New Tacoma SR5 next Tuesday, what about undercoating?

I will take delivery of a new SR5 this coming Tuesday. I live in central New Hampshire, where the salt is a killer (but then, I hit a patch of black ice 20 years ago and that was very close to a real killer -- tore the truck to pieces but I walked away). And I know Tacoma frames are famous for rust. So I wanna do right on this one.

But first question. One of the YouTubes I watched this morning, the guy started off saying that the new Tacomas were redesigned, and use a steel that has a high carbon content (or something like that) and it's much less vulnerable to rusting. I talked with the salesman just a moment ago, and he said that he and his coworkers were given a talk by the engineer who headed the redesign and that's indeed what he told the audience.

Have any of y'all heard anything about that? I'm still a bit skeptical. Better than it used to be doesn't mean stainless steel.

So of all the different products, what would you go for? I know the thick rubbery kind is to be avoided, as salt water can get behind where it cracks. And there are oil based kinds and lanolin based kinds.

Oh, I should mention at the start that I'm too old to crawl around underneath and spray things. If I had a lift, maybe, but I don't. So I want someone to do it.

Lanolin like Fluid Film and others, gotta do it every year? I called a Fluid Film place and they quoted $300. I was surprised. A friend in Vermont gets it every year for $100, she says

And the Tacoma dealer will do WaxOyl for $894 (wowzie!) but the sales guy said that was a one-time thing, and they would touch up any "spot" for the life of the truck.

I've tried googling and all, but my head is spinning already.

Probly y'all will have different recommendations and there may even be disagreements, but anything is welcome, and appreciated

 

You do what you want but Toyota has a long history of having to replace frames. My previous taco had a replacement frame for free from Toyota. With that said I sprayed my taco with crc rust inhibitor. There are others like fluid film… I would NOT have a spray coating that traps water. Toyota and rust… they hadn’t even fixed the air evaporator water tube that leaks directly on the frame. Again protect your new truck, you are the person who will have the truck in 10yrs with or without rust. Good luck

 

My current 2002 SR5 had a frame replacement just before I bought it from a used dealer. Somehow I got the impression that it was all galvanized or something, and I didn't get it treated. It took 12 years for that one to rot away. So I know from experience. Still, I got another 150,000 miles, and it still runs well. Sigh ... hate to lose that one, so I do need to protect the new one. Alas, I only find 2 or 3 places that do it anywhere near here.

 

I do fliuld film myself. I put in over half a dozen cans before the 1st southern PA winter and I just do a touch up reapply yearly with 3 or 4 cans. Is find a good bit in the places water does not get to easily its still hanging on.

There is a place near me called Krown that will do a similar job. I was about 150 a year when I last asked. Maybe they have a location close enough to you. Google Krown rust prevention.

 

160K miles on my 2011 in Maine weather. I use fluid film the frame is still black. I'm kind of against the thick black stiff. The frame come spring will be pressure washed, any surface rust will be sand blasted and painted (strangely welds, why I have no ideal) new coat of FF repeat in late fall. I my case it's a simple job because I own a lift and a spray gun for FF. I buy FF in a gallon can. I hear you with the NH salt I live fairly close to Conway they seen to clear the roads with salt instead of a plow.

 

Get a six pack of RP-342 cosmoline and do it yourself. I did my2020 sr5 nearly 3 years ago using 2 coats throughout the entire chassis, and inside the frame sections. Except for some minor high abrasion areas at the rear leafs, its all still intact. I too gave up on fluid flim living near the ma border.

 

I lost my '02 to rusted frame a couple years ago. This '21 I bought only saw one winter so I wanted to try and slow down the inevitible. I read up on this last summer and ended up going with Cosmoline. There are several threads on here for that. I liked the Cosmoline for the fact it's mil-spec, dries to a pretty resilient coating and doesn't flush off like Fluid Film. We acutally use it to coat all the bare metal on the machines my company builds before ocean-shipping them overseas. Going on it seemed solvent-like in that it ran and crept into nooks & crannies nicely, and also coated well. It was a bitch of a job though. I pressure-washed and scrubbed everything I could for 2 hours, let it dry for a couple of days and then took another 2 hours to coat everything. Gotta take the wheels, spare tire, skid plates, etc all off to do a thorough job. I guess we'll see in a year or so how it holds up.

 

I'm having some trouble finding shops around here that do rust stuff (Sanbornton, NH). So I'm kinda limited on the types of protection I can get. And I do want to have it done, not do it myself. All I have is my garage, and I dont think the wife will want the floor to get overspray and drips on it. And she is extremely sensitive to smells, so she wouldn't be able to stand any odor.

There's one dealer nearby, for NH Oil Undercoating, that I think you guys know about (NHOU). They have a wax product too, Boss Wax, and they offer a job with Boss Wax first and NHOU over it, supposed to be more or less permanent. But I worry about the "black stuff" warnings. I know there's some kind of thick black almost hardened rubbery coating that is bad because it cracks and then water can get in and boom! you're done for. But several of the products I've read about or seen YouTubes of, seem to leave a black covering. So I don't know what the products are that I have to avoid. It seems that the names I see here are not of that kind or y'all would be dismissing them instead of discussing them.

Anyway, are Boss Wax and NHOU bad that way? And are Boss Wax, Wool-Wax, and Wax Oyl similar? Just confusing to a rookie

Thanks

 

I don't think you can go wrong with any liquid, oil-based product. Fluid Film and Wool Wax would be my first two choices. AVOID rubberized coatings that turn solid at all costs. These are WORSE than nothing at all.

Here is a TERRIFIC video How To Fluid Film Your Vehicle To Prevent Rust - Bing video

Notice the attention to detail in getting all the nooks and crannies, inside the panels, inside the frame and more.

I would expect you would need to pay more than $100 for a proper application as demonstrated here.

Yours will be a BRAND new truck. PROTECT THAT INVESTMENT. Good luck!

 

OK, so rubberized is what to avoid.

I took a peek at the video there, and like pretty much all the videos I've watched so far, the guy has a lift. I just have a 3 1/2 ton floor jack, and I can get some jack stands. But still I would be on my back on the garage floor. I realize I can spread drop cloths or tarps to keep the gick off the floor, but I just dont know how well I would do on my back for a long time spraying stuff overhead. In the opening post I mentioned the wreck 20 years ago that I walked away from, well, I walked away with a broken neck and didn't know it. Spinal fusion surgery fixed it, but there have been after effects. So I would think long and hard before trying it myself. Oh well. And I used to be younger too.

Anyway, thinking ahead to taking it to someone, I understand that any dealer applying something will wash the underside of the truck first, right? I just wonder because I saw one YouTube where the guy had brought his shiny new truck to be treated, on a trailer so it would arrive clean! Is that taking it too far? After all, my new truck will already have been for a fairly long test ride, and the salt IS on the roads now, of course. It would be at least a half hour drive from the Toyota dealer to the rust shop. Just trying to plan, and it's Saturday so I cant get anyone on the phone.

And my Vermont friend who gets it for $100 must have a good friend to deal with. I actually bought my current truck from her, she's been in the garage/used cars business for as long as I've known her, so she must have folks who have long relationships with her.

 

Take it to NHOU and put your mind to rest. I have herad good things about them, they are close and you can get it checked yearly and touched up if needed. Don't over think it, it will drive you nuts.

 

Waxoyl and boss wax are both a overnight sleepover for your truck so keep that in mind. I'm getting waxoyl next week in Massachusetts. I would've done boss wax but the overnight hassle and drive up to them in nh was too much of a pain along with the cost 1k. When I spoke with boss wax they offered a loaner to drive only in nh, didn't help me.

 

I pressure wash my frame before it gets treated for the winter
primarily to get the dirt off you have to try hard to pressure wash FF off.

 

Here is a really good Utube this guy did an excellent test and review of rust protection products. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXlhmbvdKBo

 

maineah - thanks for the video. A lot of info all in one place. I only wish he had had something about the "waxes" -- WaxOyl, Boss Wax, Wool-Wax. Since it looks like Boss Wax might end up being my choice.

Anyone know why the Boss Wax treatment is only for brand new vehicles?

OK, looks like I'm gonna need to make some decision-making calls on Monday, and I hope I can get treated on Tuesday

 

Personally I can't recommend this stuff enough

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/pb-blaster-surface-shield-undercoating.789819/

It comes in aerosol so you could park it away from the house to do it. It also doesn't smell anywhere near as bad as Fluid Film, FF has a smell a lot of people don't care for.

If you just wanna have a shop do it, NHOU and Fluid Film are gonna be the most common options by a landslide though. When it comes to undercoating, every single person who does it will have a different opinion. But anything oily and non rubberized is a million times better than nothing!

 

Your truck is brand new. If it wasn’t then there might be some basis for a debate but it’s brand new and as clean as it’s ever going to be. That is the point.

Just read this entire thread. All your answers are in here:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/rust-veto-342-cosmoline-undercoating.651180/

 

If you really want the job done correctly you’re going to have to do it yourself. It’s time consuming and messy but if you go the Cosmoline route - with a brand new truck - then then you’ll bust your hump but you’ll only have to deal with this crummy job once. If you choose a lanolin based coating then you’re gonna have the pleasure of doing it over and over and over again.

Do it right: get the Chemicar sprayer and wand set (same as the Cosmoline site advertises, just cheaper, because they’re not reselling it), rent a small compressor if you don’t have one, and put it up on a lift if you can find a place to rent one otherwise put it up on jackstands. Two gallons of RP-342 should be more than plenty and you’ll have enough to touch up what you miss.

Again, read the string I pointed you to. There’s a lot of good info in there.

Here’s something else to read: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/undercoating-new-tacoma.782397/#post-28143775

 

My experience (and Google search results) is that higher carbon steels rust faster. YMMV.

So - why are Toyota (and others) using ‘high carbon steel’ (or even aluminum)? Short answer - government mileage mandates. Reduce the weight of the car and it reduces the energy needed to move it. High carbon steel is (generally) stronger than low carbon steel, so you can use less of it to get the same strength or performance. Car makers, and their marketing departments, love to brag about all this, but fail to mention that as soon as rust appears, it will rust faster and perforate the thinner ‘high carbon steel’ faster.

Some cars today last much longer due to improvements in coatings and paints, but the rust is still going to happen, especially to components and fasteners under the car.

I’m going with Fluid Film and Cosmoline. CRC Marine spray is excellent, too. I haven’t used Woolwax (brand) but any oil or lanolin-based treatment would be good. As others have mentioned, avoid anything that forms a hard ‘shell’ that could hold or trap moisture.

Get a few cans and spray it like you want to keep it. My 2 cents.

 

Apparently they don’t mix.