Consistency of Fluid Film?

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JTK

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I've treated a few vehicles now with Woolwax and had gotten familiar with the the characteristics of this product. It's a thick, pleasant smelling, butterscotch pudding looking product. I recently bought a gallon can of Fluid Film and treated my 2019 Pathfinder with it today. I was surprised to see Fluid Film looked just like Woolwax, but doesn't smell as good. For others who have used Fluid Film, did yours look like this as well? Disregard the "woolwax" labels on the quart jars. Those empty jars are what I had on hand. My apologies for the atrocity that my workbench is in this pic! Gotta get that straightened out.
[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]
 
Yup, looks like Fluid Film to me.

I just did my truck yesterday. If you leave the Fluid Film sitting around for a few months it'll begin to separate...liquid will rise to the top and you'll have to mix it up again.
 
Thanks Railrust.

It's kind of funny because they sell special pouring caps for the tops of the one gallon cans and there's no way this stuff will pour unless I suppose you heat the heck out of it.

I used that plastic cup that's floating in the can to fill the one quart jars. Messy, but you don't waste any if you're careful.

Even with this very thick consistency the cheaper spray gun from kellsportproducts sprayed it no problem. I actually liked the results from the cheaper spray gun than the more expensive one that I used from my brother's Woolwax kit.

Much prefer the scent from woolwax over fluidfilm. Woolwax smells like hand lotion. Fluidfilm smells like manure to me.
 
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Originally Posted by JTK
Thanks Railrust.
Fluidfilm smells like manure to me.


Yes its lanolin based so basically sheep BO.

I use it on my hedge trimmers to lube and prevent rust.
 
I like the smell of FluidFilm. It has a sweet smell to it. Growing up, and still living, on a farm, my sense of smell is probably skewed, though.
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I take my gallons of FF in my house a couple days before I use it so that it warms up a bit. I mix it right before use, too.
 
I used to work in a John Deere factory and they used Fluid film by the 55 gallon barrel. As the equipment came out of the paint oven the would squirt it down all the seams that weren't welded where water could collect. The barrel had basically a grease pump on top of it with a long wand to reach everywhere.
 
Looks just like the gallon I have. I asked them about the thickness and they said it could be thinned with vegetable oil. I added about a cup to the gallon and it went through my cheap spray gun well. I did mine in August though.
 
Originally Posted by cpayne5
I like the smell of FluidFilm. It has a sweet smell to it. Growing up, and still living, on a farm, my sense of smell is probably skewed, though.
laugh.gif


I take my gallons of FF in my house a couple days before I use it so that it warms up a bit. I mix it right before use, too.


I'm thinkin' batches of it must smell differently, I didn't stir up this gallon enough or I'm just used to Woolwax, which is also a 100% lanolin product? It seemed totally homogeneous as-is.

I had the can sitting in the house for a few days. Room temp is around 68F. It does melt like butter in your hands.

Either way. I'm loving this stuff, be it woolwax or fluidfilm. No more krown or otherwise for me when I can treat my own vehicle in under an hour.
 
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The description of woolwax says its thicker than fluid film? Is that true?

Ive only ever used fluid film and as much as I like it I find it doesn't hold up to the road spray near the wheels. Been wanting to try woolwax if it is indeed thicker but if its the same I will just stick with fluid film.
 
CDX- They looked and felt like the exact same consistency to me. Basically why I started this thread to see if others had comparison experience with the two.

My experience with woolwax is with it in the 5gal plastic pail. The fluidfilm I bought was in a 1gal plastic paint can. The woolwax and the guns were ordered off amazon from kellsportproducts and the fluid film I ordered online through autozone.

Maybe fluidfilm melts and flows more than woolwax? I don't have enough time with either to determine that.
 
Originally Posted by JTK
CDX- They looked and felt like the exact same consistency to me. Basically why I started this thread to see if others had comparison experience with the two.

My experience with woolwax is with it in the 5gal plastic pail. The fluidfilm I bought was in a 1gal plastic paint can. The woolwax and the guns were ordered off amazon from kellsportproducts and the fluid film I ordered online through autozone.

Maybe fluidfilm melts and flows more than woolwax? I don't have enough time with either to determine that.


I like fluid film, but I don't exactly love it. Not sure how woolwax is, but fluid film does tend to wash away...I don't consider it a full year application, it needs to be done twice a year in my opinion.

But it's been good to me as long as I reapply it twice a year.
 
Originally Posted by Railrust

I like fluid film, but I don't exactly love it. Not sure how woolwax is, but fluid film does tend to wash away...I don't consider it a full year application, it needs to be done twice a year in my opinion.

But it's been good to me as long as I reapply it twice a year.


It's been maybe 5 weeks since I woolwaxed my Ram and like you say, i can see where areas that get directly blasted by water/mist would wear away in a matter of months or less. Could there still be some magical zinc or whatever left behind like Krown claims? I have no idea.

The way I think about it, it's the stagnant areas that will sneak up on you and rust, so that's were these fluid/grease like coatings work their magic the best.

The nice thing about owning the spray gun kit is you can hit what ever areas you want as often as you want. I store it all in a clean 5gal bucket with a lid so it's easy to grab when I need it. I zip lock bag the different wands. The stuff doesn't dry out and clog the works which is nice.
 
Originally Posted by JTK
Originally Posted by Railrust

I like fluid film, but I don't exactly love it. Not sure how woolwax is, but fluid film does tend to wash away...I don't consider it a full year application, it needs to be done twice a year in my opinion.

But it's been good to me as long as I reapply it twice a year.


It's been maybe 5 weeks since I woolwaxed my Ram and like you say, i can see where areas that get directly blasted by water/mist would wear away in a matter of months or less. Could there still be some magical zinc or whatever left behind like Krown claims? I have no idea.

The way I think about it, it's the stagnant areas that will sneak up on you and rust, so that's were these fluid/grease like coatings work their magic the best.

The nice thing about owning the spray gun kit is you can hit what ever areas you want as often as you want. I store it all in a clean 5gal bucket with a lid so it's easy to grab when I need it. I zip lock bag the different wands. The stuff doesn't dry out and clog the works which is nice.


What I'd like to do is buy some cosmoline and just touch up a few "heavy traffic areas" on my frame...that stuff goes on wet and dries into a pretty durable wax. It's pretty expensive though...and it won't creep into all tight spots like a fluid film would.
 
I just bought a gallon of woolwax to try out, and it is (based upon your photo), marginally more fluid than what Im seeing of the FF picture. FF when mixed is somewhat more fluid - but that's temperature dependent too.

Did you mix the FF before snapping that photo?

Woolwax looks to me like a great product to wipe all over with a foam paintbrush. Time will tell how it sprays.
 
Originally Posted by Railrust
Originally Posted by JTK
Originally Posted by Railrust

I like fluid film, but I don't exactly love it. Not sure how woolwax is, but fluid film does tend to wash away...I don't consider it a full year application, it needs to be done twice a year in my opinion.

But it's been good to me as long as I reapply it twice a year.


It's been maybe 5 weeks since I woolwaxed my Ram and like you say, i can see where areas that get directly blasted by water/mist would wear away in a matter of months or less. Could there still be some magical zinc or whatever left behind like Krown claims? I have no idea.

The way I think about it, it's the stagnant areas that will sneak up on you and rust, so that's were these fluid/grease like coatings work their magic the best.

The nice thing about owning the spray gun kit is you can hit what ever areas you want as often as you want. I store it all in a clean 5gal bucket with a lid so it's easy to grab when I need it. I zip lock bag the different wands. The stuff doesn't dry out and clog the works which is nice.


What I'd like to do is buy some cosmoline and just touch up a few "heavy traffic areas" on my frame...that stuff goes on wet and dries into a pretty durable wax. It's pretty expensive though...and it won't creep into all tight spots like a fluid film would.


The difference between FF and Cosomline (I use RP-342) is night and day. Gone is the smell, the mess, and the constant maintenance required using FF or oil. After a couple of coats you're pretty much good for years. I'm in the 4th winter with RP-342 covering the Escalade undercarraige, and the only thing I'm doing at this point is touching up tiny spots I missed or required additional coats. It does get a little tacky, creep and self heal in hot summer weather. Gets hard in the winter months. Which means the sand and soot won't build up, water and snow won't wash it off, salt won't penetrate. Which is good because you can see the results. You can see if the rust is bleeding through or active. Its not hidden under black soot or dirt. Which is what happened to me 2 weeks ago. The first time I've ever lost the brakes while driving in the Classic in my sig which has been oiled for its entire life. I bought it because of that. It looked great. But... Under the soot so thick it looked like a bees nest was rusted rear brake lines in back. I could not see it. The oil was moving around, but the buildup of dirt had absorbed the oil, allowing rust underneath.

Its not that expensive if you shop around. I buy a 9 pack of RP-342 12oz cans for $100 online. Thats $11 a can. The 11.75 FF cans you get at lowes are $10 ea. I've never had a dud can. I never seem to get every last drop out of a FF can.

Its not really a good idea to combine the Cosmoline or any wax with oil. it dilutes the strength and hampers Cosmolines ability to creep into the rust layers. You may get a chip or 2 if the oil is built up with dirt. Which is unfortunate because once you commit to oil its not easy to get the undercarriage clean. I'm having that struggle with the Classic in my signature. My Escalade undercarriage is beautiful now. Stays clean all winter. No additional rust. I just treated the Altima in my sig the other day. It looks great. Preserved outside under snow waiting to be used like a old WW2 rifle lol. We will see in the long run, maybe its more wishful thinking. But so far, its amazing.
 
Just got some woolwax bottles. The woolwax is thick but flows and pours. FF is IMO slightly thinner than WW.

Something is not right with your FF.

Stir it well.

Edit: I think there are two types of FF, one more solid. Maybe you bought the thicker one? Liquid AR perhaps?

7EE84033-2801-4462-B66F-79D5C34952C9.jpeg
 
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Originally Posted by JHZR2
Just got some woolwax bottles. The woolwax is thick but flows and pours. FF is IMO slightly thinner than WW.

Something is not right with your FF.

Stir it well.

Edit: I think there are two types of FF, one more solid. Maybe you bought the thicker one? Liquid AR perhaps?



Could have been an older can maybe? I'm also thinking there is variations between batches of this product based on pics I've seen people post. I did stir mine with a paint stick.

I mail-ordered it from Advance Auto. It's the standard looking gallon can of FF. I've never seen any variations of labeling.

Regardless of how it looked, it sprayed very well with the standard (cheap) gun from kellsport products. I didn't try this gun with WW yet, but given how thick my FF is, I'm sure it would spray well.
 
Just wondering how you guys are getting under your cars to spray? What method are you using to jack up your cars?
 
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