Anyone try WoolWax yet? (2 Viewers)

[Red Merle]

Oh boy, 5 gallons, that's a lot of goo! As others have stated, warm it up first, and I'd look for a pump of some sort to pump it into a suitable container.
Action Pump Piston Pump 1462 for Non-Corrosive Fluids - Fits 5 Gal. Pails

A rubber scoop type spatula is what I ended up using. It was too thick to pour and the 1 gallon pail is plastic and I am sure the 5 gallon pail is plastic too, so heating up the whole can on the stove isn't an option.

It worked fine. I just spooned it into the old 2 quart sauce pan I had lying around on my kitchen stove and then poured it into the gun pots from there. You could just ladle it in with a big spoon too if you just want to heat up a pot at a time. The 32oz pot on the Harbor Freight gun was at about 2-3 pots worth to do the whole truck.

It has the consistency of warm frosting at around 55F degrees ambient temp and something deep in my reptilian brain urged me to try tasting it, but the smarter part of my modern brain shut that idea down.

 

[Swbkrn2003]

Oh boy, 5 gallons, that's a lot of goo! As others have stated, warm it up first, and I'd look for a pump of some sort to pump it into a suitable container.
Action Pump Piston Pump 1462 for Non-Corrosive Fluids - Fits 5 Gal. Pails

Check HD, Whitecap, Bonded or other Concrete places theyhave pumps

 

[Red Merle]

I can't remember if I have posted these pics before, but this is my testament to oiling the undercarriage. There are several layers of Fluid Film and chainsaw oil on this frame and underside. This is my little Tacoma 2WD. It's from AZ and it was 100% rust free with the exception of the few very small spots around the leaf springs, probably because road grime, dust and sand wore away the original paint over time and the 2 months it spent in WI during the winter before it was stored was enough to get the process started. They haven't spread, at all.

Keep in mind that this is a 22 year old vehicle that has spent 6 winters in probably among the worst winter conditions that the lower 48 states can dish out. It also has 235,000 miles on it, so it's not like I don't drive it.

Behold...

 

[shishkabobs]

I just used 3 or 4 spray cans on the undercarriage this afternoon. The product went on with no drama (temps in the mid 50s) and the smell was far less noticable than Fluid Film, as advertised.

For those of you using the cans, I recommend using the red tube attachment at all times. The spray pattern is no different, and it saves you from leaking a bunch of product on your fingers and the can itself.

 

[Haspin FJ]

How does this stuff do if you go wheeling? Does it really take in a lot of the mud and dirt like you would expect and if so is it horrible looking at that point or what are the concerns if any. How do you reapply if a lot of dirt gets in the coating?

 

[JOFS]

I live on a dirt road so everyday I drive my truck it gets dust and dirt on it and it sticks to wax wool or fluid film

when I reapply I get the car washed and spray any areas the have excessive layers of dirt or mud on it.

otherwise I spray the sh$t out of it when applying wax wool and coat everything

I find the dirt helps the protective layer

 

[Red Merle]

I found an unintended use for WoolWax. I bought one of the spray cans because I was trying to get to free shipping and I wasn't sure what I would do with it, but now I know.

My garage door seal had been getting frozen to the garage floor overnight because I heat part of it occasionally and I get water that I have to squeegee out during the day from snow and ice falling off my trucks. When it gets cold(it's -15 right now), the door seal sticks to the floor and when I open the door, it wants to rip right off.

I sprayed some WoolWax on the seal and the problem is totally solved!

 

[Sam84]

Hello all! I’m new to the forum and while I DO have a Toyota, I don’t have a Land Cruiser. Instead, I have a 2011 RAV4. I wanted some more info on WoolWax and the RAV4 forum has very little info, so I thought I’d hang out with the big guys here at IH8MUD.

I recently purchased the WoolWax application kit with pro gun and 4 qts of product. I’m wondering, other than exhaust components, is there anything I SHOULDN’T spray underneath the vehicle? I’m guessing brake components should be avoided?

Perhaps this is a question for @bob1008

Thanks all!

 

[iptman]

I avoided the brakes by using a plastic grocery bag to cover them. Don't go to great lengths to avoid the exhaust since the Woolwax will just burn off eventually. I also avoided rubber hoses as best I could.

 

[bob1008]

Hi Sam. Thank you for using Woolwax®. Below is some information from our FAQ page. Please let me know if I can provide any additional information.

Are there any places that I should avoid when undercoating my vehicle with Woolwax ®

There is not much to avoid. Naturally try to keep the Woolwax® away from the brake rotors. Woolwax® has a very high flash point (>400°), so in any of the hot areas like mufflers, oil pans, etc., it will just burn off within a few minutes. Woolwax® works well to protect electrical wiring and electrical connections. Woolwax® is non-conductive. Make the connection (battery terminals, etc.) and then apply.

Many people have concerns about Woolwax® on rubber materials. Almost everything on an undercarriage is oil resistant. We have had no known issues of Woolwax® having any negative effects on oil resistant rubber components. We have seen discussions about rubber breaking down and failing through the normal deterioration process. Rubber does dry out, cracks, and fails during its normal life cycle. Some people believe this may be a result of an undercoat application, but more than likely the rubber component has just reached the end of its life cycle through normal deterioration and exposure to vehicle heat and road chemicals.

We have heard of issues with the soft spongy rubber weather strips around the bottom of the door frames. This is an open-cell sponge rubber and is not oil resistant. There have been reported instances of this type of open-cell soft rubber swelling up when being exposed to lanolin-based products.

There have been no known incidents of Woolwax® having any negative effect on any paint or plastics. If you do get some over-spray to the paint, just rub it in like a car wax. There is no need to remove it.

Link to Woolwax FAQ page.

 

[sunrk]

I'm trying to come up with a product solution to spray inside the body sills of my 80 to deal with rusting that's very difficult to address unless I do major hari-kari via the services of a body shop.

I'm looking at a range of options, and someone in the thread at:

Dealing with rust and rot occuring in main body sills

Recently I discovered rot hiding under paint right at the back of the RHS body sill in front of the rear wheel arch, and also part-way along roughly under the B-pillar area. This is what it was like after I'd fully exposed the rear sill hole: pic page and this was the same location after...

forum.ih8mud.com

mentioned Wool Wax and Fluid Film. I hadn't come across them here in oz but seems there's quite a lot of info about them online (such as right here).

The options I can come up with are something like Watyl Fishoilene (an Aussie product), Eastwood internal frame coasting (rust converter + a phenolic-type resin product), and now these two lanolin-based products.

The specific reason I need to do this is that the sills along the bottom of both sides of the body are showing the effects of slow long-term internal corrosion which of course is normally impossible to see. My 80 before I owned it (pre-2011) had done beach work but I'd never until recently found internal rust growing that was a problem, but clearly it is.

Oddly enough Fluid Film aerosol cans are sold by quite a bunch of Ebay sellers here. There is a very good auto paint and body repair place called Autolac here that sells stuff like POR-15 aka Hirsch paint, Eastwood coating products, etc. so might ask them.

 

[jonheld]

I'm trying to come up with a product solution to spray inside the body sills of my 80 to deal with rusting that's very difficult to address unless I do major hari-kari via the services of a body shop.

I modified a Fluid Film spray can extension wand using a length of #14 solid core wire taped to it so it remains straight and somewhat flexible.
Part of my yearly treatment is to remove the plastic runners. You can use the spray can extension wand into the holes for the runners which gets you directly into the rocker panels. The nozzle has a 360 degree spray pattern, so it works very well.
Remove the front corner lamp housings. This gets you into the fender wells.
Remove the cargo area side panels, you can spray places that are prone to rust. I hit everything.
Remove the plastic for the upper hatch. Rust loves that area.
Remove the carpet on the interior of the tailgate and open the access panels.
Remove the interior door skins and have at it with the spray wand.

Hint: if you don't want to spray inside the vehicle, dump some on a rag and work the area manually.

 

[Dianna]

Sunrk, check out the extension wands on their website Spray Guns & Accessories. If you already have rust though, treat it with Por15.

 

[sunrk]

It's rust coming from inside the body sills. I've removed and filled to the best of my ability two spots on the RHS sill. LHS appears to have it as well. POR probably won't work as I can't fathom a way to effectively treat the rust (marine clean + metal ready) then apply POR-15 because it's so hard to access the sill cavities.

 

[SUJAL]

Hey all...recently purchased a '95 that's spent all 25 years in PA. The under carriage looks like it has never been coated (pics attached), so it's really great to have found this thread on Woolwax. I'm in NJ, and trying to figure out how best to approach prolonging it's life. (few pics attached)

Seems that many here may be refreshing previous annual applications of FluidFilm with Woolwax to compare the performance of the two products (and maybe even the ease of application), and would appreciate if you could share your thoughts about applying Woolwax / FluidFilm on a rusty undercarriage that has never been coated before?

In the pics by AbodeOnTheRoad (post #107) looks like the Woolwax was sprayed right over the rust. It looks fantastic, but isn't the existing rust continuing to do it's damage where the Woolwax couldn't reach and the rust can continue to get oxygen?

I'm probably overthinking this, and it may be just a spray-and-forget type thing, but shouldn't the under body be first hit with a grinder and wire brush, then a rust converter application for the areas where any rust remained, and then application of epoxy-prime coating on the frame & wheel wells, and then finally a full spray of Woolwax on everything for protection?

Also, once it's all sprayed with Woolwax, will it be an issue to see future leaks/seepage and do repairs under the vehicle with the Woolwax coating all over everything? I'm not saying maybe keep it unprotected, but wondering if the thick protection layer will make it a problem when trying to work on it.

Just trying to learn before I start down the messy road of trying to fight this long uphill battle. And yeah, I shoulda / coulda / woulda bought a rust-free 80, but sometimes you just get what you get depending on locale and budget and timing.

Really appreciate the knowledge here. Much thanks!

Suj

 

[thelal]

Suj
... the under body be first hit with a grinder and wire brush, then a rust converter application for the areas where any rust remained, and then application of epoxy-prime coating on the frame & wheel wells, and then finally a full spray of Woolwax on everything for protection? ...

Yes you're correct. I've just been thru derusting mine (less than 5% rust after derust/paint 5 years ago so doing well). Will post up later (did sort piece on FB Toyota USA 80 owners

To do it properly its best to take the body off and then do the chassis/axles etc. separately (will do that with mine next time). Depends on how long you are planning to keep the truck
You will need to get it sand/glass/bead/vapor blasted underneath. That will make a big difference instead of trying to do it all with wire brush etc,
Once derusted then epoxy/primer and various "layers" of paint/protection. Lots of choices and plenty to find via searching
My 2 cents

 

[SUJAL]

@thelal - Thanks! I'll see if I can find your FB piece.

Since I just got the truck, my immediate focus is on the preventative maintenance and repairs first, and then will drive it and enjoy it for a bit while I work out any problems that may come up as I get the rest of it sorted over time. So in my case, there are other items that are taking priority before considering a body-off-frame de-rusting project. As for media-blasting etc., I hear pro's and cons to that method, so a bit up in the air for that. The more traditional manual grinder / wire brush method is the route I'm considering now. My goal is to eventually have it as my daily-driver here in the northeast US, so I'd like to take a crack at de-rusting and protecting it the best that I can.

After yours was all sprayed up, did you have difficulty with identifying leaks/seepage or did you have any issues trying to do repairs and working under the vehicle with the thick undercoating all over everything?

Thanks!

 

[JOFS]

I have just slathered mine with fluid film or wool wax. I didn't do any real prep work. I have been doing it for a a number or years and don't really see any progression of rust. On my 1997 there was some rust when I started doing this and there hasn't really been any progression. I have done this on a number of other trucks through the years that had more rust when I started applying. Where I had thicker rust I would spray it with higher pressure and sometimes would have some flakes come off and then I would just lay the fluid film or wool wax on thick.

If you are doing prep like blasting it or grinding you can't get inside the frame. Realistically you can only do the outside of a boxed frame and rust will work from both sides. So I use the attachment and hose down inside the frame with fluid film or woolwax. Yes it makes sense to clean up areas that you can easily get to that have significant rust but I think that stressing a ton about the rust on some of the frame will just take more time and energy than it is worth as you likely have more rust on the inside of the frame that you can't see.

In the past I did the full frame off thing with some mini trucks and learned the boxed frame has two sides. So even with a complete blast and treatment on the outside rust can come from inside. that is why I like these coatings and realize the limitations of treating the outside surface rust. That is also why I probably spray more into the frame than onto the frame.


In terms of which product. I started with fluid film and applied twice a year. I wasn't aware of woolwax at that time. I do suspect fluid film may "creep" a bit more than woolwax. Now I am using woolwax and doing annually. But I also have a very good coating in place from the number of years I have been doing it. I do think the woolwax is more durable but still needs freshening up at least yearly.

Good luck and hope this helps and is only my opinion and experience.

John

 

[SUJAL]

@JOFS...Thanks!

Interested in anyone's thoughts on treating existing rust on the interior surfaces of the boxed frames prior to a Woolwax coating in there. As an example, Eastwood Rust Converter is apparently designed to seep into existing rust to make it inert. Eastwood also has an Internal Frame Coating that *converts and encapsulates* the rust. But maybe treating rust with these types of products before applying a Woolwax coat is overkill.

Suj

 

[thelal]

@thelal - ..

After yours was all sprayed up, did you have difficulty with identifying leaks/seepage or did you have any issues trying to do repairs and working under the vehicle with the thick undercoating all over everything?

A strong power wash is essential is get a gauge of how bad it really is under there. IF you can get a power wash with hot steam use that before you start with your derusting. That will help a lot
Once all done and "coated" most of it 'drys' so its not any issue getting at stuff to repair. Your arms/clothes can get a black 'shine' but no bother.
Not sure how dry the WoolWax, Fluidfilm after some days. I can only compare to Waxoil that I used before and current Shultz I've used now.