otherwise your plastic will condensate water just like the cement. I would level out the plastic, and drive your car on it, then take a piece of wood, like a 4x4 or 2X4 and put it down the middle of your car (under the plastic) to create an air gap.

A simple small fan would also help if you let it run when the weather begins to warm up. Also if you have either a well ventelated garage, or some heat in your garage you should not have any problems.

I was told that keeping the temperature in the garage above 40�F or about 5�C helps a lot. I know one year my detached garage never got below freezing because my cars engine would keep it warm enough. But I no longer use my detached garage for my drivers so it does not get any heat.