fluid film, wool wax or other products

[TCEd]

My 460 has a Icon suspension package and I'd like to keep these parts from getting corroded since I'll be using the vehicle on occasionally salted roads. Will any of these miracle products help prevent corrosion ? Possibly reapply throughout the winter help ? Thx, Ed

 

[Washingtontaco]

I've already used this on my frame and rock sliders attach points. I will be coating all metal surfaces early November as I ski a lot and will be in corrosive conditions.

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We use this at my work on our customers Boeing 737 fleet.

 

[Jstawgn]

Woolwax is good and doesn't stink. Although I prefer the LV (light viscosity) for inside frame/door jamb.

There is a 10% discount for forum member. I think the code is IH8MUD.

 

[mmaguy]

I agree about trying to protect the underside for sure. I have use Fluid Film on the attach points and other areas that seem like they might be prone to corrosion. I do run the vehicle through the touchless car wash a couple of times a week, which also sprays under the vehicle, and actually does a good job of getting rid of mud/grime, etc., but can also reduce the longevity of some of these products (I have to reapply occasionally). When my last can runs out, I am going to try another brand to see if it works any better.
The guy at Project Farm thoroughly tested some of these products and had interesting results. He tests a lot of things related to maintaining vehicles and his YouTube channel is worth checking out. Here is the video he did on car undercoatings:

 

[jmanscotch]

The main goal, of most products, is to prevent prolonged contact between bare metal on the vehicle and anything from the environment that can be seen as an electrolyte. If you prevent 1 of the 4 parts of a corrosion cell from being there, the corrosion cell won't exist. Can't remove the Cathode, Anode or metallic path (as they all three exist in the sections of metal of the body/frame/etc) so that only leaves the electrolyte to prevent.

Other products try to passivate the metal through an electrochemical process, and I'd strongly recommend against putting too much faith in those.

Coat the underside where any bare metal (including pin-hole size coating defects) is and you'll prevent road grime, salts, dirt, etc from collecting and prevent the issue. For concern areas, think where rocks and debris regularly hit on the undercarriage (wheel wells/rockers), think where dirt collects (nooks and crannies) and where things rub (which will remove protective coating). Also keep in mind it needs to be clean underneath whatever coating you use...or you’re just encapsulating problems and wonder why you still have corrosion happening.

As you can imagine, creating this resilient non-conductive layer of protection on suspension components is tough to do effectively. Keep them protected the best you can (if shiny, wax/polish can even help some), clean of contaminants the best you can, and the rest is nature doing what it's going to do.

 

[TCEd]

Funny, our FJ-40 is stored in the garage all winter and I get this GX-460 and want to protect it also. Our third car is a Subaru Forester XT turbo and it becomes my winter sacrifice. The GX-460 is intended for my wife who is a serious X/C skier and MTB rider and ends up in some far away trailheads with limited cell service. Ed

 

[SteveH]

RE: the rustproofing video - the guy has a fear of 'rubberized coatings' and I believe he's right.

I use Fluid film and am happy with it. I hosed down the underside of my rust-belt Highlander and it then spent a winter in Indiana, and the treated areas looked no different, other than attracting some dirt. What's true of all of these coatings is that they need yearly reapplication (or maybe more often) if you live in a salt-crusted state.

Here's an FJ40 from BaT with (what appears to be) with spray-on bedliner (my worst nightmare for rust). This is why I don't like hard/rubberized coatings - you can't see all the damage until the coating pops, and then it's worse than you thought.

 

[TCEd]

RE: the rustproofing video - the guy has a fear of 'rubberized coatings' and I believe he's right.

I use Fluid film and am happy with it. I hosed down the underside of my rust-belt Highlander and it then spent a winter in Indiana, and the treated areas looked no different, other than attracting some dirt. What's true of all of these coatings is that they need yearly reapplication (or maybe more often) if you live in a salt-crusted state.

Here's an FJ40 from BaT with (what appears to be) with spray-on bedliner (my worst nightmare for rust). This is why I don't like hard/rubberized coatings - you can't see all the damage until the coating pops, and then it's worse than you thought.

Agree, would never use any of the permanent type coatings. Ed

 

[giovanni]

I agree with the rubberized coating statements. If applied when new, maybe. Applied when there is moisture and/or rust starting = bad juju.

 

[jmanscotch]

Most rubberized undercoatings will work very well to protect against corrosion.

- it adheres well and deflects projectiles better than non rubber coatings
- it’s dielectric in nature

Only real concern is is if it’s at all permeable to water and other contaminates, which I’d presume the major name brands aren’t...but that’d be the weak link if so.

I think it gets a bad rap because people tend to use it (and it’s natural texture effect) to hide existing issues that then grow.

 

[giovanni]

What do you all think about some of the rust converter or rust encapsulator products?

 

[jmanscotch]

What do you all think about some of the rust converter or rust encapsulator products?

Most are absolutely 100% BS. They can work on light surface rust, but you’d be many times wiser to just remove that level of light surface rust during prep and then coat.

If it’s bad enough to not easily been cleaned up with a wire brush, then it’s time to replace the metal or live with it.

If you can remove large amounts of corrosion byproduct and get to a surface of relatively clean metal, then you could use one of the converters/neutralizers from there. Any product that doesn’t require you to get down to near clean metal first is a scam.

I guess I should mention that I’m a corrosion technologist, though admittedly, coatings isn’t a specialty of mine. Trying to get my company to send me to class for a coating certification though, would be good to learn more on the subject.

 

[Donny Voodoo]

saw that Project Farm video a while back. Have a few cans of FF and the CRC product that I will be using soon.

My previous truck was a 3rd gen Runner. I did nothing but wash the undercarriage several times during winter and I did not experience much corrosion in the 3 winters it saw.

being my GX is a southern truck and spotless underneath, I am trying to keep it that way.

 

[wngrog]

Fluid Film for the win

 

[SteveH]

Another vote for Fluid Film - sold at Lowes, so no shipping needed. $10/can and one can goes a long way.

I have peeled a lot of crappy tar undercoating off cars in Michigan, growing up. Behind each tar peel edge was sand, dampness, salt and/or rust. In a perfect world, with perfect sealing, tar-type undercoating can work. After xx years, most vehicles will no longer be in that world. Once the rust gets started under a hard-coating, it's ugly.

 

[Arailt]

What do you all think about some of the rust converter or rust encapsulator products?

I used Corroseal on my GX and on several rusty floor drains in my garage. It worked very well on the floor drains, but the frame rust on my GX came back quickly after it seemed to be gone from the first application of Corroseal. I prepped the hell out of the frame too. Rust was back within a couple months... So, another "nay" vote for rust converter from me.

Fluid Film is great. I've used it on half a dozen 4x4s over the years. Stinks like s*** though. Don't spray it indoors.

 

[r2m]

I agree about trying to protect the underside for sure. I have use Fluid Film on the attach points and other areas that seem like they might be prone to corrosion. I do run the vehicle through the touchless car wash a couple of times a week, which also sprays under the vehicle, and actually does a good job of getting rid of mud/grime, etc., but can also reduce the longevity of some of these products (I have to reapply occasionally). When my last can runs out, I am going to try another brand to see if it works any better.
The guy at Project Farm thoroughly tested some of these products and had interesting results. He tests a lot of things related to maintaining vehicles and his YouTube channel is worth checking out. Here is the video he did on car undercoatings:

That was a comprehensive review. I'll have to remember that if I ever move north and/or east of O.C., CA.

 

[RAWR207]

I just had mine done at rust check, never used a service before normally spray my own. They did a decent job I watched them, whole truck is an oily mess though even after washing the body. It seems similar to fluid film, non drying which is good because I'm going to continue to coat with that depending on how the winter shapes up, they wanted $20 a can for their stuff. They used a fairly light weight stuff in the panels and a much thicker formulation on the undercarriage so we'll see how it goes.

 

[rockstate45]

Woolwax for me on my 80, 100, and girlfriends GX460. It did a good job on my 80 last winter and I’m eager to see how it does on her GX. it’s also a southern vehicle and doesn’t have a lick of rust, except on a few bolt heads and where a jack is on the frame.

Woolwax is thicker than fluid film so it should be more resilient to winters, piles of snow, and just general aero under the vehicle.

goes on well in a couple of hours.

 

[TCEd]

Has anyone use da product called Corrosion Free ? It's a Canadian firm and from what I've read is another spray on product that may be similar to some of the other semi- permanent products that use a variety of buzz words.