Rustproofing?

[Steven D Tipton]

How long does that coating last? Is it a yearly maintenance?

I do it every year but could skip and do every two. Fluid film washes off with water. Product I use, needs a degreaser to remove.so it holds longer.

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[Deleted member 1634]

As a former Buffalo resident living in VA, I'd take the tornadoes any day.. you can keep the rust and dirty snow!

Works for me!

 

[got3fords]

As a former Buffalo resident living in VA, I'd take the tornadoes any day.. you can keep the rust and dirty snow!

Right on! Plus snow is common, natural disasters aren't.

 

[JohnnyO]

I live in PA. I went 20 years without getting anything rustproofed but the liquid stuff they use now sticks to the vehicles and is a lot more corrosive. I took the Ranger and my previous truck, my wife’s old minivan, and soon her new one to Ziebart.

 

[Bluestem]

I used fluid film on mine with the same gun as Steven. It held up really well over this past winter in Northern Illinois, probably the same amount of salt exposure as Michigan. It certainly didn't come off after any rain or washing this spring. I'll definitely clean up the underside here in the next month and reapply.

 

[F150stxguy]

Good god. I know it’s just surface rust, but where I am there’s salt on the roads from November until April. I guess it’s part of the territory. It still makes me sick though, purchasing a brand new vehicle and just slowly watching it rust. You can see many older trucks and SUV’s still on the road in Texas with zero rust. I saw numerous 1970/80 Ford and Chevy trucks on the road in great condition. Would love to buy a few older trucks when I visit family down there and sell them up north lol.

The salt mines are kept in business, but I wish we could use mostly sand instead on our roads.

 

[Rangerguy]

Beware the atmosphere sensor on top of the fuel tank. It’s part of the emissions control system. I’ve had to get two replaced in my first two years. Dealer says it is due to undercoating. Known says they are not to spray above the tank for that reason. Couple of threads here about it. Part is about C$170, plus about two hours labour, and have to drop the fuel tank. A pain.

 

[Radioman]

I'd rather have rust and snow than hurricanes, earthquakes, and tornadoes.

We all bad mouth California and mostly for good reasons, but where I live there are no rust on vehicles, no snow, no earthquakes, and no tornadoes.

 

[seasprite]

Hi folks,
I've seen a few threads on initial rust when vehicles were delivered, but nothing long term. Figured this might be helpful for folks wondering about where the typical spots for rust to start might be and where it is a good idea to focus on rust prevention.

My truck was built in March of 19 and I bought it from the dealer in November of 19, so it has been through 3 full Michigan winters here as a daily driver. They do not spare the salt on the roads here and I've not done anything to it in terms of rust prevention, undercoating, or washing regularly in the winter.

Front fender well, we can see rust starting at the welds ahead of the tire. Some fasteners with surface rust as well. A little bit on the frame area behind the tire as well.

Rear fender well, again welds are where we see rust starting to grow.

Frame in middle of truck looking rearward. Same story here, some surface rust at some of the welds, otherwise frame looks good.

Frame just behind front wheels. This is the worst area, seems like it takes the brunt of the salt spray from the front wheels. If you're spraying any type of RP on the underside, get every nook and cranny in this area.

Rear behind the back wheels. This fared better than the front. The spray must miss most of the underside.

In summary, surface rust seems to like to come through wherever there is a weld. The area behind the front wheels is the worst, but there is no corrosion anywhere on the body itself, only frame and hardware. The mechanical bits themselves (diff, driveshaft, ect) also look mostly clean. The exterior paint is also holding up well, with minimal stone chips.

Wow, thought it would take longer for the frame rust.
I had 2/3 of a bottle of simoniz glass coat left from doing the parts of the truck the dealer missed. So instead of it sitting on the shelf and going bad I applied it to the frame of the truck along with the back axle and shields along with a few other areas.

I don't expect it to stop the rust just hope it makes it easier to wash the salt off during the winter and slows it down.

Took a look at knuckle where the upper control arm attaches and I have same rust as you but not as bad yet. Took some Q-tips with some M1 grease an smeared it on those areas, should keep it from getting worse.

 

[pbethel]

Good god. I know it’s just surface rust, but where I am there’s salt on the roads from November until April. I guess it’s part of the territory. It still makes me sick though, purchasing a brand new vehicle and just slowly watching it rust. You can see many older trucks and SUV’s still on the road in Texas with zero rust. I saw numerous 1970/80 Ford and Chevy trucks on the road in great condition. Would love to buy a few older trucks when I visit family down there and sell them up north lol.

The salt mines are kept in business, but I wish we could use mostly sand instead on our roads.

One year where I lived in Alaska they tried using only sand. After a ten day to two week period of snow every day it had built up to six to eight inch thick layer of sand reinforced ice. The two sheep trails where everyone drove quickly melted down to pavement leaving five elevated strips of the stuff on the two lane roads. It was frozen hard to the pavement and DOT plows were suffering damage trying to clear it. They resumed using salt after that.

 

[RedlandRanger]

One year where I lived in Alaska they tried using only sand. After a ten day to two week period of snow every day it had built up to six to eight inch thick layer of sand reinforced ice. The two sheep trails where everyone drove quickly melted down to pavement leaving five elevated strips of the stuff on the two lane roads. It was frozen hard to the pavement and DOT plows were suffering damage trying to clear it. They resumed using salt after that.

And it isn't really "sand" but more like a fine rock. The downside to using it is you will get more rock chips and broken windshields from flying rocks. I don't think it would work well in the colder climates (see above). One year we had a long cold snap and had similar problems on the city streets in particular. Some streets had deep ruts in them - the only place you could drive - but it was hell trying to go anywhere until it warmed up and all the ice melted. That was a time when salt would have been preferred to be used for sure.

Everything has pros and cons to it.....

 

[mtsoxfan]

I use air compressor with the attach picture air gun. Other picture is of another manual spray bottle. I honestly could see this working for non commerical applications. This product doesn't rinse off unless you use some kinda of degreeser. Pressure washer it's self, doesn't take it off. That's why I consider this product. The best. Dries like a wax.

Have you used the manual spray bottle? While more expensive than the gallon set up, it requires no compressor, and seems like it would be easier when no lift available.

 

[Deleted member 1634]

And it isn't really "sand" but more like a fine rock. The downside to using it is you will get more rock chips and broken windshields from flying rocks. I don't think it would work well in the colder climates (see above). One year we had a long cold snap and had similar problems on the city streets in particular. Some streets had deep ruts in them - the only place you could drive - but it was hell trying to go anywhere until it warmed up and all the ice melted. That was a time when salt would have been preferred to be used for sure.

Everything has pros and cons to it.....

Every year we have multiple cold snaps where it's even too cold for salt to work. So that's where the sand really comes into it's own. When you can't melt the ice/hardpack that's accumulated on the roads, you just have add a traction layer of grit on top. Does wonders in the corners and on the hills.

 

[RedlandRanger]

Every year we have multiple cold snaps where it's even too cold for salt to work. So that's where the sand really comes into it's own. When you can't melt the ice/hardpack that's accumulated on the roads, you just have add a traction layer of grit on top. Does wonders in the corners and on the hills.

That does make sense. It works well when things are frozen, but if you go above and below freezing it can just make a mess like we had here several years ago - it was not a normal occurrence for us for sure....

 

[subquark]

Does anyone have experience with something like this?

I live in New Hampshire and they do a mix of stuff. Apart from various types of salt, they also use that nasty-smelling beet juice - it's a funky sickening smell to me. Yuck! =D

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