Fluid Film and Off-Roading

It’s very easy to apply yourself.......about 5-6 cans will do your truck just fine. If you have access to a lift or even some ramps, it will make it easier to access the underside of the truck. As far as off-roading, go have fun, then rinse the excess mud and grit off if you want. The next day, apply touch up spray FF on any areas that look like they need a refresher. Other than that, just have fun in your new ride!

 

You could, each can is $10 and some of the weight is propellant vs actual FF. I agree that 4-6 cans is a min

 

Eastwood, Monstaliner, Por15 and others all have great encapsulator product.

But its quite difficult to get inside the closed parts of the frame and components. Fluid film is much better for that.

Much of the rust that has taken down Tacoma frames is from the inside out.

 

You definitely don't want to wash the undercarriage after oiling for rust protection (whichever oil you use, of which FF is one), you will wash a good amount off each time and then eventually defeat the purpose of the oil in the first place. Paint-on rust applications can pose a problem if not done correctly as moisture can get beneath the rust proofing fairly easily and make things worse. NH Oil Undercoating, out of Concord, NH has a good reputation, just got my '18 undercoated, but I'll need to wait on results. Also, off-roading is not the problem, as you could never off road and still have issues in the Northeast, it is the hybrid road salts that rust belt states use that cause frames, brake lines, and anything not plastic to rust out. I'd undercoat with something oil based, off-road, wash the body down if you need to, but leave the undercarriage alone. Re-apply at least once a year, touch up as needed.

 

Thanks - just what I was looking for. So,

Step 1: Apply fluid film all over the undercarriage now (it is now August)
Step 2: Go off-roading many times throughout the fall/winter
Step 3: Wash body off after off roading with a hose (if you want to), but don't wash the undercarriage, because that will also wash off the fluid film. Don't worry about the dirt/grime picked up from offroading, because you should have protection from the Fluid Film.
Step 4: Towards the end of winter, wash the undercarriage thoroughly, getting rid of all the dirt/grime, then apply any touch up paint if needed, and fluid film again.
Step 5: Repeat

Does that sound like a good plan?

 

Some sage adivice:

Buy some cheap (but safe) jack-ramps and drive the front of your truck up on them. Wash the underside of your vehicle as best as you can. Get familiar with the underside of your vehicle. You are not going to break anything and it’s not rocket science. Being familiar with your chassis and other under-truck components will benefit you hugely if you ever get in trouble out off-roading. There is no better way to familiarize yourself than crawling around under your truck squirting Fluid Film in the nooks and crannies you find there.

Also, you WILL find all of the areas that are collecting dirt and gravel and be able to clean them out, which the fellow you are paying is unlikely to do. Furthermore, if you apply the fluid film yourself you are possibly going to do a better job than the guy you are paying hundreds of dollars to do it. Use your brain, and anywhere that is metallic, and is likely to collect dirt and moisture, needs some fluid film in it or on it. Broad flat surfaces, plastic surfaces, or anything that stays clean and dry doesn’t really benefit from the coating.

Finally......chassis painting, when you need it, isn’t brain surgery. Some guys obsesss over rust killers and rust transformers and multi-stage sanding and epoxy primer prep........ALL of that ends up being a giant hassle not a lot of people have time for.

Your chassis will be rusting within the first year at the following locations:

1: anywhere there is a welded seam
2: anywhere the gravel spray off your tires is hitting (forward surfaces of just about anything)
3: anywhere Toyota used raw metal rather than galvanized, painted, or stainless (a bit more than I care to mention.....it will be obvious)

Just scratch off the bulk of the rust with sandpaper or a wire brush, clean the surfaces with brake clean, and hit the spots with normal old satin black rust paint. The next day, or when the paint is thoroughly dry, you can apply some fluid film as a top coat.

Important: DO NOT APPLY “Undercoating” or anything thick or rubbery!!!! That is the crap that encapsulates rust, absorbs moisture, and hides corrosion. You want to be able to see what is going on, and you want your chassis to dry itself off when the weather clears up.

With a few cans of fluid film, a couple cans of black paint, a wire brush, and some sandpaper, and maybe 2 afternoons a year, you will have a gleaming black chassis that is then envy of TW, and in so doing you will have also taken some of the “mystery” away from your truck and gained some confidence with it, that might serve you well on the trails.

 

Dirt/grim from off-roading isn't the prime rust maker or frame killer. So correct, don't worry about it.

Salt is the killer. And the Fluid Film is your weapon against that.

 

The contribution dirt and grime make, is they provide a substrate or “sponge” that soaks up the road salt. Little pockets of wet, salty dirt, sitting in hiding places in your undercarriage are going to cause you problems. Finding the places that the dirt collects, and cleaning it out of there so the area stays dry, can help a lot in my experience.

 

This is what I still don't understand. How can you only do fluid film once/twice a year, and also regularly go off-roading ?

If I fluid film, then go off-roading in the fall/winter, I will get the dirt/grime "sponge" you discussed above. The only way to remove this grime is to thoroughly clean the undercarriage. Doing that will remove the fluid film...and lose the rust protection.

Are you saying that every time I do an off-roading weekend, I need to thoroughly wash out the undercarriage and then reapply the fluid film again?

 

You don’t have to wash the underside, you can just reapply FF as needed. If you want to get rid of excess mud or grime buildup, just use the garden hose to get the the worst off. Most of the time, I just reapply, unless I see a bunch of dirt or mud chunks, then I use the garden hose on sprinkle, it won’t wash the FF off, just the worst dirt.

Hope this helps.

 

what he said.

 

its not the dirt and grime that causes rust its the industrial strength road salts combined with the wet/humid environment.

 

So,

I should do a full undercarriage coating of FF now, then start going off-roading.

Then, after each off-roading session, you recommend to do a light reapplication of the FF, and just spray it right over the mud/grime? And, if its really bad, take the garden hose to it before reapplying the FF?

I am new to both rust protection and off-roading, and want to not get rust when I off-road in the northeastern winter. Thanks for everybody's input.

 

Check out Krown. I just paid $160, they did a great job.

I figured it was a good deal the first time as they get inside the doors, inner bed, rockers.

I may DIY FF next fall.

 

@fgeorge097 every time is not necessary, just here and there throughout the winter. and yes, don't worry about the dirt, just fluid film (or I used NH oil undercoating) right over it. Krown as @psmura mentioned also has a good reputation.

 

I would not spray Fluid Film onto the mud. Wait until September and get it done. Then just drive your truck!

Unfortunately you live in the NE so rust is inevitable. Whatever you do will be a huge help over just leaving it like a majority of owners do.

 

I live in southern Ontario Canada, they salt the crap out if the roads in the winter.
I bought my truck last December so it got pretty much a full winter.
I treated it with ACF-50 (inside doors, door sills, all over the engine and engine compartment, radiator etc), all under the truck including exhaust, inside front subframe.
ACF-50 was designed for aircraft by Lear chemical, also used by the military. Does not affect rubber/vinyl, paint. Electrically non-conductive. Really spreads and creeps.Lubricates without loosening bolts. Tolerates high heat and does not leave a gooey mess like fluid film. You don't know it's there until you run your finger across it! It only gathers a light coating of "dust". After that dirt does not seem to stick to it easily.

I then sprayed Fluid Film in the rear and front wheel wells and front side of differential and bottom of front rad support. I find that Fluid Film does not wash off as easy as ACF-50 so I use it in "heavy spray" areas.

I did this the weekend I got the truck home.

I saw a new 18 Pro at the dealership last week, and looked under the hood and under the truck.

There was more visible corrosion on the new truck than there was on my '17. Sales guy called over the service manager to take a look, lol he wanted to know what magic I had done.

In the UK and Europe they coat their motorcycles (headers and all) in ACF-50 and swear by it. It's not just a barrier coating.

Get a undercoating gun or gravity paint gun and get some ACF-50 then get 2 aerosol cans of Fluid Film. Makee sure the underside of your truck is reasonably clean and apply once a year in the fall.

Keep the vehicle in an unheated garage, take the truck to the powerwash and give the underside a light spray when the truck gets too salted up in the winter.


Just don't get ACF-50 on your brake rotors or inside your rear drums. It's high heat tolerance and lubricity will make your brakes near useless.

 

Ok so what do you do if you don't apply fluid film, and then go get the entire undercarriage caked in mud, and pressure-washing fails to remove it?

 

You need to saturate the mud then try again with water. Put a lawn sprinkler under your truck for a few hours if you have a driveway to do so in.

One thing I’ve found is pressure washers use so little water, sometimes they don’t ‘wet’ the mud enough. I’ve sometimes had better success with a nozzle on the end of a hose.

 

I've decided on Krown.