Undercoating question
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Cross-Country
Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 67
Likes: 3
Undercoating question
I got a new to me 2018 F150 XLT scab with 31,000 miles on it. I’m wondering about undercoating. I live in western NY so they do salt roads in winter. I drive my f250 for 6 yrs without undercoating it.
Should I get it undercoated? Their are 2 places that do it.
One is Krown. They use a product that will drop off for a day or 2. It needs to be reapplied every year at an additional fee.
The other is Ziebart which uses a wax type I think. It costs more upfront, but yearly touch ups are covered.
Unsure what to do. I think my truck has a fair amount of aluminum in it.
Thanks for any inputs you gents may have.
Should I get it undercoated? Their are 2 places that do it.
One is Krown. They use a product that will drop off for a day or 2. It needs to be reapplied every year at an additional fee.
The other is Ziebart which uses a wax type I think. It costs more upfront, but yearly touch ups are covered.
Unsure what to do. I think my truck has a fair amount of aluminum in it.
Thanks for any inputs you gents may have.
Tuned
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 472
Likes: 153
From: Southeast Wisconsin
I took my truck to Krown. I think the product is good, but leaves a drippy mess on the floor for a couple weeks. I drove it down some dusty gravel roads so the dust would stick to it and cake it up to stop the dripping. Thus the "grimy mess" the post above me mentions.
Not happy the tech that sprayed my truck didn't know how to remove my tail lights and broke the mounting tabs off the first one he removed. Of course he just put it back together without telling me. I found out when my tail light started falling out a couple weeks later. So the cost of the undercoat also included a new tail light for an additional $85. The B.L.I.S. tail lights were $700 last time I checked, so the potential is there for this job to cost far more than the price of the undercoating.
So lesson learned. My new M.O. is do anything and everything yourself if at all possible.
Not happy the tech that sprayed my truck didn't know how to remove my tail lights and broke the mounting tabs off the first one he removed. Of course he just put it back together without telling me. I found out when my tail light started falling out a couple weeks later. So the cost of the undercoat also included a new tail light for an additional $85. The B.L.I.S. tail lights were $700 last time I checked, so the potential is there for this job to cost far more than the price of the undercoating.
So lesson learned. My new M.O. is do anything and everything yourself if at all possible.
Moderator
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 8,200
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From: San Antonio, TX
No need to coat the under body, as it's a coated aluminum. The frame could use it, especially inside, as it's fully boxed steel. Suspension and axles if you don't like seeing surface rust.
Logistics Pro
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 3,945
Likes: 507
From: Edmond, OK
^^^THIS^^^
I use Fluid Film on my Oldsmobile where I scrapped the paint off to ground my mobile ham radio. It's been over a year and there isn't a hint of rust. Of course, winters aren't that cold in OK so I don't have to worry about applying it to the underside. It's available online:
I use Fluid Film on my Oldsmobile where I scrapped the paint off to ground my mobile ham radio. It's been over a year and there isn't a hint of rust. Of course, winters aren't that cold in OK so I don't have to worry about applying it to the underside. It's available online:
Mountain Pass
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 139
Likes: 12
From: Chicagoland
Personally I thing that Fluid Film smells awful for a week or two, and doesn't hold up well to direct spray. I believe pb blaster surface shield smells much better, like cedar, and seems more durable. As for me I sprayed my underside with Boiled Linseed Oil.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,652
Likes: 79
From: Mooresville, NC
All the "rubberized" undercoatings do is provide entrapment points for moisture which actually accelerates rust.
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Cross-Country
Joined: Dec 2019
Posts: 88
Likes: 18
Fluid film or similar on/in the frame and axle. Leave the aluminum body alone.
Ford did the entire body in aluminum. They’re the only ones so far. The bed in its entirety, cab, doors, fenders, hood - it’s all aluminum. The frame and suspension are still steel.
Ford did the entire body in aluminum. They’re the only ones so far. The bed in its entirety, cab, doors, fenders, hood - it’s all aluminum. The frame and suspension are still steel.
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Joined: Jul 2004
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From: Middleville, MI
here in salty michigan i had a lifted first-gen superduty that i spent a whole weekend wire wheeling and brushing the frame and axles shortly after i got it, then just sprayed with the cheapest flat or satin black rattle cans of paint i could find; every spring i'd just just touch up spots with a wire wheel and apply again. cheap, and always looked fresh.
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