Lost cost, spray-on rust prevention

[KrisZ]

CRC Corrosion Inhibitor. No greasy mess and you can still wash the underside of your vehicle without washing it off.

I like the look of this product. Looks like a good compromise between oil and wax type coatings.

 

[wlk]

I like Woolwax myself, black makes it look super nice and easy to see where applied. 1x/year is best. I bought their spray gun and it is messy but very easy.

 

[taintedtattoo]

For those that apply your own low cost undercoating/rust prevention spray, what do you use and how often do you use it? How has it worked out for you?

Just picked up a new Mazda CX-5 and cost-wise, I'm looking at Fluid Film from Amazon or Rust-Oleum Pro Grade Undercoating from Walmart. I was about to go with Fluid Film but then saw some reviews that said it actually attracts and holds dirt. I plan to run the car through a touchless car wash about once a week.

Thanks

As a Tacoma owner with the frame rust issue living in WI, I can tell you Fluid Film is a waste of time, in fact I tested it on bare metal in my yard it is was worse than just WD-40. It washes off in short order. I also tried Wool Wax, which works well but it's a huge mess. On my new Tacoma it got a full blasting of Cosmoline on the entire underbody.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I've had pretty good luck with bar and chain oil. I used to do bar and chain oil mixed with Kerosene but that seemed unnecessary ... my paint gun can do it no problem.

 

[landreww]

I found some Recochem Heavy chainsaw bar oil which is rated at 400cst (minimum) @ 40c, and is advertised as very tacky. At about $5 a litre CAN it's worthy of a test. More so for internal spraying than surviving direct wheel spray - that force washes almost everything off that isn't a hardened coating. I also will pick up a container of Bel-Ray Air Filter oil. Anyone that's put air filter oil on a foam filter knows how sticky, tacky, and long lasting that product is. I'm going to spray some on exposed parts and see how it does. I need some anyways for our offroad bikes. I looked for some 80W250 gear oil but cost is too high.

 

[ripcord]

We might have finally found a good use for Lucas Heavy Duty Oil Stabilizer.

 

[landreww]

We might have finally found a good use for Lucas Heavy Duty Oil Stabilizer.

I did buy a container of that and the C-Tire equivalent. $20 a liter was just too much, but your right rust protection and bolt prep are its only legitimate uses.

 

[buck91]

As a Tacoma owner with the frame rust issue living in WI, I can tell you Fluid Film is a waste of time, in fact I tested it on bare metal in my yard it is was worse than just WD-40. It washes off in short order. I also tried Wool Wax, which works well but it's a huge mess. On my new Tacoma it got a full blasting of Cosmoline on the entire underbody.

My experience in Michigan differs substantially. My 2011 lives outside and has seen yearly fluid film applications for the past decade. There are a few places where the surface rust is just starting on some painted edges but its very minimal. It has done a fantastic job.

The frame on my wife's 2018, which sees yearly HDMP -> now RP-342 applications has more rust than my 2011.