Suggest to also check out Line-X, as I mentioned in post #25 of this thread, especially if you have an installer locally.
I am a little surprised it apparently gets so little usage from users of this forum, especially as it's praised so heavily for bumper protection.

Maybe it depends greatly on the individual installer as to how good the coating is applied?

I paid $1000, and they did a great job: took the wheels (incl. spare) off; removed the wheel well liners; properly masked off the exhaust; removed parts of the exhaust; and they sent pictures of every step as they went through the process.
The whole process also included spraying oil film into all accessible channels and inside doors, etc.
(They even kept the truck inside over the weekend as it rained heavily when they finished it on a Friday.)

Caveat: would only consider this if the truck is brand new, and rust-free

 

What about WD40 Big Blast? My neighbor uses it every fall on his 09 Power Wagon and the frame and driveline looks brand new still. under $50 a year. is this wise?

 

Is it a hard coating like their bedliner? If so, I would have the same concerns as with Ziebart, detailed in the video I posted in #35 above.

They did do a nice job though.

 

The ultimate goal is to have something that repels water and creeps into cracks and seams. WD will certainly be better than nothing, and it sounds like it works for your neighbor. As long as it doesn't have negative effects on rubber or electrical connections, which I don't think it does, sure why not?

 

No, it goes 'gooey' is how I'd best describe it.
Everyone praises Line-X for their bumper, so why shouldn't it work for the underside?

I had seen the video you posted before I Line-X'ed my F250. I think there's a bit of misinformation floating about out there. Even some other YouTube channel that claims Ziebart is crap, coats with this type of Line-X coating if you ask them to. They seem to be quite different maybe?
I'd like to delve deeper into this whole undercoating issue, but I believe the Line-X undercoating system will not result in what is shown in that video.

 

Wool Wax creeps over time and as long as no power washing is involved it will last for years. Costs $500 on a new truck, BUT they also do the interior cavities of the body and bed, which the Fords don't need being all aluminum, then you wind up with creep under all the weep holes that muck up the detail cloth. The kit I got includes the wands for spraying internally. There is also a hard shell wax Wool Wax makes that looks just like that LineX stuff but is self repairing too. I would take it to the detailer that did the last truck but its a 2+ hour drive and they are not open on weekends, and need the truck 2 days.

 

Not so fast: Aluminum corrodes as well. I'd also protect it from corrosion/oxidization.

 

If it's "gooey", then it's not the same stuff they use in truck beds or on bumpers.....which is a good thing: I wouldn't use regular bed liner underneath a vehicle as it tends to get a split or separation, water gets in and you have really bad rust that is hard to see - common issue on the offroad sites for Jeeps, FJ40's etc. as well as people that have periodically used it on the bottom of classic cars during the restoration process.

Dave

 

Yep and takes decades to go bad. As long as there isn't bi-metal corrosion, it will get an oxide coat on it and that will be it, no further corrosion. Since all the interiors are e-coated, the chances of any part corroding like the steel bodies did is extremely low. The first F150 all aluminum is now nearly 10 years old, if not already, and it would be very hard to find one that is corroded. It would have to be modified with the incorrect fasteners in order to corrode enough to cause damage. The ones where an aluminum skin was attached to a steel frame, yes those required protection, but these arent GM's.

 

Aluminum can and does corrode, clad aluminum will not corrode as quickly. Properly Coated (epoxy/urethane) or anodized clad even less. But when the cladding and coatings fail, ie chips, damage etc, even microscopic, it will lead to corrosion. There are multiple types of corrosion, caused by different factors. In particular to a salt water environment, such as winter / road salt operations.

Coating aluminum is just as useful precautionary, as coating steel. There are many corrosion programs for aluminum structures that utilize an oil based type coating, such as LPS, Dynol, etc.

A good example would be the Humvee operated in salt. The bodies are aluminum, and do corrode.

Those bedliner coatings a nightmare. Once applied, it will eventually fail, and hold dirt, moisture and salt on the substrate material. And removing it, almost impossible with out complete disassembly. If you operate in a winter/sand/salt environment, ie the rust belt for vehicles, highly unadvisable. For a garage Queen that rarely sees inclement weather, probably a great idea, it’ll look good for a long time.

The best coating is a fluid type that will ‘repair’ it self, not crack, etc etc. ie. oil based that stays fluid. And can be reapplied periodically, right over top of the old.

If you’re down south, not in winter/salt 6/7 months of the year, it’s not as important.

 

Good points about alu corrosion.

So, AFAIK, the way the 'FORD' spray-on bedliners are installed, they should be able to get peeled off fairly easily, as the painted surfaces aren't sanded prior to being sprayed.

 

All true though the alloy body will last much longer than a steel one in similar conditions. I have a small fleet of trucks and we get full on winter conditions every year; my 2003 Dodge Ram with 140,000 miles still has no visible body rust but my 2004, 2006 and 2008 all have panel rust and perforations......none of them have ever had any sort of rust treatment. The '03 has about 140,000 miles, the others are around 250,000 miles so I attribute the difference to miles traveled in winter conditions. If I do nothing as far as rust prevention on my '22 and '23 Fords, I expect to have no significant body rust for well over 20 years....if ever. I imagine they'll probably be retired due to mechanical failure before body rust sends them to the scrap yard.

OTOH, you know what they say about "an ounce of prevention!"



2 cents,
Dave

 

How's the blaster product holding up? Any issues with rubber swelling?

I'm about to spray my new 2025 with something and I'm on the fence between blaster and woolwax.

 

any rustprooofing strategy is a good things.....but some have side effects based on my experience which of course might be a limited use case.

oil and trans fluid. gone are those days....I would probally lean more to trans fluid due to the rust inhibitors than the used motor oil. the latter might be bad for electrical contacts.

rust conversion. various liquids that convert the rust to a protective coating. best for line of sight targeting. the water base milk looking stuff seems to work better than the chemical base. not sure what this does to electrical contacts but suspect is not good.

runner coatings and the like. seems to be a make it look good kind of thing...but it traps water and makes rust worse


the lanolin or wax based liquids. no doubt they work at sealing the rust for air and moisture. cuased electrical nightmares on my 2019 . worked fine on 2010, 2008, 2015, 2014, and 2000 year vehicles. once this stuff gets into electrical contacts..all hell will break loose. the liquids seem to change the capacitance values of wires going to abs sensors and wreaks havic there too. I stopped using it. and power washed all my electrical connections and abs wires that got exposed to this stuff.

I tried a product callled milspray. they have a hard coating offering and or a oil based spray. I tried their oil based spray service. bring it in, they apply it, 45 minutes later you are done. I suspect its simpular to a product called corrosion X.

electrolytic type oils. Im using a product called corrosionX. popular in the aviation industry. its an clear oil based product which pentrates corrosion and loosens corrosion , protects, and at the same time improves electrical surface switches and pin contacts performance. so protection with no electrical components cost penalty. its expensive, but is perfect for my use case. my plan is to take the truck in for mil spray and then periodically spray all the electricals with corrosion X.

 

I used Woolwax black on the frame and axles. Paint brush and tarp. Worked fine.

Fluid filmed inside the frame with the spray can and wand.


Didnt do the underside of the body. I might spray fluid film on that in the spring. Didnt really think it needed any.