Learn me Fluid Film (another berkeley rust thread)

So,my co-worker swears up and down this stuff is great, but he doesnt keep cars long enough to really prove a whole lot. I live in the great state of road salt that is Michigan. Rust is a real problem for every winter driven vehicle here. My Pathfinder is becoming lighter each time I drive it these days so a replacement vehicle will be needed next summer. Not even POR can save my current SUV, but what about preventing rust all together on a new car?

Since I plan to keep it long term (10yrs+), If I was to buy a new vehicle, I have the chance to coat the underside before any corrosion can develop.I would be spraying with the tube into the frame, entire underside, all doors and such, and expect it to be a yearly maintenance type thing.
Any of you fellow northerners actually have success preventing rust? Did you use fluid film specifically?

I Spray the undersides, getting into the rockers, sub frames and door bottoms with used oil. It has to be done every year but it has stopped all my cars from rusting. I only buy 10+ year old cars and live in a salt state. My "Rustang" has never missed a winter and the only rust is in the truck behind the bumper cover. I installed permanent rubber deflectors to stop this.

The oil will stop new rust by soaking into the rusty metal. The first application will use a lot. I start with a paint sprayer and touch up yearly with a engine degreaser wand.

I recall reading the best stuff is a gallon of paint thinner/gasoline, two toilet wax rings and a quart of HD30 oil.

ACF-50
Boeshield T-9
LPS-3

All work really well on the underside of cars and I use the hell out of them on aircraft that see the nasty crap on the ramps and runways.

In reply to Kenny_McCormic:

That sounds like some crazy Macgyver concotion there. Normally I stay out of northern threads cause we see maybe an inch of snow every few years but I recently got a 30 year old car from Maine that's got a bit of the tinworm rot so I'll have to try some of these ideas. Motor oil sounds great, expecially since it's a leaky Volvo and half the underside is already coated with oil.

Snowplow guys love Fluid Film.

I spray every truck I get, seems to work great.

I shoot some inside motorcycle frames as well.

Shawn

In reply to chiodos:

That's basically a recipe for "waxoil", a favorite over in the UK. I think Krown, Ziebart, etc. are similar, just applied hot rather in a solvent carrier.

I used fluid film from a big can to restore a hog leg revolver that was brought to me as a rusted hulk. It turned out fully functional and patina'd

I've used Fluid Film for 4 years on my truck. No rust so far, but it's only been 4 years, and modern vehicles are much more rust-resistant than older ones. One nice thing about FF is that it also comes in aerosol cans with a long, flexible hose so you can easily spray it inside doors and rocker panels and such.

I have bought fluid film in spray cans, gallon cans, and 5 gallon cans. The stuff i s great. It does not leave a rainbow under your car like used oil. The best way to apply it is cheap underbody sprayer or paintbrush. First application eays up a ton. It really seeps into existing rust well. Twice a year after that and you are good to go. I spray this stuff on trucks that spread well over 100 tons of salt a year each. I use it on my own cars also. It is mostly lanolin oil anyway with some other goodies.

I've used the Fluid Film spraybombs on a few cars, mostly on the rear wheel wells and inside bodywork lips and complex welds/folds of sheet metal. It's definitely worth the investment. One day I'll get a Schutz gun and do it right.

I think Corrosion Free/Formula 3000 works better but I have no real evidence for that argument.

The0retical wrote: ACF-50 Boeshield T-9 LPS-3 All work really well on the underside of cars and I use the hell out of them on aircraft that see the nasty crap on the ramps and runways.

Never heard of those, but i checked out thier websites and they all sound like good stuff. Bit spendy but if it stops rust I'm in. Will have to read more about these.

I think I'll try the fluid film on my wife's car since its available locally and is cheap. Thanks for the info guys, good stuff...just what I was looking for!

As good as the Mcguyver mix of toilet rings and gasoline might work, I'm gonna pass on that. Clever though!

I'm on my second winter using FF on the old Merc, a 1988 300SE, which is my rear-round daily driver—in Minnesota. The car's pretty clean, but has a couple spots of rust starting around the front suspension. Last year was a rather half-hearted application using the aerosol in the obvious spots. The existing rust doesn't seem to have gotten any worse.

This year I did it more thoroughly, using a compressed air sprayer with the car on jack stands in the garage. What I realized this time is this stuff doesn't turn waxy; it pretty much remains a thick liquid. That, and next time I change the transmission fluid and filter with the car on jack stands, I'll do it before putting this goop on!

In reply to TGMF:

They're a little spendy, but you can get them for 16 or so bucks a can (LPS or Boeshield). Two cans will coat the underside of a Mazda 3. So for 32ish dollars I don't have to worry about Japanese cars returning to earth too quickly. It's pretty expensive to have it professionally done so in my book it was pretty easy to justify for cars that I liked.

I might also be the wrong guy to ask since I use a lot of stuff, or work to standards, that are designed for aircraft since that's my field.