Preserving undercarriage/frame in the rust belt?

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With winter soon approaching here in PA I was wondering if anyone has any experience preserving the underside of their vehicle? I try to pressure wash mine as often as I can when the snow starts to fly and the salt starts hitting the road but wondered about other options.

We recently purchased an 06 Toyota Sequoia with 54K on it and the frame has some slight surface rust. We plan to keep this vehicle a long time and I would like to take care of the underside. I did a little bit of googling and found anything from spraying used oil on it to spraying it with rustoleum to a product called Fluid Film and even spraying it with truck bedliner products. But also heard of trapping moisture with certain products and doing more harm than good? Something with a rust inhibitor in it would be the ticket and I was leaning towards this Fluid Film product.

http://www.fluid-film.com/applications/automotive/

Does anyone have any real life experiences or suggestions?
 
I would get it sprayed with an oil based undercoating/rust proofing solution. I go to Carwell yearly. Here are pics of the underneath of my Accord which I've put through 3 winters already.

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Nothing beats oil based rustproofing for a daily driver. The downside is that it has to be applied annually or biennially and some people complain that it makes their hands dirty when working on the car.

If you had a summer toy or a car that is driven occasionally, I would look into cleaner solutions, but for day-in day-out type od usage, oil based undercoating is the most effective.

And if you can get Carwell, Corrosion Free or Rust Check stuff, get it and skip Fluid Film. FF is OK, but the products I mentioned are better in terms of resistance to wash off.
 
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Since you already have a spot of rust you'd just cover it and let it fester if you did rhino liner etc. Some will say try POR-15 to convert the rust, but does it really, really get into every pore of metal?

Best option would be fluid film or similar wax-oil things. I'd wait till november to apply; it only lasts six months and can drop if it gets too warm.
 
I like Fluid Film because it's affordable and easy to DIY. There are no places that do oil-based undercoating in my area, so DIY'ing is the only option.

I spray it with a HF paint sprayer and use rattle cans with a wand attachment for inside frame rails and other areas.

FF will wash off of high-spray areas over time like wheel wells, so an annual touch-up in the fall is recommended. My experience is it holds up well on other areas.

More details in this thread:
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/3224835/1
 
I like fluid film and think it's a great product, but I've never tried it on the undercarriage, i like the idea of oil based instead of a sealant that hardens.
 
I would imagine that thicker Fluid Film sold in the gallon + containers will not wash off as easily as the thinner product in the aerosol cans. The aerosol should be good for other areas that don't see as much exposure.
 
I have 5 gallons of this on the way, they sell FF as well. They said it will last, longer protect better, and not need as frequent re-applications as FF. That's exactly what I was looking for. It's not cheap, and for one vehicle spray bombs might be a better way to go.

http://www.theruststore.com/Cortec-VpCI-368-P82C28.aspx

They reply to emails pretty quick, if you have an questions just ask them.
 
Been losing cars to rust for 40 years. No way to stop it.

Best I can do is, rust check the entire car every 4 years, rust check just the underside twice a year and buy a spray can of oil/rust check and touch up any rust I see a few times a year.
 
Starting using fluid film 2 years ago on my vehicles. Not a lot of data as far as effectiveness but I have noticed that on lower body panels and area subject to splash/wash it does not hold up. Of course, those are usually not the first places to rot either. I spray the entire underbody with a airless paint sprayer and FF bulk gallon as well as using a couple cans with the wand to get into doors and other such places. I figure there is the real benefit of it.

Edit: I also use it to wipe down knives and multitools in storage. Currently have a bead blasted Kershaw in a glovebox which was showing some surface rust spots very quickly when wiped with gun oil. A wipe with fluid film last year and its still unchanged.
 
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Originally Posted By: krismoriah72
http://www.amsoil.com/shop/by-product/ot...etal-protector/

Amsoil heavy duty metal protector or something similar is supposed to be "cosmoline like" i havent used it myself but it appears to work for those that use it. YMMV



That is some good stuff!!! I use it on my semi truck's suspension, frame, etc. Does a great job at a very low cost. I buy it by the cases at around $6.50 a spray can for it. Won't attract dirt and hold onto it. Stays in place for several washings. It drys to a waxy like covering after application.
 
I had a poor experience with HDMP on my truck. Love the way it coats, love the way it dries but I found after one winter I was getting some new rust in various seams and joints. Protected flat surfaces very well, though. Probably has some very good applications, and I keep a can on hand... but it is no longer my choice for undercarriage protection.
 
Originally Posted By: satinsilver
I would imagine that thicker Fluid Film sold in the gallon + containers will not wash off as easily as the thinner product in the aerosol cans. The aerosol should be good for other areas that don't see as much exposure.


Maybe our "thicker is better" assumption is not correct? It's probably our intuitive nature to assume that if we see a thicker initial layer, then it is better.

Carwell markets their product as leaving a micro thin layer (maybe molecules thick?)that remains on the surface to combat corrosion. I had buyer's remorse after my first Krown application because is seemed to disappear rather quickly. Almost three years later and so far, all is good (with annual applications).
 
Best way is to paint the undeside with Eastwoods.

Whenever I buy a new or used, I wash the underside and prep, apply a coat of Eastwoods Rust converter on anything with surface rust.
Then a coat of Rust Encapsulator, and two coats of Chasis Black expoxy paint. This includes all floor pand and susspension, transmission, T-case, diffs etc. Then I use their paintable seam seal on all joints to keep moisture out, then top coat the seam seel with Chasis black.

I then spray their heavy duty anti rust over that and paint the exhasut with their hi temp ceramic coatings.

lastly I use FLuid Film and a want to spray in all the rocker boxes, subframes, doors, deck lid, hatches. Also remover interior 1/4 trim in hatch or trunk areas and flood with fluid film to protect the rear wheel wells and lower pockets behind rear wheels.

One must also remove the inner fender liners to paint up in the inner fender areas and rust proof.
 
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
I have 5 gallons of this on the way, they sell FF as well. They said it will last, longer protect better, and not need as frequent re-applications as FF. That's exactly what I was looking for. It's not cheap, and for one vehicle spray bombs might be a better way to go.

http://www.theruststore.com/Cortec-VpCI-368-P82C28.aspx

They reply to emails pretty quick, if you have an questions just ask them.


Frank as you know I have used this one and Corban 22 for years with great results also. Both are far superior to FF and similar as well as the oil based stuff.
It lays down a buildable film that initially flows into everywhere (yes it flows into the pinch welded rocker panel lip) then dries to a no stick flexible non hardening coating, it is harmless to bushings and other rubber parts under the car.

The gun to apply it properly isn't cheap but considering the price of a new car its cheap insurance, the initial cost is quickly absorbed when you use 5 gallons between multiple vehicles.
Between 3 cars and the cost of the gun it comes out to about $175 a car.

http://www.eastwood.com/prof-undercoating-gun.html
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
I have 5 gallons of this on the way, they sell FF as well. They said it will last, longer protect better, and not need as frequent re-applications as FF. That's exactly what I was looking for. It's not cheap, and for one vehicle spray bombs might be a better way to go.

http://www.theruststore.com/Cortec-VpCI-368-P82C28.aspx

They reply to emails pretty quick, if you have an questions just ask them.


Frank as you know I have used this one and Corban 22 for years with great results also. Both are far superior to FF and similar as well as the oil based stuff.
It lays down a buildable film that initially flows into everywhere (yes it flows into the pinch welded rocker panel lip) then dries to a no stick flexible non hardening coating, it is harmless to bushings and other rubber parts under the car.

The gun to apply it properly isn't cheap but considering the price of a new car its cheap insurance, the initial cost is quickly absorbed when you use 5 gallons between multiple vehicles.
Between 3 cars and the cost of the gun it comes out to about $175 a car.

http://www.eastwood.com/prof-undercoating-gun.html


You got me looking into it. After speaking with you and doing my own research I agree that it is probably one of the very best products to apply. I already have the gun and compressor. I should have 5 gallons of the material next week. I have three vehicles to shoot. I haven't done it in a while so I might shoot the oldest one first for a little practice. The weather has been perfect hopefully it continues. I'd like to lay down two coats on the newest of the fleet.
 
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