Whats an old guy?The old guys used to slather the exterior of their battery terminals with whatever bearing grease was in the shop. This kept corrosion from developing, but it was messy, due to over application. A more contemporary solution is to put a thin layer of dielectric grease on the exterior surfaces of your battery terminals. This will keep the corrosion from possibly forming and is much cleaner in appearance, as it is nearly invisible with measured application.
The baking soda method is cheaper, easy to use, readily available and gets into those places the spray cannot, oh and doesn't stain that good shirt you forgot you put on and is environmentally safe (the mice in California will thank you )IYou need battery terminal protector spray or gel. Grease can prevent the gasses from reaching the metal terminal, but this lasts longer and conducts better. (It’s a red or purple spray depending on the brand.)
CRC also makes a terminal cleaner that’s much less messy that the otherwise effective baking soda and water mix.
I’d still use baking soda on serious cases of Battery Cauliflower. (Since using the protecting spray, I have not had a bad case in years.) Dipping the terminal into a red solo cup of the baking soda and water mix is thorough.The baking soda method is cheaper, easy to use, readily available and gets into those places the spray cannot, oh and doesn't stain that good shirt you forgot you put on and is environmentally safe (the mice in California will thank you )I
Not saying the spray doesn't work, it is very effective.
As the good AGM batteries are supposed to be able to be upside down without spilling, I suspect they are sealed, or darn close to it. The hydrogen sulfide and hydrochloric acid vented by regular batteries is bad news to metal and organic mater. If your charging system was doing it’s job too well, it would be letting off even more gasses.My Mustang used to have a terrible case of this, I scrubbed with baking soda, used the felt washers, replaced the battery as thcables but it would always return aggressively. Once I switched to an AGM Battery the problem went away completely and never returned at all.acid
Well, my Odyssey Battery lasted 11 years without a spot of corrosion which was freaking awesome, replaced it a couple years ago with another brand AGM and its been GTG so far too.As the good AGM batteries are supposed to be able to be upside down without spilling, I suspect they are sealed, or darn close to it. The hydrogen sulfide and hydrochloric acid vented by regular batteries is bad news to metal and organic mater. If your charging system was doing it’s job too well, it would be letting off even more gasses.
It still would be a good idea to use the terminal spray next time you service it. I’ve also not seen much benefit from the felt treated washers.