Undercoating Options?

[Rookie-Vet91]

Hello,

I am located in the salt belt and recently purchased a "new to me" pick up truck. It is a 2018 model year and I plan to keep it for a long time. I have no experience with undercoationg, but want to prolong the life of the vehicle. I have two local businesses in town that offer undercoating. One offers Fluid Film and the other offers Protection First Class (PFC). Is there a night and day difference between the two products? Does anyone have experience with both? Thank you!

Fluid Film option - https://www.fluid-film.com/

PFC option - https://www.berkebileoil.com/pfc-undercoating.html

 

[JoelB]

I've been using fluid film a few years. I'm no expert but it's certainly better than leaving the steel bare. Nice thing about going that route is you can buy cans at your local hardware store and do touch up when needed.

 

[JTK]

I do fluid film and woolwax myself on my vehicles. It's relatively inexpensive and it's easy to do. Either should be touched up yearly.

I'm not familiar with the second one you list at all. It looks to be similar to Krown or the likes. I paid to have Krown applied to my previous pickup truck and I wasn't happy with the application at all.

If you want the best of the best based on members here whom I trust their recommendations, go with something like Noxudol rattle cans and DIY. Seach Amazon or the likes for it.

 

[PWMDMD]

Amsoil MP HD metal protectant - easy to apply and dries to a hard coating. I'm not an Amsoil fanboy but this stuff has always done a great job at preventing rust.

 

[LeakySeals]

There are lots of options for undercarriage rust protection. I use wax/cosmoline or oil sprays depending on the age and type of vehicle.

New or almost new I use a wax so the undercarriage stays nice and clean. No constant maintenance. No oil sand and soot. But if it's older and rusting the oil makes better sense because of the penetration into existing rust. The oil is also good for the seams inside doors for the same reason

The type of vehicle also matters. For example if your 2018 is a GM truck the frame is coated with a black wax. If the black wax is still mostly intact you don't want to use oil on the frame because oil softens the wax to the point you can easily wipe it off with your finger. The oil will cause the coating to prematurely fall off. I contacted fluid film and they said not recommended for GM frames. So use wax which there are many different options including black cosmoline.

The other thing to consider when using oil sprays is what it does to rubber bushings. Some hold up well to oil some don't so you need to be careful what you use.

My Escalade and one car is coated completely in amber cosmoline. My other cars are sprayed with cosmoline on the front subframes and Blaster Surface Sheild everywhere else. Blaster is like a fluid film but it doesn't smell and it seems to hold up better then fluid film did. And the best part it's cheaper.

 

[IveBeenRued]

Another vote for AMSOIL HDMP. I have yet to find anything longer lasting than that stuff.

 

[joekingcorvette]

I have never tried fluid film however after reading these posts I am going to try it. Vehicles rust out quickly in my state of SD.

 

[HoosierJeeper]

Fluid film isn't meant to be sprayed on surfaces for protection, it's meant to be injected in all the nooks and crannies and seep in. You spray it on a frame rail, it'll pressure wash off. My advice and practice is sand/paint any rust on the outside of the frame/chassis, and then inject fluid film into every hole you can, get a 4' long extension hose and really get in there. Use about 4-5 cans per vehicle normally. Paint will protect from rust on the outside, fluid film protects from the inside. Just applying stuff to the outside is never enough.

 

[doublebase]

I've used fluid film for years, it does a nice job but it's important to do it once a year...and make sure you drive on a dirt road immediately after to help thicken and allow it to set up on your frame a little better.

The other product you're comparing it to in the OP sounds very similar to the fluid film.

 

[mattd]

Home

NH Oil Undercoating's protective coatings are made to extend the life of all vehicles. Contact us today if you want to add safety and value to your vehicle.

nhoilundercoating.com

Example of what it looks like on my own truck

 

[LeakySeals]

Home

NH Oil Undercoating's protective coatings are made to extend the life of all vehicles. Contact us today if you want to add safety and value to your vehicle.

nhoilundercoating.com

Example of what it looks like on my own truck

Which treatment is that? They have a few.

 

[mattd]

That is the black oil undercoating sprayed on with one of their guns. I used their clear product on the body panels. Their boss wax seems nice, but prep per instructions are very time consuming (all surfaces must be cleaned with denatured alcohol).

 

[JTK]

Fluid film isn't meant to be sprayed on surfaces for protection, it's meant to be injected in all the nooks and crannies and seep in. You spray it on a frame rail, it'll pressure wash off. My advice and practice is sand/paint any rust on the outside of the frame/chassis, and then inject fluid film into every hole you can, get a 4' long extension hose and really get in there. Use about 4-5 cans per vehicle normally. Paint will protect from rust on the outside, fluid film protects from the inside. Just applying stuff to the outside is never enough.

This is true. You will get some into areas where it will hang around by doing a broad spray coat, but like you say, on exposed areas that get road washed, FF will wash away.

Woolwax on the other hand sticks around much better on exposed areas.

I have noticed on my Ram 1500 that FF seeping out from the door drains has softened and swelled the door seals in those areas. It does effect soft foam rubber materials.

 

[dtownfb]

Hello,

I am located in the salt belt and recently purchased a "new to me" pick up truck. It is a 2018 model year and I plan to keep it for a long time. I have no experience with undercoationg, but want to prolong the life of the vehicle. I have two local businesses in town that offer undercoating. One offers Fluid Film and the other offers Protection First Class (PFC). Is there a night and day difference between the two products? Does anyone have experience with both? Thank you!

Fluid Film option - https://www.fluid-film.com/

PFC option - https://www.berkebileoil.com/pfc-undercoating.html

What is the warranty that each business gives you? What is the reputation of each shop? How long have they been in business?

I lived in Syracuse for 2 years which like SD is in the salt belt.

 

[Sequoiasoon]

I used Fluid Film on wifes Pilot. Smelled like crap but works well from what I saw on friends trucks. On the Pilot they sprayed everything and there is an atmospheric sensor box above rear diff that got plugged up and threw trouble code. Dealer replaced but not covered under warranty due to contamination of "undercoat". I also recently started getting squeaking on front end during braking. The bushing type up and down squeak not brakes themselves. I haven't gotten to that yet to check it out. Maybe a bushing moving from FF which of course won't be covered either.

I still recommend it but watch where you spray some of these things.

 

[LeakySeals]

Yeah that's the downside of oil sprays like fluid film. The sand and grit it attracts causes squeaks. And after a years of using it your bushings swell and look like mushrooms. Like they do on my 2005 classic. I'm currently replacing the muffler hangers which have stretched like Gumby.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I use bar and chain oil thinned a bit with kerosene. Through an Astro undercoating gun. Works pretty well.

 

[danthaman1980]

For late model GM trucks with the black frame wax, you can touch up worn areas with a product called Daubert Nox-Rust X-121B. It works very well.
For other exposed metal undercarriage surfaces, the only products I've found that resist washing off are Cortec VPCI-368, and Corban 35.

The VPCI-368 product is my favorite. Last time I purchased, it was about $24 per aerosol can. And worth every penny. I've seen it last for years.

 

[LowMilesLesabre]

Hello,

I am located in the salt belt and recently purchased a "new to me" pick up truck. It is a 2018 model year and I plan to keep it for a long time. I have no experience with undercoationg, but want to prolong the life of the vehicle. I have two local businesses in town that offer undercoating. One offers Fluid Film and the other offers Protection First Class (PFC). Is there a night and day difference between the two products? Does anyone have experience with both? Thank you!

Fluid Film option - https://www.fluid-film.com/

PFC option - https://www.berkebileoil.com/pfc-undercoating.html

This product is available in southern Ontario and it might also be offered in northern US states. It smells like sheep’s lanolin, but is thicker and stronger than fluid film. I don’t know if this is simply a registered trademark for someone’s version of war wax or not, but I can say that heading into my fourth Canadian winter here with the LeSabre, this stuff has worked like a charm and there is zero rust on the car. I make at least three visits Per month to the touchless wash during the winter here which includes underbody spraying (not high pressure washing) because you just have to get the salt off as it cakes on so badly. Thus far, this product has not washed off and it comes with an 18 month warranty meaning that as long as you apply it every 18 months, they warrant it to protect the vehicle against rust. Know that this is not the heavy thick, tar-based coatings that are still offered for new cars, but rather an industrial-strength version of fluid film I think.

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[dfarr67]

I do this a bit on the side and use No Drip black cavity spray. Undercoating to me is a heavy sound barrier for the underside of the car. For rust treatment you want inside of the body cavities coated as well as the underside- I drill access holes as needed..