Application of Fluid Film

Whoever has the best Memories when they die .... WINS!

Ain't it the truth, Brother canufixit! Ain't it the truth. I've known some uber wealthy people (as far as money or stuff goes) and some poverty-stricken folks. More often than not, the poor people are having a better time and better memories than the rich! Having oodles of money or "stuff" somehow does not translate to 'happiness.' Sweet memories will keep you happy and chuckling all your born days. Go figure.

Your name, 'canufixit,' brings back memories for me--when I as about 15, dear old Dad took me aside alongside our 1956 Chevy and started me on the road to self-reliance by saying: "Bout time you lernt how to fix vehicles..." Lesson #1--either the buggy has no SPARK or no GAS. or a combo of the two--start with the basics and work from there." Sound advice! To this very day, I am still learning. Makes life worth living.

I pity a lot of the young men (and women) these days who have no clue about the vehicle they drive. The sight of some young big, muscular guy standing beside his conked-out vehicle with its hood up always gets me to stop and help. When I ask the kid: "Have you got SPARK? or have you got GAS?" and I'm met with the 'deer-in-the-headlight' "Dunno" answer makes me want to cry. NOBODY seems to know how to "fix things" anymore!

Except me and you, canufixit!

Like my steel-worker Pa told me a thousand times before rolling up sleeves on his massive arms (he could bend silver quarters in his fingers!)

"Son, we can fix ANYTHING--except a broken heart!"

...if Man made it...Man can repair it....

 

-do they have a deal with Morton Salt to cover the roads here an inch or two deep at the slightest snowflake?

No, they are afraid of lawsuits. Out here in Wyoming there was a REALLY nasty multi car/truck pile up on "Sherman Mountain" just east of Laramie years ago. There have been a few more since. Upwards of 100 cars and trucks were involved. Holes burnt down through the road to the dirt from truck fires. The fog was so thick they couldn't find some of the cars for quite some time. They eventually just had to use bulldozers to clear the road and then sort through everything later.

The governor of Colorado's kid was killed in the mess. They claimed Wyoming didn't prepare the roads properly for the idiots that were on the road when they shouldn't have been. Colorado won and Wyoming paid out millions. I-80 across Wyoming is the most dangerous stretch of Interstate in the country when the winters are bad which is almost every winter except for this last one. Others come close but none compare to I-80 across Wyoming. I-84 from Boise, ID into Oregon over Blue Mountain is another bad one during the winter. How do I know? I've driven them all and still drive almost all the way across Wyoming to NE every day, 5 days a week. We have 8 dead already this summer and it's summer time.

Like I always say, "If you don't know how to drive in Wyoming and don't have the sense to get a motel room when you should?" "Don't come here". It's not the place for idiots and pansy's.

I have no doubt many other states have suffered the same fate of frivolous lawsuits..

 

I understand both sides, I live in WNY. Sometimes they just lay it down like the little flurries aren't going to stop. But I understand where you are coming from too. In the winter, 95% of the time we have bare(white) roads or a little wet. You can drive like it's summer time.

 

Yeah, I get what you are saying. They overdo it.

 

how is the internal frame coating holding 7+ years later?

 

I bought a spray gun that came with a flexible hose with a 360° nozzle on the end. Since some of the reviewers said they couldn't get it to work with Fluid Film, I decided to try heating the FF before spraying it, and it worked perfectly.

$30 TCP Global Air Undercoating Spray Gun with Gauge, Suction Feed Cup & 2 Wands - 22" Long Flexible Extension Wand with Multi-Directional Nozzle - Sprayable Bed Liner, Rubberized Truck Undercoating

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QR18BT7/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
TCP Global Air Rust Proofing and Undercoating Gun with Gauge & Suction Feed Cup - Includes 22" Long Flexible Extension Wand with Multi-Directional Nozzle - Spray Truck Bed Liner, Rubberized Undercoat

I used a fondue warmer that is essentially a small crock pot. I lined it with aluminum foil so I didn't render it unfit for human consumption afterwards. I had to wait about 40 minutes but I started using the FF when it became really runny, just like tomato soup OP said. Although I would expect the FF to have a high specific heat, I wanted it to retain heat as much as possible so I insulated the can by wrapping a used bubble wrap envelope around it and duct taping it place. It was about 55°F when I was spraying and didn't have problems with the FF getting too thick even after 20+ minutes.

I figure this is a good place to throw in some related info:

• PPE can not be underemphasized. I often sprayed directly above me and had the mist fall back onto my face. Without safety glasses my prescription glasses would have been effed. I also used a filter mask. Although I thought the FF smelled horrible, I don't see the need to use a respirator unless you really hate the smell. I also had a Tyvek suit laying around, and yeah, that got pretty gross.
• I used some thin and cheap goat skin gloves from Harbor Freight. I didn't think much of it, but while trying to stick the wand into various places, I definitely would have cut my hand on some the sharp edges under the truck.
• I used the flexible wand first and realized I was doing areas that I could easily get with the straight nozzle. Although it would probably be messier on you, perhaps you can save some time by doing the straight on shooting first before trying to fill in the gaps with the wand.
• I used 90PSI thinking that since it was my first application of FF and I have 19 years worth of exposure to make up for, I figured the higher pressure would help with penetrating farther into the crevices. However, I used about 3/4 of the gallon can, which is more than others have reported. I suspect I lost a lot of product to wind, literally, since I was spraying it at a higher velocity.
• There a lot of damn holes under the truck, not just in the box frame but in the cross members and even some associated with the cab. Expect it take longer than you expect to apply it.

 

About a month ago, I set out to spray Tacomers undercarriage with WoolWax using Kellsports Undercoating kit #3 with PRO spray gun, 18" 360 degree flexible hose, 24" open end flexible wand, and 16" aluminum extension.

Overall Rating: 5/5

Executive Summary: Took a lot of effort, doubted my effort was worth it, now that salted roads are back, I can literally see my effort has paid off

Compressor: Home Depot 8 gallon Honda gas powered engine Mi-T-M branded rental pushing 13.9 CFM @ 90psi

Pro gun is a fine piece of Italian engineering (My Moto Guzzi's will happily take an undercoating from these guns.)
* Solid build quality
* Easy to adjust
* Most effective with a regulator attached to gun, then a swivel fitting attached to regulator

Overspray is dumb nominal. My drop cloth extended a foot on each side of the truck. Found just a few dribbles of woolwax outside the drop cloth zone. Do however recommend a Tyvek jumpsuit to protect your clothes. Stuff feels weird when its bleeding through your cotton clothes onto your skin.

Aluminum extension wasn't all that great. Would work better if I had the truck on a lift. When doing the job on your back, the 24" extension takes the cake! So much more freedom of motion. And of course the 360 degree wand cannot be beat when getting deep in those boxed frame sections.

As for the smell, I am digging it. Took a while to remember what it reminded me of. But the other day it hit me. Smells like a wool peacoat. My truck now has the smell of a finely dressed sea captain lol

I did take a lot of effort to perform the undercoating. But mostly will depend on your target level of coating. I set out to protect every frame member and piece of metal that could possibly rust underneath the truck. On a long bed access cab, there are many many many nooks and crannies. More than I initially thought or planned for.

Another factor that lead to a long coating time was doing the work with the ambient outside temperature between 45 and 50 degrees Farenheit. I did run a forced air propane heater before spraying. As well as warming the woolwax bottles in a pot of hot water. But eventually the shop would cool back down. Woolwax would then start pooling at the tip. Shaking helped, but not as much as dunking in hot water. But by the time you need to warm the woolwax, the pot of water was cooled down to ineffective zone. Next year, I am doing this in the heat of late August!

Big thanks to KellSport Products for their support of Tacoma owners living with salty roads

 

The first application is always the most labor intensive but after a few the protected areas tend to start to get thick pools so you don't have to be nearly as thorough. I've been doing frames on my trucks for going on 10 years now, the first one only did it a few years but my Taco now 5 years each fall and the wax at low spots in the forward boxed sections is pretty thick such that spraying more on the goo/dirt/bug/rock mix already there I doubt is gonna help.