Undercoating/Rust Prevention

In quebec when i've been up there in the winter, they used this black ash stuff on major highways when it snows. Its much colder too. Many vehicles i saw use 4 studded tires to get around on secondary roads.

 

Not if too cold. You need temps around the mid twenties for salt to be really effective on a thick sheet of ice.

 

I never heard that one for cosmoline needing to be applied every year. If so its not really cosmoline. I'll agree you can have some very minor touchups around the rear leafs by the tires, but i haven't seen any need to on my truck even after more than 2 years.

 

This is what I've heard about it, needs to inspected annually and any areas were its missing needs to be touched up, should be reapplied every 2 years.

Ya this is my problem with it, it has such a limited temperature range, 32* to 20ish* degrees then it starts icing up anyways. Limited usefulness even were I live in CT. Most snowy and icy nights get well below that and ice forms anyways. Salt only really works in the day, and in the day sand melts ice just as well as salt when the sun hits it. I guess you have a point with sewers and such, but I don't live in an area with them. Maybe a point to be made for cities.

 

Wrong. The tar like stuff is not like the rubberized. Trust me, I used the rubberized stuff 11 years ago on my 4runner and the frame is almost done for which is why I bought the Taco. The stuff Ziebart uses is petroleum based and I have used it many years ago with great success.

 

For people that want to talk about what military's do.
And has a lot of good credible information.

https://cradpdf.drdc-rddc.gc.ca/PDFS/unc53/p526285.pdf

Tar/Rubber = very bad. (especially the "thick" applications.
Water/salt gets in through a pinhole, then stays there and creates a pocket. Now holds water in there and accelerates corrosion.
The Zeibart stuff is very thin, so when it gets a good pocket going it tend to flake off and not hold the moisture as long as the thicker coatings similar to it.

Lanolin products are good but they will wash off easily with direct water spray, high salt and high splash areas may need re-application as much at every 3 months in the winter.
Non-direct water spray areas will last for years. But does not stop galvanic corrosion.

Cosmoline based products have the best retention against direct water spray, but unless heated or with a lot of solvents will not "wick" into crevices. And must be applied on a warm day.
But does not stop galvanic corrosion.
Very difficult to remove unless you use a solvent. Some "self healing" when warm. But should be inspected every few years.
(4 years for me so far in a very very saltprone area. So far)

ACF-50, excellent galvanic corrosion protection, excellent capillary action to seep into crevices. Neutralizes existing corrosion. Self healing, Lasts about the same as Lanolin products in direct salt spray.
(Fogging the truck takes under 10 mins and I don't even crawl under or jack up the truck).


I used acf-50 then a cosmoline product when the truck was new,(RP-342) then do a yearly fogging of the underside and engine compartment with ACF-50.
Not only can you use ACF-50 where it it not recommended to use cosmoline (high heat areas) it will re-soften the cosmoline coating so it "self heals".

Even all the youtube vids out there that test diff brands show that cosmoline based ones work the best in the real world, especially in high water spray areas.
(lanolin products , i.e. woolwax and fluid film do excellent until you get to water spray testing, so would be the best option if you want something that you can clean off with soap and water later on)

 

Hello all, I am now in California but one day may move to NY. I did do a thorough Cosmoline job with less than 1000 miles on the truck. I had a couple of questions.

1. If I wait a couple of years before moving to a salty state, will I need to re-apply cosmoline or is it 'good' if not exposed to salt and brine?
2. Can I 'double up' and go to NH oil to have them heavily spray down the belly OVER the cosmoline (or will the NH oil ruin the cosmoline)? This seems like a good once a year ritual.
3. Does anyone here have 5-10 winters on cosmoline that can attest to keeping things rust free? I have heard folks say 3-4 but really curious about the long haul.
4. What are folks doing about other body crevices like tailgate and doors? Taking panels off or drilling holes?
5. Does anyone skip all this drama and just use a winter beater?

Thanks in advance

 

1. No, well not for your answer, salt. brine, soap, water, power-washing with soapy water does not affect it, mechanical scraping or a solvent like Varsol is about the only things that will take it off cleanly.
But remember the mechanical scraping, things that flex/rub against something else, gets hot will wear it off.
A LOT of fine gravel / rocksalt blasted into it and never washed off will cause corrosion spots where the foreign matter pierced all the way to metal. So a quick powerwash to the underside of your truck after a good salt winter will fix that.
This stuff is like a hard wax when it is cured, and like gooey varnish when cold.

2. A little oil is good to soften it up and allow it to "heal" easier by flowing back into any pitting. Too much oil will soften it too much and it will flow too much (but not off) and it gets thinner at the higher areas due to gravity. Then eventually you will have to oil it every year as the oil eventually "washed" off the cosmiine. But that would take more than a couple heavy oil treatments to do that.
Annual oiling around suspension and flex areas is recommended, every 4 years strongly recommended.
Annual spray wash in the spring to wash off the embedded salt and gravel is strongly recommended. With any coating on a vehicle.

3. I've seen firearms stored for over 60 years and after a couple hours cleaning down with Varsol look like they came out of the plant last week.
Where the frame and crossmembers come together and flex and rub, moving parts of your suspension, driveline etc will start to show corrosion as the movement wears through the cosmoline.
Chunks of rocksalt or fine gravel may embed themselves into the cosmoline, and not washing it off for over a year will cause rust to start in small spots.
High heat areas (around your exhaust and engine) will cook off or heat it too high and it will flow away.

4. For tailgate and doors, I used a spray nozzel with the rp-342 and a product that is also cosmiline based (but thinned with another product) called corrosion-X-HD it works with a spray gun easier and I only had the aerosal cans of rp342.
But fluid film or woolwax would work just as good as cosmoline in the tailgate and doors, and are available easily at a lot of stores. No direct water spray like a pressure washer there and they are fantastic in those applications.
BUT where cosmoline smells like greasy wax, fluid film and to a lesser extent woolwax smell like Sheep. (lanolin comes from the wool of sheep) even the rust check stuff in a can is fine for those areas.

5. But but but... it's a Truck, 4x4, big nashing tires.... and your not going to drive it in winter? Almost any oil based or lanolin spray is better than a beater. Cheaper and less time too.

 

Thanks. I lived in CT and NY years ago and my family lost a couple of really cool old cars to rust years ago. An air cooled VW and 1976 Caddy. The frame horns on the floorpan of the VW completely rusted through and we scrapped the shell. The 76 Caddy was in great shape but the entire underside was bright brown and flaking off. It needed a frame-off to bring it back but we ended up scrapping it too. We keep cars a very long time. The Tacoma is a manual and a keeper. Would like to drive it for 20 years and then pass it down to my boys-hopefully rust-free.

 

We have a crown here and both of us just got new to us rigs. 16 4runner trd pro 80km and my 18 trd pro Tacoma 66km...Is it worth doing rust protection now to preserve the rigs. Or do you do it from new? I usually change mine out every few years but she plans on keeping the 4runner for a long time. Thank you

 

if you dont treat it with a corrosion inhibitor, it will rot out faster, new or used. so, protect your investments. I dont understand people paying 40-80k for a new vehicle, then not doing anything to make it help prevent rust, or not last. you spend more time and money on accessories than the cost of time, and product to coat the vehicles. Ski

 

Thank you I just made appointments for the 2 trucks... I only could wish rigs were investments I would have retired long ago... Just picking lol thanks for the info

 

Just so you know, this is my "tri service" conference and my study/brief that is referenced for the US Military. Small world! That's an old reference of course. We have made huge leaps since then. I have billions of data points from all systems to identify the major cost drivers for us. Kinda nice to have quantitative data when you're making policy.

I've lost contact with my Canadian counterparts. I need to renew our data exchange agreement with them!

 

At the end of the day there are a lot of solid options out there and everyone tends to gravitate toward whichever one they use first with good results.

I’ve used fluid film, wool wax, corrosion X (and corrosion X HD), and Eastwood internal frame coats with the zinc components. I tend to like corrosion X HD the best and then wool wax. The thinner coatings are great for initial spray downs as they get into all the cracks and corners. But you need to come back with a thicker top coat that is more durable.

I’ve used corrosion X HD on 3 Toyotas now and the coating is still present on each a couple years. Areas like inside the frame remain unphased. High road wash areas regardless of product to me a yearly check and potential respray.

I’m going to try the rp342 next after an initial spray down with something thinner.

 

I'm in the vey corner of nw connecticut where some of the side roads still get only sanded, and i can honestly say i have never seen sand melt ice. The roads may have a bunch of sand on them for traction, but the roads are still ice underneath. I guess if you applied sand thats been heated like asphalt when doing road work i can see it till the sand becomes cold again.
As far as cosmoline needing to be reapplied every year?, thats probably what a fluid flim shop would say. I just don't see it after inspecting my truck yearly.

 

Thats why cosmoline recommends 2 coats being thinner. Be careful if applying rp-342 over existing fluid flim or similar. It will have a reaction. A buddy did it thinking he was getting double the protection with both, but ended up with a dripping mess in his garage that never cured. Use one, or the other but not together. Fluid flim is lanolin while rp-342 is petro/solvent based.

 

Thanks for the tip! I tend to stick with corrosion X (petro) anyway. Fluid film stinks too much, and not in the good killing brain cells kind of way.

 

I used Krown treatment last Oct and it held good for the winter. I washed the truck probably 30 times since then and I look underneath and everything still looks like new. No rust to be seen. I will be making another appointment in the next couple of weeks when I bring it in for my maintenance and Krown. Good stuff

 

Rp-342 stinks pretty good to. Use it only in a well ventilated area.....warmer the better.

 

Its all good stuff as long as you keep reapplying it.....its just how often it needs to be that can be a pita.