I've been told that Cosmoline was put on our 914s and lots of other european produced cars to make the journey acorss the pond and prevent rust. Also that because Cosmoline was used on the cars, decals like the side stripes were not factory installed, but rather by dealerships during dealer prep, during which the cosmoiline was supposedly removed.

From Wikipedia "Cosmoline is a homogeneous mixture of oily and waxy long-chain, non-polar hydrocarbons. It is always brown in color...Cosmoline melts at 113-125 °F"

It apparently was removed using high heat and power washing equipment. But wouldn;t that high heat or a scrubbing process potentially damage paint?

I have been cleaning the belly pan of one of my 914s where I have seen the residue of this stuff. Soapy water doesnt take it off. It is a waxy goo that comes off with rubbing and paint thinner.

Paint protects the car...would they have Cosmo'd the whole car top to bottom? I have only ever seen this residue on the pan, not in the wheel wells, or in the weatherrstrip channels, headlight buckets, door jambs, on the suspension, bumpers or in any crevices where it would have been harder to access for cleaning, leading me to thingk it was never put on in those areas, which would be most of the car exterior.

Did they only put it on the pan? I am not sure why...the pan and most other surfaces has paint or other protection too, and other bits like the suspension, engine bar, varous bolts, do not have it.

If it was not used on the main painted surfaces...then side stripe decals could have been put on at the factory.

What do you know about it...anyone do dealer prep on the lot during the 1970's?

Jeff, the only cosmoline I remember was on the engine parts you bought from the manufacturer. I do not ever remember seeing it on the cars (VW or Porsche). The aftermarket people sprayed a lot of cars with Zbart. It was cosmoline based product.

IIRC the dealers had a remover solvent specific for the Cosmoline Jeff, that wouldn.t harm the paint.

I'll have to check with a guy I know who worked for the dealers back then, after I get back home in a couple of weeks.

When I started working at a VW dealer in '72 new cars came off the truck covered with cosmoline on all exterior surfaces. The cars would get sprayed with kerosene and then washed with a heated water power washer. I remember only minimal cleanup needed in door jambs and lid gaps, some times a drip on the bottom of a door and a light film in jambs and gaps. Never gave it much thought until you mentioned these areas but it would seem the cosmoline was less liquid and more “dry” when sprayed. Special Edition Beetle decals got applied after the cars were cleaned. I didn't work for a Porsche dealer until '75 and new cars were not processed in the facility I worked in so I can't comment on 914's.

When I started working for a VW dealership in the summer of 1978, ALL VWs came from (W) Germany then, the Beetle, Rabbit (gas & diesel), Dasher, Scirocco, Bus & Camper, and they were all coated in cosmoline. The procedure for cleaning and prepping was exactly as stated above. I can't help but think the procedure at the Porsche dealer was the same.

Paul

I was a Porsche dealer prep boy back around 81 and I remember having to wash the BMWs and Porsches with Kerosene and a pressure washer. Wow it all went down the drain or into the earth. How times have changed.

That sticky yellow gue was everywhere.

In my front trunk, the area from the tank back to the passenger compartment was covered in cosmoline. I had to remove a ton of it for paint prep. All my air distribution boxes were covered in it as well.