Fluid Film, Woolwax, or Bar & Chain Oil?

Joined
Apr 20, 2014
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Location
Franklin County, PA
So it's that time of the year, weather is getting cooler which means ice and snow is around the corner. Which brings the salt with it, and more recently the liquid stuff they've been using. Last year I held off on coating my frame with something on my Tacoma as it had been sprayed with some kinda waxy gunk that brought the frame warranty to July 2021. Over the past couple years it's flaking off in places and Toyota will do nothing about it. So, I'm deciding the heck with it and am coating the frame in something to try and get some more life out of it. I know there's the standard Fluid Film or Woolwax, but what has intrigued me is the bar and chain oil treatment. FF or WW will seem to wash off easily as after every storm I like to wash down the undercarriage. It (bar and chain oil) seems it's a very cost effective option and can be sprayed easily cut with something like mineral spirits. I did a test on an old piece of metal and overnight the mineral spirits evaporated and left the bar and chain oil on there nice and tacky. I know it will drip for a while, but I'll take that over rust anyday. What say you BITOG folks?
 
I'm using fluid film on my vehicles.

Where are you located? I hate stuff dripping all over the driveway. Haven't heard about the bar and chain oil treatment. There is also NH oil undercoating which seems to be good stuff as well.
 
Any of those are better than nothing. I use WW and FF on my vehicles. I like FF for inner panels, in the doors, etc and WW for the rest.

Zero drips. The stuff really hangs in there.
 
I'm using fluid film on my vehicles.

Where are you located? I hate stuff dripping all over the driveway. Haven't heard about the bar and chain oil treatment. There is also NH oil undercoating which seems to be good stuff as well.

South Central PA right along the Maryland boarder. They've recently started using the liquid treatment on the mountain I go over. I work in Maryland and they've been using the liquid treatment for a couple years now. The stuff is brutal!

I'm not too worried about the dripping, I have a place to park it while it dries. I noticed even FF would drip as well.
 
So it's that time of the year, weather is getting cooler which means ice and snow is around the corner. Which brings the salt with it, and more recently the liquid stuff they've been using. Last year I held off on coating my frame with something on my Tacoma as it had been sprayed with some kinda waxy gunk that brought the frame warranty to July 2021. Over the past couple years it's flaking off in places and Toyota will do nothing about it. So, I'm deciding the heck with it and am coating the frame in something to try and get some more life out of it. I know there's the standard Fluid Film or Woolwax, but what has intrigued me is the bar and chain oil treatment. FF or WW will seem to wash off easily as after every storm I like to wash down the undercarriage. It (bar and chain oil) seems it's a very cost effective option and can be sprayed easily cut with something like mineral spirits. I did a test on an old piece of metal and overnight the mineral spirits evaporated and left the bar and chain oil on there nice and tacky. I know it will drip for a while, but I'll take that over rust anyday. What say you BITOG folks?
I use bar and chain oil mixed with slack wax. It works fantastic
 
If the existing wax coating is flaking off, I’d consider trying to power wash off as much as possible, treat any surface rust, then spray with a wax. Perhaps CRC HD Marine, or Amsoil HD metal protector, or Eastwood JD anti rust, or cosmolene. Then treat with known, carwell, etc in the future.
 
My father in law lives in far southwest VA in the mountains where they do use some salt on the roads in the winter. He has a late 70's GMC K10 with the 250 inline-six that he uses around his farm. It sits outside in the elements year round and as I said, is used as a farm vehicle. Every fall he mixes up a concoction of diesel fuel and used engine oil that he coats the frame and undercarriage with. He also sprays his mower decks with the same mixture. I can't remember the exact amounts but it is fluid enough that he sprays it with a pressurized garden sprayer. I am amazed at how well it has worked over the years.
 
I use FF. I live in Western MA, so we get our share of salt. FF hangs in there and rarely do I need to re-apply for the season. Of course, my truck is not my daily driver (company Escape), so I can only report on longevity of the product for the use we put it through. My wife does drive the truck in storms and we pull the toys and do some logging. The FF is easy to apply, especially into the holes of the frame.
 
After driving the same vehicle for 18 years in the rust-belt, my vote is for:

Fluid Film inside the Doors, Hood, Tailgate / it's thin enough to 'creep' around seams and spot welds
Cosmoline on under-body areas / especialy areas where an Oil would wash off

I also make a mixture of Never-Seize and Fluid Film and coat my Brake Lines.
 
After driving the same vehicle for 18 years in the rust-belt, my vote is for:

Fluid Film inside the Doors, Hood, Tailgate / it's thin enough to 'creep' around seams and spot welds
Cosmoline on under-body areas / especialy areas where an Oil would wash off

I also make a mixture of Never-Seize and Fluid Film and coat my Brake Lines.
What this^^^guy said. Fluid film and Cosmoline.

White lithium grease will stay on a farm for a long time and handle a lot of wash off if it is lightly brushed in trouble spots.
 
Cost comparison for a late-in-life start is nxt:

Lowest: Cranckase oil/chip brush
Medium: FF all over
Hi : WW or similar (cosmoline, CCR, Amison, Nexo) - on some parts, conversion - others, drippy stuff - the remainder
 
Due to environmental regulations, most of the commercial rust prevention products are specially designed to be biodegradable and non-toxic, like Krown and Rust Check. I'm going to assume that's not the case for bar oil, lol.
 
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