Fluid Film Treatment in My Situation

8, 1/2 doz customers get it. Yrs ago I used cans, put the wand on, got in tougher places. Hadda pound a buncha them w/a hammer 1st (knock off mucho 'scales'). As they come back, much lessa that. Now a 5 gal bucket, goes ina $45 sprayer I pressurize on the 80 gal. Wand for it was very difficult to find. Still usin the lanolin (sheep fat) or "FF". May switch but it works. Used the cranckase oil asa kid. Under there ona creeper w/a brush. Lift, face mask, no coveralls or anything. Am pretty accurate but the rust scrape on some 1st can blind ya. I get none on 'the sensitive parts' (exhaust, breaks, etc). Stop right at the point of drip off w/the rest. I maintain these same cars so am careful and through (need to wrench on some so attend to them so as to not fail under tq when time for removal, etc). Charge time'n materials - usually vicinity of 2 bills~
 
I've been using fluid film since 2015. In the US you can get the FF spray gun for around $150 and a 1 gallon can for under $50 from Napa. Check their online website.

You need an air compressor and some body plugs If you are drilling into the doors etc.

One gallon will be more than enough to do a pickup. I do a Dodge Caravan and a Honda civic hatchback with one gallon. In the door panels it doesn't drip off and will stay for a few years.

It also doesn't drip all over the ground. I've found the smell goes away after 3-5 days. You can spray the vehicle on jack stands without issues.
 
His cost is definitely less than $200. A 5 gallon bucket of fluid film can be purchased for less than $200 which would last for several winters.
I was going to say, $200 seems a bit high, I’d think that’s retail! I guess it depends on the level of prep and extent they get into unseen areas.

OP, the thing with FF and most other products is they will wash off in high spray areas. In nooks and crannies it creeps and works well. Seems a bit of a waste in the other places.
 
I used to use FF but am going to try out RP 342 going forward, at least for a couple of years. FF washes away too quickly for my tastes. Better than nothing, but still not as good as I might like.
In some cases I’ve seen it harden and lift. Be careful.
 
In some cases I’ve seen it harden and lift. Be careful.
Plan to keep an eye on it. But, I doubt I'll run this first experiment more than another 4 years or so, 350k is a lot of miles for, well, anything.

Not sure if it likes heat. I have a PS line that is on its way out, and I've had to hit it twice it seems. In a good spot to keep an eye on though.
 
Yeah, but you fellas with taxes like this own acreage and homes worth a bunch.

In the outskirts of Buffalo, my property and school taxes are about $5K/year. 2800sq/ft home on 1 acre. My home is worth maybe $350K.

My sister-in-law who lives just a few miles away on ~10 acres with a home worth about a mil, pays $13K/year.
Wow! I have a 2600 sq. ft. house on 1 acre, worth $500K and my property taxes are $1700 a year. No state income tax. And no salt on the roads. Florida baby!
 
Yet you're elbow deep in a fluid film thread?
I like to keep up with how they do it up north. But hey, I use the stuff too, just not for rust from salted roads. I spray it on the inside of my lawnmower deck to keep the grass from sticking. Also on hardware exposed the elements around the house.
 
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not for around the house, I'd not want to handel something w/this gunk on it. A spray w/WD & rag off? the plasti dip?, any of the electralisis (chromate? zink, powder coat?)?
 
Eric O of South Main Auto Channel on Youtube uses Fluid Film on his own and customers cars and he has shown videos on how he applies this treatment and the equipment he uses to apply it with. He did a video fairly recently where he did the underside of a vehicle. He gave the Amazon links to everything you need to do it yourself.

He has also shown videos of vehicles that he does regular FF treatments to and the undersides of the vehicles look pretty good. He is based out of Avoca NY.
 
Wow! I have a 2600 sq. ft. house on 1 acre, worth $500K and my property taxes are $1700 a year. No state income tax. And no salt on the roads. Florida baby!
Yeah but…

Florida Man.

There may be reasons to stay away from Florida.
 
"...that resides in "upstate" NY and used for a good amount of winter travel in VT & NH mountain..." OP's original Q.
Cant believe how quickly the admin cuts off the dialogue when in the middle of some good stuff, &...
 
I made my own oil undercoating using bar and chain oil plus slack wax. It has worked great. I sprayed it on my ford ranger 5 years ago and it still looks like the day it was put on. I live in the same county as op so my vehicles sees similar conditions. I like using the fluid film in the cans for ease of use but it does have a tendency to wash off. I read the fluid film in the non aerosol containers is thicker and more resistant to washing off. If you can get someone to spray your vehicle for $200 that’s a good deal. If it’s going to be $500 from joe schmo i would pass and look for an actual oil undercoating location. Its not terribly hard to spray it yourself but it is very messy and you get gross. It’s easier to pay someone else to get gross.
 
Just by coincidence I was washing my 2008 Chevy truck and had the wand spraying at the frame behind my rear passenger side tire. I noticed a chunk of the factory frame coating flake off. There was rust underneath it. After I got home I gave it a shot of Krown. It’s probably better that that factory coating came off and the rust is now soaked with the inhibitor.

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Fluid Film and its woolwax brethren only got "internet famous" 4-5 years ago. I think OP's looking for long term (15-20 years) assurances and experiences. (Queue some guy who used it in the Army in 1957 and smuggled it home in his thermos, keeping his Wartburg showroom fresh.)

I spray it on my new cars and my beaters too. I look at the "open pores" of scaly frames just ready to soak up briney salt water, which dries with underhood heat, into a white paste that mocks me. Or I can slather fluid film on there every October, when the air temp cools, so it sticks around with its own viscosity. If the frame is damp with fluid film, it's not damp with salt water. I don't claim it's perfect, but I figure a factory car comes with an expected engine life of 20-25 years but chassis life of 15. If I can stretch that a little bit it will deliver notable value.

Plus I spray the stuff inside every open hole to get the invisible side of my boxed in frames. Chef's kiss. There are all sorts of control arms and other suspension parts with boxed-in cavities that surely appreciate a little help as well. With your truck, get the fuel and brake lines, especially in their clips, as mentioned.

Since you're already in salt season, I'd run it through a deluxe car wash on a dry day then hose it down again when you get to the shop.

I DIY, I should probably wear a mask. It's unpleasant-- gets in my ears, hair, coats my glasses. If you pay, there are levels of quality and attention just like getting a wheel alignment. Hopefully the expensive guys pull rocker panel plugs (or even drill holes) to go above & beyond.
 
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Do any of the folks here who do the yearly application of FF wash the underbody after every snow/salt drive or is the recommendation to not hose the underside of the car through the wintry months (about 5 months here) once FF is applied?
 
I don't set out to wash my undercarriage, mostly because my outside spigot is deactivated to keep it from freezing.

We get enough rain in the shoulder seasons that things rinse themselves off with spray.

Of note, wet salt at near freezing temps is way worse than dry salt at 10'F.
 
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yup, I do both (have lill 'roller skate/skate bd'-like multi sprayer
'ona stick' I push under there when I think I need it). The shop hasa
floor drain almost center. I respray 2X a winter (1 fall, 1 mid winter,
another B4 spring heat gets too hi - March?). Water spray under (depends)
may B 2X that or soon after a bigger storm passes.
 
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