Krown...Rust Check.... Fluid Film

[65plymouth]

Although it may not feel like it (Been 90 degrees here for the last month) fall, winter, and road salt are right around the corner. Just wondering how many of you get your vehicle's sprayed? Dodge/Ram used to have a terrible reputation for rust and I am sure they have attempted to correct the rust issues with these trucks, I have seen several late model vehicles from GM, FORD and FCA developing areas of rust on the body, terribly rusted frames/suspension etc.

I have had previous vehicles "Krowned" in Sarnia, ON and recently bought a case of Fluid film to start treating my truck and other vehicles myself. For those of you that do not live in the rust belt or in Canada, Oil spraying the underbody of vehicles is super popular in Ontario, parts of up state New York and upper New England.

Maybe some of you can share your experiences? Live by the stuff or thing it is snake oil? Drill holes or are there enough access points to properly get into all the areas that would benefit from the spray?

What do you guys think. I am a huge Fluid film and Krown fan... But am VERY hesitant allowing anyone to drill holes in my 50K truck.

Open for discussion....

[Will]

Here in Florida around the salt water and driving on beaches, I use Corrosion X on everything and dont have any problems at all with rust or corrosion on other metals from the salt water termites.

[flattire]

SoCal here. No snow here.....we can't even get any rain either.

Drive on beach? They will call SWAT team to take you out.

[olyelr]

65plymouth, this topic intrigues me quite a bit. Unfortunately i do not know much about it. I too am located in michigan and have battled with road salt rusting my vehicles out ever since i started driving. I bought a brand new 2000 ram 1500 when i graduated and the damn body was all rusted out by 2007. And i am extremely anal about keeping my vehicles cleaned and the salt off them.

What all do you know about the topic?

While i was crawling under my truck last night, i noticed several holes in the rockers which are currently covered with a heavy duty piece of tape of some sort. Maybe that would be a good place to squirt stuff? Enlighten me, i am up for anything to keep the rust away!!!!!!

[65plymouth]

Here in Florida around the salt water and driving on beaches, I use Corrosion X on everything and dont have any problems at all with rust or corrosion on other metals from the salt water termites.

Here in MI our roads are heavily salted during the winter months (6 months). They also use a brine solution when it gets really cold that is even worse than rock salt. It is not uncommon during freeze/thaw periods to see vehicles completely covered in white residue from salt. It is really terrible. In some parts of the state they use sand and spread it on the roads, but my area is heavily salted.

I am definitely going to spray something on my 2016 PW, just not sure what or how. As I said, I do have a Fluid film kit, "Shutz gun" and all the wands etc.. A lot of the professional applicators of Krown, Rust check and Fluid Film insist on drilling small holes in the rockers, tailgate, doors etc. Sure the holes are inconspicuous, but knowing they are there is a bit unsettling.

[Will]

The use the Corrosion X in the wings of planes and such, there's a wand that "fogs" the area you spray it in. It has a chemical bond, not just a coating of film. (I dont know about the other products mentioned, only Corrosion X) It's proven to actually stop the rusting process even if it's already begun.

[65plymouth]

65plymouth, this topic intrigues me quite a bit. Unfortunately i do not know much about it. I too am located in michigan and have battled with road salt rusting my vehicles out ever since i started driving. I bought a brand new 2000 ram 1500 when i graduated and the damn body was all rusted out by 2007. And i am extremely anal about keeping my vehicles cleaned and the salt off them.

What all do you know about the topic?

While i was crawling under my truck last night, i noticed several holes in the rockers which are currently covered with a heavy duty piece of tape of some sort. Maybe that would be a good place to squirt stuff? Enlighten me, i am up for anything to keep the rust away!!!!!!

I actually know quite a bit about this topic as I once considered opening a Krown application shop here in Metro Detroit. To my knowledge, there is only one Krown shop in Michigan. It is in Lexington, MI on the shore of lake Huron. Krown is a Canadian Company and if we talk about this topic long enough, I am sure they guys from the north will chime in. Krown is VERY popular in Canada.

Looking at my truck, I too have small oval, black plugs along the bottom of my rockers. I was thinking of pulling one of them and taking a look. I am not sure what they are for, but if the open up the inner rocker, I am sure they would work to apply a rust spray.

Unless the rust starts from a stone chip or scratch, most vehicles rust from the inside out. Issues with cab corners, rockers, bedside wheel openings all start with trapped moisture (some brine from salt) that eats the panels from the inside out. This is the reason that the oil spray application shops drill holes and access all areas of the vehicle. This process is much different from your thick, black ziebart undercoating that makes a mess of the undercarriage and eventually chips off and traps moisture against metal services it covers. The krown and fluid film creep into pinch welds, inner panels, frame rails etc and also lubricate while they protect. Krown (and others) will warranty rust for the life of the vehicle if you follow their yearly application recommendation.

Kits for DIY fluid film application are available from http://kellsportproducts.com/fluidfilmkits.html and are pretty cost effective. I think Krown charges somewhere around $185.00 for a 3/4 ton crew cab application. But, the product must be applied yearly... All of these lanolin/oil type products will wear off and loose their effectiveness after a certain amount of time. They also cause dust and dirt to coat the underside of your vehicle. That is one of the only downsides IMO. Old famers in this area used to use motor oil and paint the undersides of their trucks to prevent corrosion. Sure, it collected a bunch of dirt and grime and wasn't environmentally safe, but when you cleaned the oil off, the undersides of the truck looked new, stayed lubricated, and were easy to take apart if suspension parts etc needed replacement.

If you google "Krown" you can find a BUNCH of forum discussions about it, as well as videos showing the application process.

I just wanted to start a discussion to see what (if anything) the PW guys are doing.

Jeff

[cruz]

Fluid Film ? ... where's TwinStick.

[adeluca73]

I am also from metro Detroit, lived on both Florida coasts, the northern interior of Alaska, & the worst of all places south east Ohio, so I'm all too familiar with how the roads & environment kill our vehicles. As bad as the rust belt winters are, Florida was way worse from my experience. When I was in Destin, if you didn't thoroughly purge, rinse, & fog your wave runner/jet ski after every trip in the ocean or brackish water ways, you risked hydro locking your engine. I use Fluid Film on all attachment points, bushings, bolts, electrical connections, etc. I stop short of getting a sprayer & coating every inch of the under carriage. I use a hot under carriage wash after every time after a huge snow storm, after two years, not much rust yet. Although a few of my WhiteKnuckle slider @grade 8@ bolts were already rusting, I took them off, wire brushed them & recoated with anti seize. Good luck.

[65plymouth]

I am also from metro Detroit, lived on both Florida coasts, the northern interior of Alaska, & the worst of all places south east Ohio, so I'm all too familiar with how the roads & environment kill our vehicles. As bad as the rust belt winters are, Florida was way worse from my experience. When I was in Destin, if you didn't thoroughly purge, rinse, & fog your wave runner/jet ski after every trip in the ocean or brackish water ways, you risked hydro locking your engine. I use Fluid Film on all attachment points, bushings, bolts, electrical connections, etc. I stop short of getting a sprayer & coating every inch of the under carriage. I use a hot under carriage wash after every time after a huge snow storm, after two years, not much rust yet. Although a few of my WhiteKnuckle slider @grade 8@ bolts were already rusting, I took them off, wire brushed them & recoated with anti seize. Good luck.

Yep.. Like I said, I have the Fluid film kit with the "pro-gun" and think I may hit all my vehicles very soon. The worst time of the year here is early spring. I am sure you'll agree... As soon as we get our first few freeze thaw cycles it really starts the vehicles rusting. There are days when I have to use an entire gallon of windshield washer fluid driving to and from work just to keep my windshield clean from all the salt spray. I hate it.

I am going to coat the living SH** out of my Power wagon. Too much money to watch the MI winters eat it...

[RustyPW]

I lived in the southwest corner of Pa. Here, they use salt, brine, ash, or a combination of the 3. The ash really does a number on the paint with chips. When I bought my '99 Dodge Ram 4x4. I had it undercoated by Ziebert. Had no rust on it when I traded it in on my '08 PW. I had my PW Zieberted too. No rust so far. And I've had it in water up to the headlights.

[Will]

I lived in the southwest corner of Pa. Here, they use salt, brine, ash, or a combination of the 3. The ash really does a number on the paint with chips. When I bought my '99 Dodge Ram 4x4. I had it undercoated by Ziebert. Had no rust on it when I traded it in on my '08 PW. I had my PW Zieberted too. No rust so far. And I've had it in water up to the headlights.

Your username and this post.... Hahaha

[fbenross]

SoCal here. No snow here.....we can't even get any rain either.

Drive on beach? They will call SWAT team to take you out.

[fbenross]

Just ask Twinstick about Fluid Film. He recently coated his entire house with it. And I think he recommends it as a food preservative.

[TwinStick]

Fluid Film ? ... where's TwinStick.

Yeah buddy !!! Fluid Film .

I bought the entire professional spray kit. 360* mist flexible mist hose, flexible out the end hose. 1/2" drill bit. Door plugs. & sprayer with 5 bottles. It works. It works well.
I can get inside doors, fenders, body, frame. The sprayer has an adjustable tip, so you can lay it on thin or really coat it on. You will get messy doing it. The ground you do it on will get messy. It paid for itself within 30 days of purchase for me. I did all 4 vehicles & really laid it on the truck. Used less than 5 gal for all 4.

Cons: it stays "wet" & therefor attracts dirt. I get filthy every time i work on my truck, which is an 08' & has zero rust on body. I drive it every winter.

That shit is magic in a can, or gallon, or 5 gallon. Last time i bought 5 gal pail it was $180. I have added a few 1 gal pails to it since. I recommend stopping the rust with a converter/treatment before Fluid Film. It does so much more than some stuff. I treat my snowblower before/during & after winter. You can treat leather with it, lubricate with it, treat wood exposed to the outdoors with it, use it as a never-seize, use it as die-electric grease (it does not conduct electricity), & even start your campfire with it !!! Uses are endless, unlike many single purpose rust treatments. But there are others that work well too. Por 15 has great reviews as well.

Don't let the stupid FORD commercials fool you. Scientifically speaking, aluminum does not/can not rust..............but it DOES corrode from salt & acid, which, IMHO is the same G-Damn thing. The end result is the same. What you own gets destroyed. My Uncle has made $$$$$ of dollars fixing/replacing aluminum on cattle & horse trailers that got destroyed because of the high acid content of their waste. Also, state & County aluminum bed dump trucks that were used to spread salt. So, ya gotta treat aluminum too. Many towns by me use Fluid Film to coat their plows after winter. They give em a thorough washing & then coat w/Fluid Film before they store em for the summer. Makes em last 2x as long.


http://www.kellsportproducts.com/undercoatingguns.html

[TwinStick]

Just ask Twinstick about Fluid Film. He recently coated his entire house with it. And I think he recommends it as a food preservative.

Haters gonna hate !

[RustyPW]

Just ask Twinstick about Fluid Film. He recently coated his entire house with it. And I think he recommends it as a food preservative.

[65plymouth]

Fluid Film ? ... where's TwinStick.

Yeah buddy !!! Fluid Film .

I bought the entire professional spray kit. 360* mist flexible mist hose, flexible out the end hose. 1/2" drill bit. Door plugs. & sprayer with 5 bottles. It works. It works well.
I can get inside doors, fenders, body, frame. The sprayer has an adjustable tip, so you can lay it on thin or really coat it on. You will get messy doing it. The ground you do it on will get messy. It paid for itself within 30 days of purchase for me. I did all 4 vehicles & really laid it on the truck. Used less than 5 gal for all 4.

Cons: it stays "wet" & therefor attracts dirt. I get filthy every time i work on my truck, which is an 08' & has zero rust on body. I drive it every winter.

That shit is magic in a can, or gallon, or 5 gallon. Last time i bought 5 gal pail it was $180. I have added a few 1 gal pails to it since. I recommend stopping the rust with a converter/treatment before Fluid Film. It does so much more than some stuff. I treat my snowblower before/during & after winter. You can treat leather with it, lubricate with it, treat wood exposed to the outdoors with it, use it as a never-seize, use it as die-electric grease (it does not conduct electricity), & even start your campfire with it !!! Uses are endless, unlike many single purpose rust treatments. But there are others that work well too. Por 15 has great reviews as well.

Don't let the stupid FORD commercials fool you. Scientifically speaking, aluminum does not/can not rust..............but it DOES corrode from salt & acid, which, IMHO is the same G-Damn thing. The end result is the same. What you own gets destroyed. My Uncle has made $$$$$ of dollars fixing/replacing aluminum on cattle & horse trailers that got destroyed because of the high acid content of their waste. Also, state & County aluminum bed dump trucks that were used to spread salt. So, ya gotta treat aluminum too. Many towns by me use Fluid Film to coat their plows after winter. They give em a thorough washing & then coat w/Fluid Film before they store em for the summer. Makes em last 2x as long.


http://www.kellsportproducts.com/undercoatingguns.html

YEP!! I just coated my 2016 PW this weekend. Like I said Previously, I have the Kellsport Undercoating kit with the pro-gun, 2 Gallons of Fluid Film, and all the wands, hoses etc. I coated the living shit out of the underside of the truck. Laid down a few cheap tarps, dressed in a white painters suit, and really coated the truck. I didn't have to drill any holes and was satisfied with the areas I was able to access. Rockers had pieces of black duct tape covering large holes on the underside of the truck (No plugs, Duct tape... way to go Chrysler) I was able to get into the cab corners and rockers really well.

Sprayed a bit on the battery terminals and electrical connections under the hood. Snaked all the holes in the hood skeleton and upper fender rails. Pulled the lower weather strip off the doors and hit the pinch welds at the bottom of the doors, hinges and lock mechanisms. Then I headed underneath.

Snaked all the frame rail holes, crevices and hard to reach areas with the 360 degree hose. Started from the front of the truck and worked back. put the hose in all the crossmembers and anywhere else it would fit. Then I went back over the underside of the truck with the solid aluminum wand. Sprayed up and over the gas tank, exhaust, pulled the taillamps and spayed in the bedsides.... hit the inside of the tailgate... Then... used the regular spray tip on the gun and gave then entire underside a VERY liberal coating. I think I used 1.5 gal just on the truck.

The fluid film seems to be more tacky than the Krown application I had on my previous truck. Time will tell but I am not convinced that the fluid film "creeps" as well as the Krown formula. The fluid film does leave a nice shiny (yellowish in spots where I went too heavy) coating on everything and it doesn't drip hardly at all. I have always understood that that dripping was a sign of the material creeping and seeping into all the pinch welds and other tight areas. We will see how the Fluid film does. I did get some on the exhaust and my truck smoked like crazy for about 15 miles or so.

I spent 3 hours coating the truck. The underside is going to be a greasy, waxy mess.... But better that than rusted frame rails, rockers, bedsides and bolts that need to be cut with a torch. I am going to order more product to use for my other cars.

[olyelr]

Man, I am really liking the idea of this stuff. Well, except the major mess under the truck with greasy/dusty/dirty issues that it creates. I can just picture the mess. That doesnt sound appealing to me at all. I guess it may be better than rusted frame and bolts, but the main issues I have had in the past were not with that at all. My issues were with the body panels rusting from the inside out (fenders, cab corners, rockers etc.). I mean, the last Dodge I had for 12 years may have had some rusty bolts underneath, but hell when I got rid of it the frame still had clean black paint everywhere except maybe some of the welds.

I am considering using this stuff in those body panel areas, but not coating the entire underside of the truck. That would have to help with the body rot, yet I wouldnt have to really see the mess.

Hmmmm.

65plymouth, do you have some pic's of the underside of your truck now that you could post up? How bout after a trip down a long dirt road? Sorry, but I am a big pic guy hahaha.

[65plymouth]

Man, I am really liking the idea of this stuff. Well, except the major mess under the truck with greasy/dusty/dirty issues that it creates. I can just picture the mess. That doesnt sound appealing to me at all. I guess it may be better than rusted frame and bolts, but the main issues I have had in the past were not with that at all. My issues were with the body panels rusting from the inside out (fenders, cab corners, rockers etc.). I mean, the last Dodge I had for 12 years may have had some rusty bolts underneath, but hell when I got rid of it the frame still had clean black paint everywhere except maybe some of the welds.

I am considering using this stuff in those body panel areas, but not coating the entire underside of the truck. That would have to help with the body rot, yet I wouldnt have to really see the mess.

Hmmmm.

65plymouth, do you have some pic's of the underside of your truck now that you could post up? How bout after a trip down a long dirt road? Sorry, but I am a big pic guy hahaha.

I will try and get a few pics this evening. I am at work now. If you read the Kellsport website and look at some of the tabs to the top left of the page, I came across something on "Fluid Film Removal" Basically any quarter car wash with soap wash and you can remove the fluid film. If you want to get crazy you could hit it with the engine degreaser selection that some washes have.. http://www.kellsportproducts.com/removefluidfilm.html

You could easily coat the crap out of your truck in the fall and remove all of it in the late spring (after thaw and salt spray season). I try not to work on my vehicles in the winter months because I do not have a heated garage (Even if my garage was heated, the PW would not fit) Just food for thought. The waxy, oily mess does not bother me. If I am under my truck, I plan on getting dirty/greasy anyway.

I hate the looks of a rusted under body and suspension. Knowing previous rust issues that Chrysler/Ram/Dodge had, I made sure to get inside all of the cab corners, rockers, doors, bedsides, backside of bumpers etc.

[TwinStick]

Dodge trucks rust around the wheelwells from the inside out first, then the doors & rockers & cab corners, then the tailgate. Remove your rear tail lights & shine a very bright light in there & see of the tops & more importantly, the seam, where all the salt,sand & dirt accumulate. I washed mine out really good first, allowed it to dry for a week & then coated the shit out of the top (inside the bed body) of the fender wells & coated the seam/pinch weld until it was completely covered. Those wands come in handy for this & so did my daughter, who was shining the flashlight in there & helping me guide the wands to the right place. (I was doing it blind from underneath).

Yes, I get filthy everytime I work on my truck, but it is certainly better than watching your $50,000+ investment get ruined right before your eyes. Especially me, in NY & now retired, I simply can't afford another truck. I do NOT recoat mine every year. I did it once & did it well. The axles & stuff have rust because it does get washed off after a year or so, but i redo the wheel wells every year.

[Reloaderguy]

Living in the desert has never sounded so good.

[65plymouth]

I have a pretty crappy camera so lets see how this works.

It is kinda hard to see other than in one of the pics, but I can assure you, It is on VERY thick. I tried to post a pic of my truck and it is 2.08 MB which is too big according to the forum error I received. Oh well. No idea how to resize them.

Edit... I have driven down about 3 miles of dirt road between the time the fluid film was applied and the time these pics were taken. Dirt and dust isn't as bad as I thought it would be. I don't really care, as long as I don't get rust in two years!

[TwinStick]

[olyelr]

Thanks for the pics 65plymouth! Man this is really intriguing me.

Hey are those the 285/75 st max's? Wheres the pics?!?!?!?