Undercoating

I'm going to fluid film my tacoma tommrow and on the frame there spots that have little rust would i need a wire brush to scrape it of or a drill brush

 

If its flaking type of rust, its a good idea to wire brush as many of the big chunks off as possible. If its just minor surface rust you can FF right over that. (you could still wire wheel those spots, if you really want to..)

 

Should I paint over after I wire brush or just straight fluid film

 

I use a wire brush then sand down to shiny metal. Primer and paint, then wait a few weeks to top coat with fluid film.

 

how does the fluid film hold up with the frequent winter washings?
do you or anybody have experience with this situation, i like to hose my truck down thoroughly best I can until my knuckles flirt with frostbite sometimes in the brutal dead of winter
I hear/read this fluid film application will wash right off so a wasted effort of time and money or maybe its more permanent then I am leading myself to believe?

 

I do not wash my undercarriage in the winter. If we get constant snow storms Ill do it, but the fluid film should be thick enough to prevent any salt from getting through.

It does not wash right off. Ive had mine sprayed on for a year now, still really snotty under there despite monsoon rains, car washes etc. Its like trying to wash off grease with just water. It aint happening lol, as water just beads up on it and drips off.

 

Think of it as any oil. It takes a bit of effort to wash it off. FF is designed to be persistent. Is fairly persistent on rough porous surfaces; e.g., rusting metal.

 

ok I am gonna have to do trial and error this coming winter on it once I figure out the costs of product and application, it seems easy enough to apply from what I have been reading
I like to keep my wheel wells and rocker panels good and clean from the salty monster, we often have many feet of dirty city snow piled up and melting slowly for weeks and months sometimes
the black gets dirty roadspray very quickly

 

I wash the body/wheel wells after every snow storm. But I trust the fluid film to protect my undercarriage. Like I said, if I wash underneath during winter I just use a garden hose, but not on high pressure, mainly to get the salt off the cab and other stuff that I didnt spray.

 

i may have to change my spray habits, i wash that nasty stuff off with the power setting at half-sheltered DIY car wash, make sure its all gone
but recently I have read that some of these places use 'salty' recycled water from the prior vehicles in their soapy wash and rinse cycles and that the only 'pure' water is the spot free rinse
I use all three cycle so i must change that routine

 

Carwashes are required by law to recycle most of their water. Id just do it at home.

 

i don't want the outside faucet (covered up & insulated) or hose to freeze! or icy driveway!
it gets down to sub-zero temps here often enough!
but its hot and very humid out today

 

I bought a CA truck and have had it here in MA for three winters. I’ve applied FF every fall and the undercarriage is looking good, but there are some rust spots beginning to appear. Most of the rusty areas are by the front and rear wheels. I’m assuming those areas just get splashed more heavily than other areas, so the winter salts and water work their way past the FF.

I do not rinse the undercarriage in the winter, as that is the purpose of the FF in my mind. I also want the FF to stay on there and do it’s job. Sometimes I pressure wash the undercarriage in the summer to clear out all the FF goop and start with a fresh application in the fall.

If I’m smart I will clean up the rusty spots before winter comes...

 

You could if you want to make your truck look really good (and you have the time..) But if you just want to stop the rust, yearly or even twice yearly applications of fluid film should do the trick!

FF kind of "sets up" after a while on the truck (once it gets covered in dust and road grime and everything). Only way to remove it is with rags or a really good pressure washer. A garden hose wont do much besides maybe knock the top layer of grime off.
Areas like the cab mount, UCAs / LCAs, or other places exposed to direct road spray will wear off way faster than other areas, just from the constant abrasion

 

I like to put the 2003 Tacoma and 2002 4Runner in the garage all winter and drive the 2019 Tundra

Really tho- 1st yr using the FF. I also plan on wire wheeling a few sections of the rear on the 4r, prime/paint then ff.
Just FF on the new framed Tacoma from here on out.