Undercoating - new to the salt belt

I'm new to the area of being in the salt belt and I'm looking at undercoating my truck. I recently got the weep holes coated. What are your recommendations of where to spray and what products? Thanks in advance!

 

Woolwax. Been doing it for 7 years. Been spraying other trucks as well for I think 3 years. There's plenty if shops that use it or fluid film. You can also get kits in kellsportproducts.com

 

cosmoline. I use the CRC stuff.

 

X2 on woolwax. It’s not carried local for me so I’ve always bought fluid film In the past. Recently bought the kellsport spray gun with wool wax to avoid the smell. I think they claim it sticks longer too. More expensive than a harbor freight viscous sprayer but I think it will be more efficient spraying and should last a lifetime as long as I care for it.

 

Curious: What area, what salt bed?

 

I'll be Fluid Filming for the first time this year. The argument for it over WW, is that it penetrates deeper into tighter spaces.

 

What state does your Tacoma live in?

 

Province. BC

 

I used WW for the first time last year and noticed it didn't flow as well through the spray gun and extentions as FF, so when I use WW this year I will make sure not to wait so long in the fall and do it when temps are higher.

 

I see you have a 2015 which I assume you already have some rust developing. I would hose down the frame ,degrease and wire wheel any rust spots. I use Ospho rust nuetrilizer x2, Eastwood primer x2, Eastwood black chassis paint x2and Amsoil heavy duty metal protector x2. (x2 = 2 coats). Eastwood also makes an internal frame protection spray with a 360 spray pattern highly recommended. My previous experience with F.F. was that it washes much to easily. I would also spray the brake lines, power steering lines transmission lines. My .02
Rust Never Sleeps Neil Young

 

I spent many hours looking into this when I first got my truck a few year ago. I decided to go with Fluid Film. Woolwax wasn't in my research, but it's essentially the same product (lanolin-based) just more viscous which might make it less prone to washing off but also a bit harder to apply.

I know that with FF (and probably Ww), you want to keep it away from rubber that's not oil and gas resistant, especially your door seals, as it makes that rubber swell.

Until now, I've had FF applied by the one shop I could find within 40 miles that would do it, but that guy screwed me over last year, so I'll be doing it myself in the coming weeks. Picked up a Wagner airless paint sprayer for cheap to use on the larger areas. For hard-to-reach areas, I'll use the spray cans with extension hose. We'll see how it goes.

 

I must live on a different planet.

 

Lol yes. I'm in the north east lol

 

As a guy that lives in the western states where I've never seen anyone concerned in the least with frame rust, replacing frames, or treating frames... these threads about rusted out trucks fascinate me.

Of course my first thought is that I'd never live by choice in a place that threatens expensive vehicles.

But then I thought... Do people start businesses that specialize in treating frames? Surely there must be people that lose their cars to rust because they procrastinate or are just unable/unwilling to do the work. Hell, I'd pay someone to protect my car once a year if it kept my investment safe.

So are there businesses that do that?

 

Yes, there are

 

First of all... Bite me.

Here in the Salt Belt, you'll find very few truck customization shops. Most people treat their vehicles as being disposable, Taco owners included. You almost never see a Tacoma with a significant number of mods.*

Yes, around here, there are a few shops that do services like rustproofing, bed-liner coatings, window tints, etc. While I don't remember the specifics now, the coatings that these shops offer are generally one-time applications best applied when the vehicle is new, and, from what I've read, are of questionable value. I called around to several of these shops looking for one that would do FF (they've already got the tools, and FF is soap-and-water soluble, so cleans up easily), but they all said "No."

* - On the plus side, we have plenty of water and the scenery almost never catches fire.

 

I use Fluid Film. Get the kit with the sprayer. Pretty easy to do.

I live in Manitoba. We salt here but, for the most part, it's still pretty dry and cold. If you get wet roads more often I'd maybe go with Wool Wax just so it lasts a little longer. You just need to be a bit more diligent with the application of WW vs FF.

 

LOL... Thanks for the response. Sorry you are forced to live in a place that destroys voters cars as though it is perfectly acceptable. It's like an extra tax for living there.

And it's pretty weird that some company wouldn't treat cars as an annual thing if that's what it takes.

I've got a friend that spends most summers out on the Salt Flats while the time trials are going on. He was driving a Metro for years nd just sold it a couple of years ago... intact and apparently rust free. His solution was to come home from the flats with salt caked on the car and park it over a lawn sprinkler. He'd leave the sprinkler on all day and move the car around so it got thoroughly desalted.

 

You, sir, are sadly mistaken. I'm looking at retirement in a few years and there's no family keeping me here, but I have no intention of leaving the Great Lakes area.

As for shops offering annual rustproofing treatments... It may be a marketing thing. Most people might be reluctant to shell out annually to protect their investment (actually "expenditure" as vehicles aren't really an "investment" as say real estate).

 

I sprayed woolwax for the first time about a week ago using the cans. Bought the kit from woolwax directly.
It was very easy I drove up on some ramps crawled under the truck and gave a good spray all over. I am hoping any rubber under the truck is oil resistant.

When looking into options I picked up a can of fluid film and tried it out on my atv, stuff stinks pretty bad so heads up.

if you do use either, put down cardboard or something or do it outside some mess is inevitable and wear a mask and some work glasses.