The end-all Fluid Film thread

I

IL_Fletch

New member
I hate rust. I have been researching everywhere how to get rid of existing rust and keep new rust from forming. I have decided that Fluid Film is the best way to go for me. I just ordered 2 gallons of Fluid Film, a sprayer, the 32" 360 attachment for the sprayer, and a 24" 360 attachment for the regular spray cans. Now all I need is a compressor.

The best thread I have read on Fluid Film is in a Jeep forum. We can't allow that to happen. Also, I think it would be useful to have 4Runner specific information about where and how to spray Fluid Film to stop rust and keep it from progressing.

Here are my inspirations (and these may help others if this thread doesn't end up taking off):

The end-all Fluid Film thread - Jeep Wrangler Forum

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcGTi0GrkSE


And no. I don't sell and am in no way affiliated with Fluid Film. I don't even personally know how good it is yet! But I will share my results here and I would really appreciate anyone else's long-term results with Fluid Film.

To kick off the discussion, maybe I'll steal the OP's questions from the Jeep thread:

1. How often do you have to re apply, if at all?
2. Is there anything on the underbody I SHOULD NOT spray?
3. Any other tips or tricks from your experience?

Thanks!
 
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I picked up a few cans after finding Eric O. with South Main Auto on Youtube (he just converted to Krown).

I've spot used it on nuts/bolts and hinges that are rusty and the skid plates. I can find the aerosol cans through Advance Auto locally. It lasted through 1 winter so far, but the spots that see the most surface contamination with water has worn off and will need retouching.

I like it so far for what I've been using it for. I need to look into actually spraying the whole underbelly and into the frame holes. Most of the info I found says folks re-spray every other year or so to keep coverage.

I try to keep chemicals away from electrical connectors and rubber hoses out of habit.

Tip by experience:
*Wear clothes you don't mind trashing
*GOGGLES!
*Don't spray in your driveway or garage. The overspray will leave a nice waxy residue under your truck. It eventually washes away after a few rain storms.
 
ZebRuaj said:
*Don't spray in your driveway or garage. The overspray will leave a nice waxy residue under your truck. It eventually washes away after a few rain storms.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I was going to start with cans this season, but I just kept thinking about my frame rusting from the inside out. That's why I bought the real sprayer and 360 degree rubber extension. We'll see if it pays off. I think it will at least make me feel better.

Everything you said lines up with my research except... I was planning on spraying in my garage on jack stands. And I don't have a level enough driveway to do it there anyway. Where did you spray?

You are saying the overspray/fumes in a garage will be too much? What about a mask or respirator?
 
IL_Fletch said:
Thanks. I was going to start with cans this season, but I just kept thinking about my frame rusting from the inside out. That's why I bought the real sprayer and 360 degree rubber extension. We'll see if it pays off. I think it will at least make me feel better.

Everything you said lines up with my research except... I was planning on spraying in my garage on jack stands. And I don't have a level enough driveway to do it there anyway. Where did you spray?

You are saying the overspray/fumes in a garage will be too much? What about a mask or respirator?
Click to expand...

I sprayed both in my driveway and garage. That's how I know about the overspray on the concrete. It washes away with time, I'm just OCD about keeping the garage clean. Throw down a tarp you don't care about, or spray on the lawn (lols). At stock height I was able to get under the truck and spray where I wanted to.

Definitely wear a mask or respirator if you have one. FF has a distinct smell, not as bad as penetrating oil or the likes, but its a sharp smell. You'll notice it when you spray it.



IL_Fletch said:
Do these worn off areas have any rust coming back after 1 season?
Click to expand...

The spots that wore off were on my skid plates and LCA. Driving thru snow, salt and melting puddles took its toll. I had surface rust before. Just wire wheeled it then covered with FF. Doesn't look bad afterwards and no noticeable rust growth but I can tell it no longer has the FF waxy look to them in certain spots. Will need to retouch them in the coming weeks before it gets cold and wet out.

The areas that are covered from the elements like the bumper supports, radiator suport and nuts/bolts behind the bumper still look waxy/oily with FF
 
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This week I picked up a couple of aerosol cans at the local Auto Zone. Judging from the amount of dust on both, they must not be a big seller around here. Anyway, I'm planning on crawling under my truck later today or tomorrow to spray what I can. Originally I had thought I might need to rent a lift bay to do it, but there is plenty of room for me to get under my truck.

I have high expectations for Fluid Film based on all the other reviews I've read. Only wish I'd discovered it years ago, then I might have been able to prevent some of the rust issues on my last truck.

One thing though, the Fluid Film says to avoid non-oil resistant rubber. After climbing around under my truck, I noticed that there is a lot more exposed plastic and rubber parts than I originally thought there would be. Any recommendations on which parts should definitely be avoided and which are OK to spray?
 
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I sprayed mine earlier this year. It took just under a gallon. I sprayed in a garage with no issues. Made the floor slippery, but some simple green and wipe down took it off pretty easily. Also it didn't destroy my clothes....just washed them.

I put all four corners on jack stands which were on solid concrete blocks for more height. I removed the wheels and spare tire. Also unbolted the calipers, hung them up with wire, and wrapped with several plastic bags. I removed the rotors. I wrapped the entire exhaust with aluminum foil. I removed the front and rear bumpers. I taped masking paper around the entire vehicle covering about the bottom 1/3 of it.

Prior to spraying FF I power washed the entire undercarriage then sprayed wax and grease remover, then power washed again. I then sanded, scuffed, wire brushed and descaled everything I could touch. I then used Prep & Etch to neutralize any rust that was left. From there I primed and painted (just rustoleum spray cans) everything I could, and used Eastwood's Internal Frame Coating for anything I couldn't reach. I did not have any structurally damaging rust, but enough surface rust to concern me. I expect, or at least hope, to never have to do this again.

I then sprayed just a hair under 1 gallon of FF on all steel components - frame (inside and out), cross members, rear axle housing, brake dust covers, control arms, front and rear bumpers, any metal hangers or brackets, coil springs, sway and track bars, body mounts, skid plates, even the spare tire hoist mechanism. I even went under the hood with the aerosol can and sprayed any metal brackets I found.

The sprayer I used was a kit I found on amazon. It included a gallon of FF, an aerosol can of FF, a spray gun with a nozzle, and 360* hose, and a straight hose. Also several bottles to attach to the spray gun. I already had a decent compressor.

Next time I'll still power wash it first but I won't be doing any rust removal. I'll put it on jack stands but not blocks as well. I'll remove the wheels and spare, but might just cover the calipers and rotors instead of removing. I probably won't wrap the vehicle in masking paper but instead wash it afterwards. I also won't remove the bumpers. Wrapping the exhaust is essential though. Even doing that it leaves a pretty interesting smell for a month or more.

My tips:
- If this is the first coating, clean the undercarriage. Not so worried about other oils and stuff, but should get mud, dirt, and chemicals off. Otherwise, if this is a yearly touchup coating, I'd probably still powerwash it but wouldn't be real serious about getting it clean since FF attracts all kinds of dust and dirt.
- Wear googles and a respirator - this stuff stinks. Enough of it will make you gag.
- Leave the gallon out in the sun or put it in a tub with hot water. I think it sprayed better warm.
- If you get a spray gun with hoses, put some hose clamps around the hose barbs. Sometimes the oil will make them slick and the hose will shoot off.
- If you get a spray gun, make sure not to accidentally block the nozzle while you're spraying. The pressure will vent out of the bottle of fluid film. Meaning an explosion of oily waxy mess all over you.
 
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What did you do about the upper sides of the frame which are unreachable?

I have mostly typical surface rust which is not terrible but I want to stop it before it gets worse. Well actually there are a few outer places where things are starting to flake so it should really be addressed.
 

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Fluid film is gold - even just from an aesthetic perspective. Once you take off your running boards (and before you put on your sliders) and expose your frame, it makes it look brand new.
 
4Rnr4Evr said:
What did you do about the upper sides of the frame which are unreachable?
Click to expand...

If I couldn't reach something by hand or tool, I didn't worry prepping it mechanically. In those cases the best it got was a spray of Prep & Etch (assuming the sprayer could get a stream in the unreachable spot), maybe some overspray from the primer and paint, but definitely a good coating of Fluid Film. Those ff sprayer hoses fit everywhere so I sprayed it every where I could or couldn't see.
 
Fluid film is the only thing I use. I probably put it on a little too much. Never had an issue with it eating through any rubber or plastic parts and I've used it liberally and re-applied in spots where it has been washed away buy the tires and such. I'm skinny enough to get underneath the truck and spray it EVERYWHERE except the obvious places like brakes. I would highly recommended it.
 
Here are some of my worst areas. Not terrible but getting there.

The problem is I can't have the vehicle down for days so I will have to do it a little at a time. I think I'll only wirewheel the worst spots and only fluid film the surface rust for now.
 

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What I did:
Empty school parking lot on the weekend.
Few blocks of wood
Back up to a curb
Put enough wood behind the front wheels to the level out the front once the rear goes atop the curb
Roll back and up to gain an extra 6" or so of height.
Go to town, get the 360 nozzle.
Pick a day that is not windy.
Eye protection may be smart, but it does not/did not sting much.
I think I used 4-5 cans for a 4th gen, expect the same for 3rd gen.
Just get a 6pack and call it good.
 
Just got a 4runner from the west coast and I live in MA so I'm trying to keep it as rust free as it is for a long time as I will be driving it in the winter here (salty).

What do you guys use for the 360 attachment but for the cans?
 
In hopes of preventing rust as long as I can on my 2016 I sprayed 3 coats of Eastwood Internal Frame Coating inside my frame rails, cross members and lower A arms. This took 10 cans. Where I see rust starting I sand it out and repaint with Eastwood Rust Encapsulating paint. On top of all this I sprayed the crap out of everything metal underneath the truck with Fluidfilm. My sliders rusted out pretty bad last winter despite being painted with (Not) Rust-Oleum. Took them off, ground out the rust and repainted with Eastwoods and sprayed with copious amounts of Fluidfilm. I used 3 cans of FF which I pickup locally at Lowe's hardware. As you know we're having a good ole fashioned hardcore winter so we'll see in the spring how well this works. I am mixed about pressure washing on a regular basis during the winter as I usually do because I don't want to blast off all the Fluidfilm.
 
I used a single rattle can of fluid film in the fall and was impressed with the results. You can see in the attached pic that the areas that I sprayed had very little road salt stick to them, whereas the areas that I didn't spray appear white from all of the salt.

As of this spring, there is no visible rust anywhere that I sprayed. There is still a thin layer of goo on most of the places I sprayed. I'll probably get a compressor and sprayer for this fall to get more complete coverage.

WARNING: I took my car in for my first "free" oil change and the tech diagnosed a "massive fluid leak" in the front diff. They wanted to do a complete rebuild of the front diff to change a seal between the two halves of the diff housing. I got underneath the truck and didn't notice any leaks. I suspected that the tech misinterpreted the fluid film as a leak and I requested a master tech to give it a second look. Master tech confirmed there was no leak. Just something to keep in mind if you take your truck in for service and have sprayed. (funnily enough, they said I could continue to drive it despite having no diff fluid :confused:).

f0wEC6a.jpg
 
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