New York Rust

Just got my first Tacoma, actually, I pick it up tomorrow. read a bunch of the different rust discussions on here, spread over the last bunch of years. looking for up to date conventional wisdom on the subject.

I know the dealer is going to hard sell me on their rust proofing, they use Diamond-Kote. They say it never has to be inspected or redone, and gives me a 10 year warranty from the dealer. I don't see how this can work, when every other product and service provider says they need to check it yearly at least. Warranty or not if it fails i'll have a rusty truck which will piss me off.

Two doors down there is a place that sprays the Known/Krown product, its 139 bucks and they want it back every year for 99 bucks. The dealer offering is 550, and Ziebart is 650. I also see theres lots of stuff i can do on my own. I can also drive 50 miles and have the corrosion free 3000 stuff done.

Best advice for a Tacoma rookie in Rochester NY?

 

krown product seems to work good for canada. other then that I would do it myself with fluid film.

 

I just got my truck a little over a year ago here in PA and researched this for weeks as well. As for the dealer coatings; There are to many stories out there about the dealer hard coatings wearing out or cracking after several years, moisture getting underneath, and the frame rotting out without any visibility into what's happening.

Was planning on doing a yearly Krown treatment, but found I don't have one within an hour of me. So I went with the Fluid Film spray cans. I apply generously in the early Spring (3 - 4 cans) on everything metal except my exhaust and brakes, and then I also do a light coat in late fall (1 or 2 cans), and just power rinse the frame during the winter after it's been through a nasty storm with a lot of salt or when the truck and frame starts looking white. So far my underbody looks pretty new after two winters (took delivery in Nov 2012), so I'm very happy with Fluid Film and will continue to use it in both spring and fall about 5 - 6 cans a year total. You can even spray it on wet surfaces and it will displace the water.

Based on my research; I think doing your main treatment in the spring is more important than doing it in the fall right before winter. I've read spring moisture and warmer temps tend to cause more rust than the actual salt in the winter. Even most of the professional undercoating companies out there, like Krown, all recommend doing it in the spring.

 

How important is it to get this stuff inside the body panels? Do you do it with the fluid film? Is that not necessary anymore? Every truck I've ever had here rusts out at the cab corners and bottom of doors

 

Are you close to Albany, NY? Capital District Truck Center does a great job on rust protection. They will do all panels inside and undercoat. product they use is 10years on new car, and 7 on used cars. no need to be re-done. no annual inspection necessary unless you go off roading a lot.
Talk to Mike 518 347 3800

 

I know the guy at Custom Truck Creations in East Rochester. you can tell him that Tony with Noxudol recommended. 585 425 1110

 

You can easily spray all of your doors and the rocker panels with Fluid Film. I dedicated 1 extra can to my rocker panels, and 1 extra can to my doors the first time I did it but don't plan on doing that every application since they are enclosed.

The rocker panels have little rubber grommets all along the bottom that you can easily pop out and spray into. The doors have several drain holes in the bottom that you can easily spray up into.

 

so i can get the Known/Krown treatment done for 150, fluid film better? Will they/I have to drill holes in my truck to get the inside of the body panels?

 

I got fluid film (we call it cavity wax) with me bringing over to you in 10 days. I can provide you a sample can for no charge and see how you like it.
for undercoat, I really recommend to talk to Custom Truck Creations. they are very goo.

 

so fluid film doesn't work as an undercoat? what about the crown? hey thanks for the offer on the free can!

 

canadians seem to stand by crown, they use just as much salt as NY.

 

crown it is, i'll look in the FF in the fall.

does anyone know if they'll have to drill into the truck?

 

Had the Krown treatment done. Was a great experience, we'll see how it works. They hd to drill 5 holes total, inluding one in the tailgate.

 

Fluid film is supposed to work as an undercoat. It's DIY. It's a spray/brush that ends up waxy to displace water. Typically applied once or twice a year. Wash off crud/old FF, and reapply. Krown is a Canadian thing. Have to have a shop do it AFAIK, but I haven't seen any bad reviews about it.

 

I've had great luck with fluid film. A Mazda dealership in my area does it for $99. Considering how thorough they are with the stuff I'd much rather spend a couple extra bucks and have them do it VS. rolling around underneath the truck myself trying to keep it from dripping in my face the whole time.

 

Skip it! Fluid film!

 

May switch to fluid film for next year so I can do it myself. However, at 99 bucks it's gonna be hard to resist the short drive to the Krown joint and be done with it. Especially if it works as well as what folks in northern Canada say.

 

I am sorry that they had to drill holes. your manufacture warranty may not be valid now since body has been altered. I wish that I could meet you before you have done so I could show and demonstrate what I have.
Good luck.

 

I cleared this through the dealer, I appreciate the concern however, and I plan to use fluid film as well

 

dealer dont care, any problems have to be cleared by corporate.