Fluid Film rust preventing frame and undercarriage spray

I have used aerosol cans of fluid film for a few years on my truck, lawnmower, snow blower and various things around the house. I decided last year to get a gallon of it and a spray gun for my compressor. I just did my while undercarriage with a very thick coat and used about 3 quarts. I was really surprised how well the gun worked, even with my small pancake compressor. There was absolutely no drips or clumps, the fluid fill came out in a nice fog pattern and covered really well. I can try to get some pics of the frame later, about half way thru the project a thunderstorm hit so I finished up in the garage, and made a huge mess. The only downside is overspray but it really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

 

Can this be applied over surface rust? Or does your undercarriage need to be pretty rust free before applying?

 

You apply it right over surface rust. Ideally I would treat any rust then spray this on, but here in CT that's a never ending battle. The fluid film creeps and penetrates (giggity) into every area you spray. It's safe to spray on anything, I try to keep it away from exhaust but other than that I just spray away. While it is not a rust converter, it does seem to penetrate under surface rust and somehow clean it up. I also use it under the hood of the truck, I use a brush to hit al the body ground bolts, battery terminals, and also spray onto inner fenders and any other sheet metal. I also coat the back side of any body panels that I can reach from under the truck (most of the inside bed panels can be sprayed), inside the tailgate, you can remove plastic plugs on rocker panels and doors and spray in there too.

 

Eventually it turns to a shiny black look.
Its a great lubricant too, so I'm not shy getting it on suspension components, springs, and other moving parts.

 

Be prepared to wash your truck after you spray this stuff. The overspray is very light and gets up in the air. It's pretty slippery too so I don't recommend applying in your garage, and if you do, throw a tarp down. I started in my asphalt driveway but thunderstorms forced me into the garage, now I'm degreasing the floor lol

 

I was literally thinking about this exact thing the other day when I crawled into my fender to replace my fogs, and found that I was missing a bolt because it had rusted all the way through....2017, I shouldn't have that much rust already

 

Wow, looks great! Appreciate the info. Definitely gonna give it a try.

 

The aerosol cans work well, it just started getting expensive. This little gun and my compressor worked great. Apply it once a year before winter everywhere you can get it and your truck will be in pretty good shape no matter what mother nature, or the department of transportation throws at you. It does leave an oily film on everything so dust and crap sticks to it, but that seems to form a nice protective layer that the salt brines can not get through.

 

Would be good to see pics of the process.

 

If you don't mind, what type of gun did you use, and how big was your pancake compressor? I think this is something I could knock out fairly quickly after a good underbody clean-up

 

I got the gun on Amazon, its specifically for fluid film or wool wax. I got it last year but I'll try to find the link. I have a 6 gallon, 150psi compressor, it ran pretty much non stop while I was spraying but it always had plenty of pressure behind it.

 

Still pretty thick in some areas, it should start to flow and clear up in color over the next day or two. I really wish I could put the truck on a lift to do this, I may invest in some ramps, that would help a little. I will likely hit it again with a lights spray on problem areas before the snow flies.

 

It never dries which is what makes it effective, and it does not drip, you can see some drips in some of the pics, those are water drops, it's been pouring rain here for the last few hours and I had to take it out in the rain. Eventually it does wash off from just regular driving in rain and snow, some areas quicker than others, some spots it was still coated from when I last sprayed 2 years ago.

 

So you just spray everything? No need to cover anything?

 

I wonder of this is the same kinda stuff toyota had used on my frame. But they did tell me it wont come off and now a yr later I can see it would have to be scraped off I think.

 

Yup I spray everything, I have read a few things about how fluid film might causes certain types of rubber to swell but I have never seen an issue.

 

As it gets closer to winter, and when I need to rotate my tires I will spray again. Itll be nice to hit the wheel well areas when the wheel is off. Also I need to drop the spare tire and spray the subframe and underside of the bed in that area, I got all the rest of the floor done today, just not above the spare. I also made a little extension hose thing that i can use to spray up in the rockers and lower doors, there are little rubber access plugs that can be pulled and replaced after spraying.

 

Don’t forget to spray the brake rotors

 

I do mine in November before we start getting any snow. Does it the last two years and I don't have a speck of rust on my frame even though they salt our roads like crazy anytime it starts drizzling in the winter.

 

Good tip buddy, they do get pretty rusty.

 

I missed a year and it shows. I'm hoping this coat will help me turn back the clock a little. I did it the first winter I had it but missed last year. Amazing how much damage the salt brine causes and how quickly it does it

 

I had a rusting frame on my Tacoma so I plan on being pretty religious about it especially since I plan to keep it for another 8 or 9 years.

 

someone prepping for some of that NE winter

 

Fluid Film is a great product. We only get salt once or twice a year here and I still get under my truck with fluid film. It's worth the time to ensure my frame doesn't rot.

 

Me too, first my 99, then my 08. Both rotted thru. The 99 got bought back for the same i paid for it 5 years earlier, and Toyota have me cash towards my 08. I drove the 08 for 8 years, it needed a new frame so I just traded it towards my tundra, and got $7k less than I paid for it 8 years earlier. Rusty frames suck but the resale values were amazing nonetheless. The tundra I baby much more than I did my tacos.

 

I've been using cans... cans and more cans. Was thinking of buying the spray gun. Would you consider the spray gun a more effective way or is it more of a spray and pray type of situation? I know it's got to be more cost efficient over the long run, but can you hit where you aim?

 

drop the spare tire to better get the bed floor & bed cross supports for it (& the spare tire reel). (edit - should'a read through LOL)

 

I used cans last year as I couldn't take it to be sprayed. I got the little hose that goes with the cans. Don't forget to spray into the nose in particular of your hood.

 

I was wondering the same thing, it looks similar. I have the OEM rust protectant stuff too, there's tons of dirt and whatnot stuck on it now, but seems to have prevented rust where they sprayed. You definitely can't just wipe it off.

 

I definitely need to do this, I moved to Sparks and last year was my first year in the snow and i didn't like it.