Rust proofing the frame

[2021 LC200]

Hi all,

Have a 2021 LC200 (base model, blizzard pearl, black) coming, should be delivered first or second week of November. I am pretty excited and count myself lucky.

Any recommendation rust proofing the frame?

Would like to drive this vehicle for 10 if not 20+ years and on occasions take it on the beach. Searching online/youtube vids I read/hear rubber coating may not be a good way as water can get under it. Fluid film and Woolwax (best of the two?) seem good products.

Any experience or recommendations? Beside the outside and inside the frame... should I spray the rest of the underbody and axles etc.? Should i spray a transparent wax like fluid film or wolwax (comes in black or transparent) in the bottom of the doors and the back door?

Or not bother as the factory coating and anti corrosion system is top notch and rusting through the frame is a non issue?

Your thoughts/experience please?

Thanks a lot!

 

[Sandroad]

I suspect if you give it a good wash top and bottom with fresh water after beach trips, your ride will last easily 20+ years in Houston without any treatment. Your topside treatments to prevent sun damage may be more relevant.

 

[Yossarian]

Or not bother as the factory coating and anti corrosion system is top notch and rusting through the frame is a non issue?

The factory coating from Toyota is not up to the task. A quick search will reveal many with undercarriage corrosion. While it is common, I have not heard of any failures yet. Toyota has had to replace the whole frame on Tacoma's due to corrosion. Others?

 

[PDoyle]

You would be surprised at the amount of unpainted steel under the truck. Might as well get under it with a creeper and a can of black paint. Pull the spare tire off first.

 

[ColoradoNick]

Fluid Film seems like the best play. I did a ton of research on this myself. Seems that any rubberrized coating or paint can always have the effect of locking in moisture. It’s also just generally harder to apply and for the common person non reversible. Fluid film is like spraying oil on your frame... as it’s Lanolin based. You could always scrape off if you wanted, though you wouldn’t. It’s also easy to do yourself and can be placed directly on rust if you have any surface spots appear already. There are other thoughts but for ease of use and effectiveness it seems like an easy choice. They sell it at Lowes.

 

[PDoyle]

IMO Fluid Film is great until you need to work in it. And I don't care what you put on the axle housings it will in time come off from highway driving. The OP has a brand new truck with minimal to no moisture exposure. I would paint the undercarriage along the frame and do it about once a year.

 

[eatSleepWoof]

I would apply a few coats of a self-etching primer on any unpainted metal, cover that with a few layers of a decent black paint, and then fluid film or wool wax all metal once per year.

A year ago I did rust remediation on my '14 LX. I just spent an hour pressure washing the bottom of the truck and am happy to report the efforts were worth the time & money. Very, very little rust visible. Virtually as good as the average brand-new Toyota sitting on any local dealership floor. Additional treatment + fluid film will happen today, once the truck dries.

 

[ColoradoNick]

IMO Fluid Film is great until you need to work in it. And I don't care what you put on the axle housings it will in time come off from highway driving. The OP has a brand new truck with minimal to no moisture exposure. I would paint the undercarriage along the frame and do it about once a year.

This is very true and worth considering. It seems everyone resprays Fluid Film each fall as it does come off. And being brand new you don’t need to worry about the moisture. I’d probably still end on fluid film but all super valid points. Note: I am coming in with a 5 year old truck and some surface rust so I had to consider that in my choice.

Thanks for the additional considerations for the OP

 

[Lester did that]

Unless you can pull the truck off the frame do not use any type of paint or rubber coating! You simply can't get to all areas. Any little spots missed or without perfect adhesion will let water and salt in. Even worse is it will still look good while the frame rots. Don't forget the frame is hollow with a lot of holes punched thru. You have to get in there as well.

Folks use products like WoolWax or FluidFilm because it deletes all of these issues. It creeps into all the nooks and crannies. Does not dry so it "moves" around. That being said it is not permanent. FluidFilm does have a bit of an odor that some people don't like. It's also very thin. Up north you reapply fluid film once a year in the fall. It washes off with the spring/summer rain. But it's very easy to apply. WoolWax is a lot thicker. That's what I use. I get away with every two seasons with a little touch up between. It comes in black so it looks nice under and you can visually inspect it. I use FluidFilm on the inside of the frame.

Now here is the thing. Your in Texas. You don't need to worry so much about rust like we do. The sand from the beach or where ever will stick to the undercoating like flies on fly paper. Also mechanics down your way might flip out if they have to work on it. It is a greasy mess. They are used to it up here and will probably say "now here's someone that actually maintains". I would do no paint, no rubber, no FluidFilm, no Woolwax. If your not banging around on rocks or brush you can drop some of the factory under armor (they hold moisture). Take it to a car wash and have the undercarriage washed after the beach. Super simple.

 

[stonepa]

There sure seem to be a lot of threads about Surface rust on this forum. Has anyone on here ever had a frame failure due to rust? No. Doesn't happen with LC unless you drive the vehicle in a corrosive environment for decades. Tacoma? Yes, with the defective Dana-built frames. Same with Tundra. Some 4Runner frames have also failed but they are all salt state trucks and it took 15-20 years of driving. How many folks actually keep their vehicle longer than 5-10 years?

Just curious given the weekly threads on this topic. Ive been driving LCs since 1987 (still have my FJ60) and i don’t spend a lot of time worrying about my frame rust.

 

[Fishinsea]

Boeshield t-9 is what we use in the marine industry, I use it on my charter fishing boat all the time. If I had to compare it to something it would have to be somewhat like cosmoline. I spray what i want and after a few days it sets up and then apply again but boy howdy it works good and I have a 2018 LC with 15,500 and I plan to do it before winter comes to this S**T state of VA that use salt on the roads. If you all have not heard of this product, I highly recommend you look into it.

 

[ElJayBird]

I live in the PNW and I use fluid film every fall. We don’t salt roads in my area so it’s probably unnecessary but I do it anyway just for peace of mind.

 

[Moby]

@ElJayBird do you apply yourself? Fluid film doesn't show an undercoater in the PNW on their website. I'm in Seattle and Bend so if there is a place in Portland I'd stop on a trip through to get a professional job done.

 

[ElJayBird]

I just do it myself. I order a few cans off of Amazon and go to a local DIY shop. Just put it on the lift and get after it. I don’t drop the spare or anything and just get everything that I can reach. Takes about 30 minutes I guess. Just did a fresh coat last week.

 

[ElJayBird]

Quick heads up - if you do it yourself, put down a drop cloth because the mist will coat the floor and it’s slippery as hell. Learned that the hard way!

 

[Rayf]

I live in a road-salt state, so I am highly motivated to eliminate and prevent rust. I have an older 4Runner where a frame weld failed due to rust- one of the suspension brackets came off, perhaps exacerbated by the -20 degree temperature... The frame still looks pretty good, but evidently rust crept through the weld joint enough to cause failure. It turns out that there is an active cottage industry selling customized beefy braces to weld in along the frame after this happens. After I added the braces (both sides, just to be sure) it seems better than ever.

However, on my new-to-me LC 80, I want to be diligent about rust. The frame is in very good condition, with a small amount of surface rust, mainly on bolts etc. My plan is to liberally apply a rust converter (Corroseal), then apply Woolwax. I was debating a coat of Rustoleum Rust Converter paint after the Corroseal, but am leaning away from this now. Realistically hoping for another 5-8 years before rust rears its ugly head.

 

[JOFS]

I started with fluid film and now use wool wax. I live in Maine and it obviously is a very different environment. I used to do fluid film twice a year and now am doing woolwax once a year.

I like the fact that I can spray it inside the frame and it will creep. Years ago I restored a few mini trucks and did the frames with sandblasting rust conversion, and then sealing. The box frames still rusted out from the inside as I couldn't do anything about the inside.

That is the piece that I think folks forget about. These frames are boxed and their is an inside that you aren't seeing and you aren't able to treat well with the straight up paint or topical treatments through my repeated treatments of fluid film and woolwax I feel pretty good that most of the inside is coated at this point and the wear factor there is pretty low.

But I think anything you do in houston you will be all set with your cruiser.

Good luck.
John

 

[TonyP]

Fluid Film if you're fancy. $50/gal
Bar and chain oil if you're cheap. $8/gal

 

[JohnPW]

Keep your truck off of the sand that is wet from the gulf. Wash the underside after you’ve been on the beach. I’m in Florida & I don’t hear about rust issues from driving on the beach occasionally, unless you’re dumb enough to drive at the surf’s edge, which I’m sure you are not planning on.

 

[linuxgod]

If you're not getting the vehicle wet with salt water, like launching a boat into the ocean, then in Houston I doubt you need to do much of anything. I'm in Chicago but I bought my LC from a dealer in Houston - it was 3 years old (used for 25 months) and 49k miles and there was not a speck of rust underneath. Fast forward 5 years in Chicago with salty roads and even though I hit the steel bits underneath with fluid film each year the welds and some bolts/nuts do have some surface rust on them.

You can apply FF but it does wear off. You really need to do it a couple times a year. That said a good undercarriage rinse once or twice a month and it's unlikely to be a big deal for decades in Houston. The only thing I would do is put some marine grease on the KDSS valve screws since those tend to rust quickly.