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Hey guys pulled the plug and ordered a new F150. Going to retire my 2002 finally. I do all my own under coating and was wondering besides the frame and suspension what should I cover? Are there spots on the body's that are oxidizing or should I worry about it? We use huge amounts of salt here.
Do you do the oily stuff or the rubber/asphalt stuff? If I was spraying the rubber stuff I'd want some on the inside of the wheel wells just to reduce noise from rocks getting flung upwards. If I was doing the oily spray, I'd just get it everywhere underneath.
Use fluid film and reapply at least yearly. The only coating that does that I'd trust would be line x which would be very expensive to do the entire underside. The rubber coatings are too soft (IMO) and will crack allowing moisture/salt in.
More important to rinse under carriage during winter than to under coat a vehicle
In some areas, it snows almost daily, so the road is wet with saltwater for 4-5 months of every year. It is absolutely impossible to keep it clean under those circumstances. If you live in a place where it snows a couple times per year, your statement might be true. But for people who get more snow, it's absolutely false. "Undercoating" is a necessity, since the factory does such a poor job of coating everything and using corrosion-resistant materials. That can take many forms (paint, oil spray, fluid film, Ziebart, etc), but doing nothing is not a good option. And with the thin steel on frames these days and the ever increasing salt usage, it's more important than ever.
In some areas, it snows almost daily, so the road is wet with saltwater for 4-5 months of every year. It is absolutely impossible to keep it clean under those circumstances. If you live in a place where it snows a couple times per year, your statement might be true. But for people who get more snow, it's absolutely false. "Undercoating" is a necessity, since the factory does such a poor job of coating everything and using corrosion-resistant materials. That can take many forms (paint, oil spray, fluid film, Ziebart, etc), but doing nothing is not a good option. And with the thin steel on frames these days and the ever increasing salt usage, it's more important than ever.
I disagree. As long as the temp is lower than 20* there is no real worry as the ice melters don't really work below those temps
I disagree. As long as the temp is lower than 20* there is no real worry as the ice melters don't really work below those temps
You could not be more wrong. It's not all sodium chloride. Calcium chloride can melt down to around -13°F. Magnesium chloride can melt down to around -5°F. Not to mention that it often gets above 20°F during the day. To make matters worse, many areas put crap in their brine to make it stick to the road, which also makes it stick to vehicles, and difficult to wash off. I've known people who washed their vehicles almost daily in winter, and still had rust holes in 8 years. Some of you think you drive in corrosive conditions, but have no idea how much worse it can be in other areas. But I've seen many vehicles that were still in pretty good shape here after 15 years, because their owners took extra measures to protect from corrosion. I do my own and haven't used Ziebart, but I've been impressed with Ziebart results that I've witnessed first hand. A simply oil spray is effective too, but it makes for a very messy underbody and requires frequent application. I use a multi-faceted approach.
I've had excellent results using fluid film. I spray it in on the fall and get a layer of dust on it to help seal it in then don't wash the underside again until the following spring when all the salt is off the roads. We usually keep our vehicles 6yrs and the last two have been 99% rust free with the only rust showing anywhere has been on the parts that were rusted from the factory(steering gears, tie rods ends) and areas that see direct spray and weren't touched up as needed.
Here are some pictures of my 2013 F250 from last spring(it looked the same this spring also)
I've had excellent results using fluid film. I spray it in on the fall and get a layer of dust on it to help seal it in then don't wash the underside again until the following spring when all the salt is off the roads. We usually keep our vehicles 6yrs and the last two have been 99% rust free with the only rust showing anywhere has been on the parts that were rusted from the factory(steering gears, tie rods ends) and areas that see direct spray and weren't touched up as needed.
Here are some pictures of my 2013 F250 from last spring(it looked the same this spring also)
But are you in the rust belt? If that's a midwest salt truck i would be sold.
I was going to get mine done when i first got it but the guy was backed up like 2 months and i forgot. Going to get it done soon but the rust has already started in a few spots so im going to try and clean them up as best as possible with rust converter and a wire wheel.
I live in northern Iowa. I'll admit my truck doesn't see as much salt as others in the area because I try and stick to the county roads that aren't salted as heavily and my job has me plowing roads when they are the worst but it does see salt. I also don't wash the underside off until the spring cleaning so the salt that does get underneath stays there.
My wife's truck sees alot more salt then mine because she had to run the highway to get to work and hers is almost just as clean as mine. Only rust on hers is a little bit around the lower A Arms and around the rear springs/axle. I'd say hers is 99% as clean as mine.
Only problem with fluid film is you have to live with the grimy mess, but that's a fair trade off for not having rust underneath.
