Cleaning before spraying rustproofing

Joined
Mar 21, 2004
Messages
28,130
Location
Near the beach in Delaware
For people that spray their own vehicle with Fluid Film or CarWell or NH Coating how do you clean the vehicle prior to spraying more rustproofing?
One shop uses compressed air and a local guy that sprays for people he knows uses a pressure washer.

Dust or dirt tends to stick to the rustproofing. Don't want to remove the existing rustproofing just want to get the dust that is stuck to it off.

I was thinking garden hose. Not high pressure like pressure washer.

Also considering the NH Coatings salt remover product then a garden hose.

I am not pressed for time so I can use a garden hose than wait a day for it to dry then spray the rustproofing.
 
Joined
Aug 20, 2003
Messages
19,250
Location
NE,Ohio
you dont need every spec of dirt off and you dont need the old goo either way.

I'd use one of those ryobi pressure washer brooms .. maybe some compressed air on a long nozzle or electric leaf blower to encourage it to dry.. wait a day and spray.
Garden hose with cold water will do absolutely nothing for the most part, but that was your point.
 
Joined
Feb 27, 2010
Messages
495
Location
Minnesota
I spray my vehicles with Woolwax. In the spring I just wash mine with a garden hose, or a underbody wash at the local car wash. I'm not trying to get everything off just dirt accumulations. The majority of Woolwax remains but I usually do a touch up before winter.
 
Joined
Jan 24, 2013
Messages
1,133
Location
Upstate NY
I spray my vehicles with Woolwax. In the spring I just wash mine with a garden hose, or a underbody wash at the local car wash. I'm not trying to get everything off just dirt accumulations. The majority of Woolwax remains but I usually do a touch up before winter.
Agree with wool wax observations and method. My old wool was app basically last for two years before I saw any signs of bare metal.
 
Joined
Aug 23, 2020
Messages
706
Location
Canada
I go to the wand wash and spray down my truck and then wait two days that the truck sits for and then Fluid Film it. I'm going to look into wool wax to see if I can get it here, sounds like it outlasts Fluid Film.
 
Joined
Feb 27, 2010
Messages
495
Location
Minnesota
Joined
Sep 29, 2019
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33
Location
WA
Watch Repair Geek on YouTube. He really has some great videos on the variety of products, fluid film, wool wax etc. Here's one to get you started.
 

JTK

Joined
Aug 14, 2003
Messages
14,999
Location
Buffalo, NY
The floor/body areas of my vehicles treated with woolwax wind up a greasy, dirty mess, but it stays put in areas that don't get road washed. It's not going to wash off unless you shoot it with brake cleaner. I'll deal with the greasy dirty mess any day over rust and seized fasteners.
 
Joined
Oct 17, 2014
Messages
2,423
Location
SW Ontario Canada
The best RP products have an affinity for metal, so these will migrate to the metal regardless of what film exists on the metals surface. Will it go through 5mm of mud? it might if the muddy stuff stayed in place long enough for the RP to get to the metal, but I doubt this is going to happen.

Clean off the heavy dirt, and spray whatever you like. Sleep well
 
Joined
Aug 26, 2009
Messages
319
Location
UK
What I did was first to inspect the underside of the car to see where the rust areas are.
I then sprayed the underside with snow foam product paying attention to areas with rust those that are difficult to rinse during a normal wash.

I use garden hose to rinse it all. After a drive and a day or two, I sprayed the rust prone areas with rust neutraliser (2 coats) and after a day's wait waxoyl underbody rust protection with added waxoyl.

You probably have a much better range and selection of products over there
 
Joined
Oct 3, 2010
Messages
2,536
Location
RI
I do a full pressure wash prior to coating with the truck on the lift, wheels off and wheel liners out.
 
Joined
Oct 3, 2010
Messages
2,536
Location
RI
It’s down to whatever paint they put on at the factory. The oil coating washes right off, but it’s collected a lot of dirt so I wash that mixture off and start fresh
 
Joined
Aug 20, 2003
Messages
19,250
Location
NE,Ohio
dirt doesnt really hurt anything as long as the product is keeping the metal isolated from oxygen.
It does become a nasty mess but that is better than crust and rust.

A lift makes it way easier to do a good job.
 
Joined
Apr 17, 2012
Messages
3,492
Location
West Michigan
I'll do a good garden hose nozzle spray especially focusing on some nooks and crannies that like to build up debris. On my F150 I also like to flush out the enclosed rocker panels a couple weeks before I re-fog them.
 
Joined
Sep 10, 2005
Messages
1,451
Location
Erie, PA
I use a wide spray garden hose and simple rinse the vehicle. Then several days later simply re-spray it.

I use krown first as a creep fluid usually in the summer months, I firmly beleive it travels and creeps more than any other fluid available, and then I top coat with fluid film as I feel it lasts longer in the winter.

Now with regard to the wool wax, I cant wait to try it. I still have fluid film left over and need to deplete it all first.
 
Joined
Aug 24, 2013
Messages
351
Location
Oklahoma
I use a deck and fence paint brush and slather my used engine oils on. Great way to recycle used oil. Also the cost is fairly attractive to undercoat an entire car (free).
 
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