Any value in "fluid-filming" (or similar anti-corrosion treatment)?

Living on southern Vancouver Island (Just north and west of Seattle). We get a couple of inches of snow for a couple of days a year... on average less than ten (often less than five) days total in a year... maybe 10-15 days below zero. Roads typically get a liquid brine vice traditional salt, and then, probably only 20-30 days a year.

I know there's no harm in it, and the expense isn't a consideration, but if there's no tangible benefit, why bother?

 

27 months old has 40 thousands miles spends its life in the rust belt thanks to fluid flim about $40 bucks to date the undercarriage still looks like new with no rust and no oxidation. Five years from now when you need an alignment and your cam bolts are frozen your gonna wish you did use it.

 

If the undercoating treatment was applied at the factory, do you still recommend fluid film? Will this hurt the treatment or help better prevent rust?

 

It couldn't hurt. At worst it's a waste of an hour or two and a few dollars

 

This ^^^

 

Steel rusts, do what you can to slow it down. Unless you want to work on a truck like this in 10+ years...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnXu1tLJT8M

 

Hey there viewers!

 

Do vehicles tend to rust on Vancouver Island? The northwest doesn't tend to be as bad as the eastern side of the continent for rust but maybe it's a little worse up on the island. Toyota trucks don't have a good reputation for rust resistance. If vehicles tend to rust up there, your truck has a good chance of rusting.

A few hundred K away here in eastern WA nobody would ever even consider fluid film. Your results may vary.

 

got 100k miles on a 2016 and i've been applying fluid film since day one. No rust to speak of at all. Though I have started using wool wax recently, goes on thicker and doesn't stink like fluid film.

 

Did mine over the weekend. 4 cans of Fluid Film did the trick. The manufacturer also makes WoolWax that is similar but its a thicker formula and they removed the weird ass odor.

 

yeah. I don't know what part of the critter comes lanolin, but "i' tain't" the front part!

 

Not that it makes a huge difference, but I don't think they're actually made by the same folks. I originally thought they were, and I've seen commenters on other forums saying they're made by the same people. But neither of their websites mention each other, and I can't find any evidence that they're owned by the same parent company or anything. Plus, if you look at Woolwax's YouTube channel (like this video, specifically), they compare Woolwax to Fluid Film and they refer to FF as "a competitor" and appear to be very carefully not saying the product name.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Either way, I'm leaning toward Woolwax based on what I've read and seen around the web. I like the added thickness and the lack of stink. If Woolwax is made by the same people who make FF, I'd love to know: the only thing making me hesitate before switching to Woolwax is that I know and trust FF.

I've only used FF a couple of times previously, and each time it was on vehicles that were already pretty rusty and i was just trying to slow the inevitable. This will be my first time using it on a brand-new rust-free truck. OP, as to whether or not there's a tangible benefit, I think it helps a great deal. Here's a video that gives a little bit of evidence that it's helpful. It won't work miracles, but it's an extra layer of protection.

To those of you who've used either FF or Woolwax or anything similar: how often do you wash your undercarriage? Do you wash more or less frequently than if you hadn't applied? I always felt a little weird spraying down my undercarriage with FF on, I wanted to get the salt off but I knew each spray was wearing a liiiittle bit of the FF off too.

 

I would use old motor oil and paint it on with a brush but its a disgusting mess, Fluid Film is awesome

 

Arizona is hot but worth it.

 

I would have to live in the mountains. Heat is so unbearable to me.

 

I love the heat. We hike on the hottest day of the year and hottest time of day.

 

That's a nice looking underside you got there! My FF is caked in road grime, dirt, and road kill. I guess more protection against the elements? lol I'm planning to take a power washer to the frame this weekend and do a little light cleaning and re-spray

 

Has anyone fluid filmed their trucks that aren't clean/new underneath? I got a 18' with 10k miles and the bottom is pretty dirty already. Did you guys do a complete wash underneath before applying the fluid film?

 

For the very first application, i would do my best to get it as clean as you can, otherwise you are essentially "trapping" the dirt against the frame.

 

Fluid Film simply prevents the atmosphere from gaining access to the frame, third member, nuts, bolts, etc. on the undercarriage. No atmosphere = no rust.