Undercarriage Protection Thoughts, Woolwax, Fluid Film? (1 Viewer)

[jht3]

of course i have a jack and stands. but the ramps are more convenient if i don't need to remove wheels. never felt unsafe using them?

yes, i went w/ the "kit" from woolwax, so their gun. hopefully it works as advertised. went for the turnkey approach vs piecing this together...which is my normal approach to save a few $. but i really need to start factoring in my time

i've spent the last year cleaning the superfund site that my driveway became after blowing up the trans cooler lines and coating the entire under carriage with ATF. it dripped for weeks as it emerged from every nook and cranny. you're telling me woolwax WON'T destroy it again? good to know!

 

[travistheone]

of course i have a jack and stands. but the ramps are more convenient if i don't need to remove wheels. never felt unsafe using them?

yes, i went w/ the "kit" from woolwax, so their gun. hopefully it works as advertised. went for the turnkey approach vs piecing this together...which is my normal approach to save a few $. but i really need to start factoring in my time

i've spent the last year cleaning the superfund site that my driveway became after blowing up the trans cooler lines and coating the entire under carriage with ATF. it dripped for weeks as it emerged from every nook and cranny. you're telling me woolwax WON'T destroy it again? good to know!

i sprayed with spray cans and got almost zero on my driveway.

 

[Fzjrvakma]

Has anybody had any experience with dirt or sand sticking to the lanolin products? If so, I'm assuming you've got to physically remove all of it which would then take the treatment off as well?

 

[iptman]

Yes! Don't apply it within a couple 3 months prior to going wheeling. You need to let the lanolin set up, otherwise the dirt and mud will mix with the lanolin. I don't know that it decreases effectiveness but it will look terrible.

 

[GlobalTJB]

For those who did it themselves, regrets or would do again? How long did it take you? Any tips or other advice from a first timer that you would or wouldnt do the next time you spray it?

 

[mgrs]

For those who did it themselves, regrets or would do again? How long did it take you? Any tips or other advice from a first timer that you would or wouldnt do the next time you spray it?

Absolutely would do again. Wife's T4R we got straight from the port in Feb '22 and coated almost immediately. Even the cast unpainted parts on it that usually start to rust on the dealer lot are still white.

- the stuff does not flow well if you do it when it is cold
- use the largest compressor you can- it takes a lot of air to spray
- it generates a lot of vapor that will carry lanolin in it and leave a film

 

[iptman]

You got a sous vide heater? Stick the can of Woolwax in a bucket of water and set the temp to 90 degrees, come back a couple hours later and good to go. The first time you spray you really want to take your time and get in all the nooks and crannies. Use the 360* wand adapter to get inside the frame rails. It'll probably take you an hour to spray the first time, not including prep and clean up. Subsequent years you'll spend more time jacking up the truck and prepping than spraying. For clean up, just stick everything in a 2 1/2 gallon zip lock bag and store it. The first time I tried to actually clean everything like you might for a paint gun and about 5 minutes in regretted that decision. There's no reason to clean it. Just assume everything is going to be covered in lanolin which obviously isn't a problem. I'll be spraying my 80, 40 and Suburbans in the next couple of weeks. The 80 and 40 because they rest through the winter in a dirt floor barn. This will be the first time doing the 40.

 

[jonheld]

For those who did it themselves, regrets or would do again? How long did it take you? Any tips or other advice from a first timer that you would or wouldnt do the next time you spray it?

As I said earlier in this thread, I spray my LX450 every October in my driveway.
The pics below were taken after I did a lousy job power washing my frame and other dangly bits to get the 10 years worth of Fluid Film and dirt layers off and see what's actually underneath. The following day I did another coating of FF in my driveway.
This is after 10 years as a daily driver in Jersey, so you can make the decision if it's worth it to put up with a temporary smell and a greasy undercarriage.

As far as tips, go to your favorite home store and get some 2mil plastic sheeting/dropcloths and lay them out. I have 4 ramps that I use to pick the truck up so I can get my old fat arse crawling around under there. A compressor and an inexpensive paint sprayer makes quick work of it. From start to finish, I'd say it takes about 1.5 hours including setup and cleanup.

You're going to want to wash the outside of the windows with some Windex or whatever because the mist will get everywhere and it will smell for a few days. FF is completely safe to use for animals, plants, humans, children, plastic, metal, paint, clearcoat, whatever. I wear a Tyvek suit to keep my clothes clean as I'm sliding around on the plastic.

The first drive you will want to stay on the brakes. I spray all 4 backing plates so the mist gets on the rotors and calipers. The first few brake applications can get tricky, so be careful.