New Truck - Undercoating ?
 

Just purchased a new truck, at least new to me.
2016 Ford F-150 5 1/2 bed, 21k mies (was a lease-off truck)

Truck is in mint condition, and I will probably keep it until the wheels fall off !

Since we have such harsh winters here in the Northeast, and salt our roads,
I was thinking to get the truck undercoated, to protect it from salt and rust.

Forum thoughts ?

Thanks !

Haven’t done anything to my truck but the new thing seems to be undercoating with Fluid Film. It’s a lanolin based oil that sprays on and stays put without running. I use to use it on equipment when I had my mowing business. Good stuff.

Many years ago you use to spray the oil from your last oil change on the undercarriage. Guess you can’t do that anymore


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I had my new truck treated with Fluid Film.

Fluid Film ?
 

Rich,

What company did you have 'Fluid Film' applied, how much did it cost, and how long does it last ?

Thanks,
Bigdog

.... Rust-oleum Professional Undercoating
 

For something like $4.88, you can get a large, heavy can of Rust-oleum Professional Undercoating that weighs about 1.312-lbs at Walmart ..... and do it yourself.

Is best to keep the undercoating away the exhaust and muffler which get very hot.

With the Rust-oleum pistol grip, clamp on grip handle .... it makes you feel like a professional undercoater.

I thought I had posted an answer here, but I don't see it now.

I had it done at a friend's shop:

Precise Automotive Diagnostic
91 Deerwood Dr, Nashua, NH 03063
Phone: (603) 598-9113

The owner Dave treats every vehicle as if it was his own. He's a great guy!

I had a full size pickup, with a full crew cab done, and I think the cost was about $380, but i could be off a bit.

Dave says to have it treated at least every two years as a minimum. He does his own truck every year.

I hope this helps you.

Regards,
Rich

Fluid Film
 

Paid to have the first application of Fluid Film applied on my truck for approximately $200.

After that, we bought the application gun and one gallon of Fluid Film (on line) for approximately the same amount and now apply it ourselves. However, you need a source of compressed air for the application gun.

A gallon is enough fluid film for two vehicle and costs approximately $40

Great protection again these NH winters.

https://www.fluid-film.com

Oil treatment
 

I did mine for years with an old Wagner power painter and used motor oil, tranny fluid...whatever was around. put a large tarp down...park on top of it and spray away. Takes about 15 minutes

...... hide the rust!
 

Old truck - undercoating?

Another good use for do-it-yourself undercoating is to hide the totally rusty under area of your car when trying to sell it on craigslist. The Rust-oleum rubberized undercoating will stick pretty good to totally rusted orange metal and give it a fresh, rich, black rubberized coating that should definitely help sell your old rusty clunker.

Hide the rust ...... sell the car ...... :eek2: ..... it's never too late to undercoat!

And, for about three dollars there's a large clamp-on handle that gets attached to the top of the can that makes the spray job go much-o better-o.

People tend to over rate the effects of under coating. There was a day and a time where it was indeed necessary. But Honestly with new vehicles I think it is a waste of money. They do so much treatment of the metal at the factories that things hold up fairly well.

Beside which to truely be effective you have to have these oil treatments done on a regular basis.....

Now if your really serious about this, what you need to do is find someone with a Line-X dealership, that wants to be experimental. Take the body off the frame, coat the frame with Linux, and the underside of the cab and bed as well. Put it all back together and you will have something worth while.

fluid film or oil works - traditional undercoating does not.

I've never used fluid film but know folks that have and it seems to be every bit as good as oil however both require resprays although I don't think the fluid film needs it quite as often. That said, I use gear oil to protect my truck - has to be heated to apply and get a good spray pattern. It holds up well and the under side of my truck looks as good as the day I bought it.

While modern day vehicles are far better at resisting corrosion - they still will eventually succumb to it if nothing is done. The really critical parts are those you cannot see such as inside the frame rails on trucks. Many rot from the inside out. Using oil it will bleed and spread especially in warm weather, which allows it to penetrate those problem areas.

A stretch.

Yes, there is a tad truth to this. New car exhaust systems may have a high quality stainless steel. Yes, the paints have improved somewhat.

Do note that the term "undercoating" is from the 1950's. Undercoating was used for sound deadening and had nothing to do with rust prevention. Currently, the term undercoating has merged somewhat with rust prevention. Two completely different animals though.

But the bottom line is that steel rusts. The rust begins while sitting on the new car lot. Clamps, bolts, brake lines, etc. may be of ordinary cheep unpainted steel that does begin to rust right away.

Few ever view their vehicle up on a lift. Most would be amazed at what is rusting if they actually viewed the underside of their vehicle.

Many in the Lakes Region don't keep any vehicle more then 5 years or so. So to them rust is not an issue. It's the next gal or guy that will see the results of the ongoing rusting process.

The DPW Pubic Works not only use rock salt in the winter time. But now use a liquid brine/salt - that is much more corrosive then the rock salt. Take a look at the DPW trucks in winter time and view both the rock salt being dispersed but also the liquid brine.

That stuff gets into all of the nooks and crannies of vehicle and promotes enhances the rusting process.

It's your investment. Good Luck !

For any used vehicle oil undercoating is the best. Fluid Film is fine. But the oil is just better.

View the video. I have zero connection with this company. But have my vehicles oil undercoated every year. And my 2002 full size pickup truck looks virtually new. Yes, a good paste wax helps the paint to shine. Don't forget to paste wax the rims. But the rest of the truck gets oil undercoating every year.

Watch the video. LINK. This company now franchises the product and can be done locally. There are others that do oil undercoating. Here is another one: Carrara Hot Oil Rustproofing - Shrewsbury, VT.

There are believers and there are non-believers. It's your choice. It's your investment. It's your money.

Ding Ding Ding.... yes that is the truth. And the beginning and end of the story...

While you may feel good about spraying the underside of your truck with oil, and you may think it looks as good as new, it is not. I know people that have done this for years, some who even still do it.

Living in Vermont for 10 years I heard it all...... But I watched vehicles of the same age, go through the same issues regardless of under coating... The biggest thing you can do is to make sure you wash the undercarriage of you vehicle through out the winter months.....

Eventually brake lines go, if you look at them weeks after your oil treatment, you will find not much oil remains... Same thing goes for bushings, rubber boots, etc. These are things that people that keeps cars long term expect to replace..... Oil Treatement or no oil treatment, weather, salt grime etc. all eventually brake these components down....

What you fear replacing is the frame of the vehicle.... Which are hollow steel on trucks.... the best protection for them is provided at where they are produced..... when they get a nice paint bath... Your right the fear is rotting from the inside out.... Companies used to only paint the outside of frames.... and yep the oil would help some what as it would get up in side, through the various wholes in the frame, and protect the inside.... if the frames have been dip coated this simply isn't as big of a problem anymore....

NH Oil Undercoating
 

While I do agree that modern cars are somewhat protected.. the use of brine on the roads as a deicer changes the game. Brine solution use magnesium chloride instead of sodium chloride (rock salt). It eats metal like nobody's business!

As an Mech Engineer, I did a lot of research and ultimately went with NH Oil Undercoating for my 2017 F-150..... its essentially mineral oil mixed with graphite. It works amazingly well! It cost approx $200 for first app, and they get you $100 for a reapply every other year or so. They pulled off all the frame plugs and sprayed inside the nooks and crannies, rocker panels etc etc.

Woodsy

I'd have to respectfully disagree with you on this one. I drive probably one of only a few Toyota Tacomas that is still sitting on it's original factory frame and if you wipe away the oil buildup the paint on the frame is bright and shiny black. There is zero corrosion under it at all - and that includes the door seams, inside of the fenders, bed and rear bumper - all original and all as new. It does work but what is used does make a difference. I do it myself and apply straight 90 weight gear oil that is heated at the time of application. Once it cools it gets thick and sticky, then I run it up and down a dry dusty dirt road a few times. That lasts a long time, after 10 years there is enough build up that I just have to touch up the wheel wells a little bit here and there every year the rest of the bottom is soaked with oil. I also use that oil because it does not attack the plastic or rubber in fact it helps preserve the rubber from dry rot.

Been doing it on all my vehicles and it's awesome. In fact the guys that inspect my truck love it because everything is mint and just comes apart no rust to screw around with. The one thing it does not help with is the exhaust because the oil burns off that after application.

I've posted pics of the under side of my truck in another thread as proof of it's effectiveness.