To undercoat, or Not to undercoat

I have noticed that "Ginger" the truck has already a fair amount of factory paint or undercoating which is peeling off. Also the welds on various places are showing rust. She's got less than 8k on the Odo, and those are easy, clean miles.
Any feedback on undercoating, and what it may do in the long run.
I had a Tacoma that got the new frame which was vastly superior to the original... Gingers frame looks more like the first frame on my Taco.

 

No to undercoating. It only causes issues down the road. Dirt and moisture can get trapped and rust can really go wild....all under that undercoat.

Better option in snowbelt- rust areas, is the use something like fluid film or one of the other products. It is basically a sticky oil that is sprayed on the undercarriage to help protect from the snow, salt, rust...and it works.

 

Try to clean the rust off the best you can with a wire brush. Use Fluid Film or Woolwax on frame/undercarriage etc. Most will not recommend rubberized undercoating. Moisture can get trapped behind it and cause serious rust issues. Just my 2 cents.

 

Another option is Amsoil HD Metal Protectant. I haven’t used the others, but I’m impressed with how quickly this stuff forms a barrier. Comes in large rattle cans. Easy to apply. Took me 3 cans. I think it was $40 total after shipping. Some guys use 5-6 cans, but I think they live in areas with heavy snow/frequently salted roads. The roads only get salted here once or twice a year.

 

I use Amsoil HD Metal Protectant.

 

Undercoat and wash once per week or as needed in the winter. As long as you start with good clean metal you shouldn't have an issue. Just keep the salt off of that beautiful rig.

 

I use NH oil. Fluid film can react with factory coatings and cause a nightmare (GM and probably others). New Hampshire sometimes puts down more salt than there is snow. Plowable salt. Kills everything within 10’ of the roadways and is starting to contaminate water supplys.

 

ospho then wool wax or grease rub

there was a pretty rad vid of merrimack river pollution from a large corn crop planted on the bank. 5 garden hose size springs pouring out black sludge into the mack
top soil was porta-potty waste, hospital emesis bags, feminine hygiene products.
Old man that collected evidence was arrested and beaten by sheriffs
corn you are being fed
sorry to derail :/

 

@GingersMine OP, check this video out and you'll have your answer. I just undercoated mine with Amsoil, very impressed so far.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXlhmbvdKBo

 

Same here

 

Check out my post about my undercoating using woolwax. Great stuff, but there's a good bit of information on it here.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/woolwax-undercoating-1-year-update.77322/#post-1986216

I put this on within a month of buying the truck and still looks brand new underneath through 2 shitty NE ohio winters.

 

That's just simply not true, while I haven't used fluid film, woolwax is basically the same thing, but much more viscous and I've had absolutely no problems with it through 2 years and 2 coatings. I can't find anything related to that on the internet, so why are you making bold accusations with absolutely no first hand experience or any cited information?

 

Watch the video I just posted, you will see how NH oil actually is. Please, just watch!

 

Woolwax FTW
I have a buddy who is AMS dealer..
Same buddy also has woolwax buckets in his garage.
I grease rubbed this year
Seeing both in person woolwax hands down

 

Yep woolwax is f*cking amazing stuff. Through the first year only had 2 spots wear away, and applied the High Viscosity in those areas on my second coat. HV is like thick grease. Overall very happy I found this product and was able to apply to truck right after purchase

 

As long as it's not a hard/rubber coating, it's good.

 

I trust real world results. I use NH Oil on all my vehicles. I've also seen a video where Fluid Film performed not so great (I'll see if I can find it). I use that as well. My two cents are, if you are in the rust belt, anything is better than nothing.

 

Fluid film is not gold standard because it is used by many people. Look at the name, fluid film. The issue is most people will spray the FF and leave it u touched til next winter. realistically its good for a few months

 

I agree, the low viscosity makes it great for inside frame members, doors, (places that don't see any type of splashes from road water), which is why woolwax now sells a low viscosity version specifically for these areas. I can say from personal experience that normal woolwax stays on even through winter and might just need touched up in high wash areas. I applied a second coat in the summer and applied woolwax HV (high viscosity) to areas that wore away, ensuring that I'll have complete coverage. Now if you're taking your truck offroading and going through any deep water then YMMV, but overall i've been really happy with the end results and will just do touch up as necessary during the summer.

Edit: To anyone thinking about applying one of these undercoatings to their car/truck. I suggest doing it in summer because it makes the product creep more into every nook and cranny due to the heat. It also gives you time to build up a nice dirt coating to protect it even further before winter starts.

 

It’s totally true, I put fluid film on my 2012 Sierra when it was new and it ate the wax coating. You could use a garden hose to blow the coating off to bare metal. I’ve used NH oil ever since.

 

I’m not sure if both of you experienced wax and paint removal or just wax removal from Fluid Film but here’s what I’ve found in my research of deciding what to use on my truck:

Woolwax has this on their webpage: "Do not apply Woolwax® over any factory soft coatings or wax coatings." taken from their FAQ section:
https://www.woolwax.ca/FAQ_ep_42-1.html

As far as I can tell on my 2020, Tundras don’t have any of the factory wax that I’ve had on other vehicles so this warning shouldn’t be a concern CORRECTION: my 2020 has a light wax like coating in a portion of the enclosed front frame section.

The warning seems logical due to the penetrating properties of Woolwax. I had Woolwax elaborate a bit on the reason/cause, here's what they said:

"It pertains to the GM hotwax. The hotwax soaks the moisture in all the way down to the base metal and it delaminates."

As for Fluid film, they don’t have the factory soft wax warning and this is what they have to say about paint: "FLUID FILM will not harm most paints. It can be sprayed directly on most painted surfaces without any harmful effects." Gotta love the ‘most’...This was taken from:
https://www.fluid-film.com/frequently-asked-questions/

 

I’m doing it again. I had my 2020 Pro 4runner done. I have a place close to me. He recommends every 2 years unless your really fussy then some do it every year. With being in Pa the stuff on the roads are hard our vehicles. I’m talking about fluid film.

 

Not really when someone else does it. It’s not that much when someone else does it. It really protects the underneath. My friend at work also had his tundra done.

 

@mech_engineer09 or anyone else have first hand experience spraying woolwax or fluid film in 3rd gen door cavities? Dos/don’ts? Is there only one access plug?

 

Where can one buy NHoil for self application?

 

For the doors and other hard to reach areas I used the 3M cavity wax. You can get different length “wand” attachments to fish into the drain plugs in doors, rocker panels, etc. I’d say it took about 3 cans to do doors, rockers and a few other cavities. Here’s a link to the wands.
3M Cavity Wax Plus Applicator Wand Kit, 08851

$30 3M Cavity Wax Plus Applicator Wand Kit, 08851, 360-Degree Nozzles, Corrosion Protection, Collision Repair

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B4DFTXF/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_ZB0FHR1NQXJB1NHG4E0Y

 

Has anyone paid for shops to do this where they put it in a lift etc...etc....? How ridiculous is the cost? I just purchased some of that Amsoil HD metal protectant spray and was thinking about trying to at least hit the bulk of the frame with it. It does seem like a colossal pain in the rear with getting cardboard, wearing goggles, some type of respirator, an older flight suit or something for drips etc...etc....

And just curious......looking at the first three ingredients or so there is heptane, propane, and butane. Kind of makes me wonder if I am turning the Tundra into a Ford Pinto if ever in a crash......or does that stuff dry off and dissipate once it is "cured" or dry?

Following this thread with great interest.

I love this TRD pro and want to do all I can to keep it for a long time.

Thanks for any additional input or suggestions on here.

 

So I just called the local Toyota dealership to ask what they recommend for undercoating. And as I waited for them to call back I also called a local Line X dealer. They have a product they are using now called valu-gard (their spelling not mine) that they are using/recommending for undercoating. I did not ask nor have I looked up to see if this was a rubberized type coating. They said they could do the whole underside of the truck and also spray a light fog/mist of this stuff on the bottom or into the doors etc...etc...

I asked about if that would damage any stereo upgrades and was led to believe it would not.

Costs is less than 600 to do the whole truck with a roughly 8 hr cure time. They may keep it overnight especially if it is raining out when you would pick it up.

Then the Toyota dealer called back. They advised these vehicles do come with undercoating from the factory and they advised against doing any aftermarket type undercoating. Basically if I went with another type on top of the factory stuff and there was a big rust issue..... then it would be on the Line X company instead of Toyota for treatment etc...etc....