Fresh fluid film

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Annual fluid film application now complete on my F150. Bulk FF sprayed through an airless paint sprayer for the underbody with a wand on the aersol cans to get into the doors and inside the rockers. Smells so nice, too bad that only lasts for a few days
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That is all.
 
Same here, just did my Frontier two weeks ago. That smell lasts about a week for me before going away. Probably do the wife's FJ this weekend.
 
So I just received (literally yesterday) my Fluid Film Pro kit: 1 gal FF, "Pro" sprayer, 1 extension wand, & 1 360 degree extension wand. Looking forward to getting a coating on all the cars before winter.

Originally Posted By: Hootbro
Same here, just did my Frontier two weeks ago. That smell lasts about a week for me before going away. Probably do the wife's FJ this weekend.


I'll be doing my '16 Frontier as well. I don't plan on driving it in the salt, but if I have to, I want it protected. Did you do inside your rockers and door panels? I'm not too enthused about drilling into a new truck's body panels. I've not looked yet but was wondering if there were existing holes I could spray some in. Any tips/tricks/things to pay attention to on the Frontier?
 
Originally Posted By: fenixguy
I'm not too enthused about drilling into a new truck's body panels. I've not looked yet but was wondering if there were existing holes I could spray some in. Any tips/tricks/things to pay attention to on the Frontier?


There should be absolutely no need to drill any hole when DIYing. Shops do it to save time, that's it. The rocker panels should have plugs, but are usually accessible from under the car. Another trick to access the rocker panels is to remove the bottom door sills. They usually clip directly into the car body, so there will be large holes available once the sills are removed.

For spraying inside the door cavities, I use the water drain holes and bend the straw from the spray can.
 
Originally Posted By: fenixguy

I'll be doing my '16 Frontier as well. I don't plan on driving it in the salt, but if I have to, I want it protected. Did you do inside your rockers and door panels? I'm not too enthused about drilling into a new truck's body panels. I've not looked yet but was wondering if there were existing holes I could spray some in. Any tips/tricks/things to pay attention to on the Frontier?


I did my inside door panels by removing the interior panel and gained access by removing the door speaker. Rockers was just whatever I could do at the seams. Where I live, we get at best three snow events a year, so it is not a heavy salt environment.

As for tips with the Frontier, it is nothing that would not apply to most vehicles. I do recommend removing the wheels to get inside the wheel well areas on the suspension parts better. Just cover the brake stuff with a plastic bag to avoid getting it on that. I would also recommend dropping any underbody skid plates for better access. I used about 3/4 of a gallon of Fluid Film on the underside and liberally applied it everywhere to include the frame and underside exposed sheet metal. Also do not forget the inside of the rear bumper as that is a high rot area on these vehicles.

Expect to get covered in the stuff. It atomizes pretty fine with a sprayer ( I used a Wagner paint sprayer). The stuff is non toxic but does leave a fine mist film even over areas that you did not really apply to. So you will be doing a light hand soap wash on the exterior body top side when done. I would also recommend a light soapy rinse of the underside before starting and at least 24 hours to dry before applying the Fluid Film. Once applied, the stuff needs about 1 week for the carrier agent to dry off and the lanolin to start setting up. So avoid if at all possible any heavy rain, dirt road driving or yard debris blown under it. When I did my wife's FJ last year, I mowed/mulched the lawn and when I powered leaf blower around her FJ, it stuck a bunch of clippings to the fresh Fluid Film.

Lastly, avoid applying the stuff under 70 degrees Fahrenheit outside temp. The stuff flows like brown snot out of the can but does flow in the sprayer uncut well above 70 degrees. I would recommend storing the Fluid Film inside the house 24 hours before use.
 
Thanks! I've not really had a good look at it yet. I figured there would be better ways to access the rockers and doors without drilling. I'm planning on doing the CR-V first, that way I'll have an idea of how to go at it.

And I like the smell of Fluid Film too! Once I started buying the spray cans, I put that stuff on everything. I was using used engine oil for a lot of things but FF sticks better, smells better, is better for the environment, and is less messy.

One FF story while I'm at it: One Sunday morning at church we were having a special service. Special to my pastor means he can hold us in there for as long as he wants (just kidding, but still). Needless to say, there were a lot of people getting up to go to the restroom and every one of them would open and close the vestibule doors. So for 3 hours, "squeek, squeek, squeek"... I recently was tasked with changing the church sign so I have keys to the building. I took a can of FF and let those hinges have it. I didn't take the doors off, but figured I'd let the "creeping" effect of FF do it's thing. That was 6 months ago. I've not heard a sound out of them since!
 
I always try to intentionally drove down dirt roads after. Sure it makes the underside messy but that REALLY helps longevity.
 
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