Apply Lanoguard in Winter, It’s Totally Okay to Do So!

Conventional thinking tells us that underbody protection products cannot be used in the winter, or at least cannot be used without tirelessly waiting for dry breaks in the weather. However, Lanoguard is a very different product with features that make it perfectly okay, and still very easy, to apply in the colder months. In fact, now ought to be the prime time… salt and grit are on the roads in abundance, so the sooner your underbody is protected, the better! Read on to find out why our products are fine for cold-weather application.

“Applied Lanoguard yesterday with snow on the ground and low temperatures. It sprayed on fine. Easiest stuff I’ve ever used to protect the underside” - Kevin, a member of Lanoguard Users Group on Facebook

How Lanoguard Works

Lanoguard is derived from a base of lanolin and other natural oils. We’ve worked with the formula for decades to make it perfectly suited to underbody and machinery protection. The properties of Lanoguard set it apart from conventional coatings – as it provides a complete hermetic seal on the surface. This means that moisture and oxygen are displaced during the curing process away from the surface, as the product also chemically bonds to the metal. This is exactly why Lanoguard is okay to be sprayed over existing rust, and used in damp winter conditions: because with moisture and oxygen displaced, the oxidation (rusting) process cannot take place anymore.

After a Lanoguard treatment, any salts, chemicals, oils, and moisture cannot adhere to the metal surface. They will simply sit on top of the Lanoguard coating and won’t be able to corrode the underbody. Due to Lanoguard also being jetwash resistant, this means that you can easily wash off any grime or chemicals very easily.

Applying Lanoguard in Winter Conditions

Lanoguard doesn’t trap moisture, it displaces it. Due to this, it doesn’t matter at all if the air is damp or the vehicle underbody isn’t completely dry. Whilst we don’t recommend you spray onto a dripping wet underbody, it doesn’t have to be bone dry! Lanoguard will still bond and adhere to the surface – hermetically sealing and stopping rust dead in its tracks once cured. Our products will of course repel all moisture after application too.

The increased salt and grit on the roads is also no problem for Lanoguard. Whilst it’s best to wash the vehicle underbody prior to application, it doesn’t matter if some salts or dirt are left behind still. Salt doesn’t corrode vehicles, salt water does. Without moisture and oxygen present at the surface, salt is harmless.

Interestingly, due to Lanoguard bonding to the metal surface, over time it can also push salts to the surface. We discovered this in a research project with the University of Brighton, in which Lanoguard was sprayed over salt-sprayed metal. It was found that as the Lanoguard cured and became attracted to the metal, the saline solution was pushed away from the metal – leaving it sitting on top of the Lanoguard coating. In a practical sense, this means that Lanoguard can draw out any salt deposits left on the underbody, and you can simply jet wash these off to keep the coating clean.

Tips for Applying Lanoguard in Winter

As stated, Lanoguard is absolutely happy to be applied in the winter – and it’s better to protect your vehicles sooner rather than later to ensure winter salt, grit, and moisture do not corrode and damage your underbody.

Due to Lanoguard being Thixotropic, meaning it is slightly thicker when colder, it is best to make sure the product is kept at room temperature particularly in colder weather. If you’d like to make Lanoguard even thinner for application, you can also keep the bottle in a bucket of warm water whilst you spray.

In terms of Lanoguard Grease, we recommend keeping this in a pot of hand-hot water before application to thin it down and make it really easy to “paint” on with a brush. Our Moto Grease can be heated and cooled as many times as you wish, and is ideal for heavy duty protection of weld seams, sharp edges, nuts, bolts, pins, and any high impact areas. It's best to apply the grease before Lanoguard Spray. Check out this blog we wrote all about our Moto Grease and where to use it. 

Unlike most conventional treatments, warm air doesn’t actually help to speed up the Lanoguard curing process. Colder air flow will. So if you can, it’s best to keep the vehicle exposed to cold air if you’d like to shorten the curing time.

Lastly, wrap up warm, and make sure you add photos of your vehicle and application to the Lanoguard Facebook Users Group too! In our user group you can find loads of use cases, tips and tricks from real life customers. We’re here to help with any questions or queries at any time. Just get in touch.

See below a video of our Head of Production, Jacob, applying Lanoguard in winter to his custom-build Hilux!

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