Undercoating?

[mgeorge]

I’ve heard of a local shop offering an oil base undercoating? Anyone recommend this? I do off roading about twice a year in my 2020 Gladiator and live in Ohio. Just wasnt sure of the oil base. I’ve been told it only lasts 1 yr?

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[JTdiRtyD]

I’ve heard of a local shop offering an oil base undercoating? Anyone recommend this? I do off roading about twice a year in my 2020 Gladiator and live in Ohio. Just wasnt sure of the oil base. I’ve been told it only lasts 1 yr?

Theres multiple types of undercoating, each with their own lifespans and pros/cons. I'd reach out to a shop that offers it and ask what the best option would be for your use case.

Just some points from the shop I go through:

Woolwax

• Annual Application
• Great for new or used vehicles
• Can be sprayed over rust (and will slow future spreading)
• Contains penetrants that soak into the pores of the metal
• Not suitable for underbody wash or power washer.

Dinitrol

• 3-5 years of protection (Depends on vehicle use)
• Great for new vehicles (or rust free)
• Dries to a non-tacky surface, but remains flexible
• Able to be washed with underbody wash and/or power washer.

Waxoyl

• HIGHEST LEVEL OF PROTECTION
• Lifetime of protection*
• Great for new or used vehicles
• Dries to a soft waxy surface
• Able to be washed with underbody wash and/or power washer.
• Moisture displacing
• Contains penetrants that soak into the pores of the metal
• Highway use and Off-road

I know woolwax can get messy. It wasn't recommended since the truck would see water crossings, mud, etc., and would "stain" from dirt roads and such.

I had Dinitrol done on my Tacoma. It dried "hard", but would come off sticky if you were working on things that were coated with it. It looked just fine after a couple rounds of Utah.

Haven't used Waxoyl so I can't speak for that.

 

[JonMN]

I was looking at this when I bought my JT in 2024. I wanted something I could DIY. Fluid Film has good reviews, but is supposedly a little runny and a bit smelly. I went with Woolwax, and bought a nice sprayer. This would actually be kind of fun if I had a lift, but not quite as fun on jack stands.

It does stay fluid, so picks up road dust, but on the bottom I don't really care. Minimal odor and it's not a bad smell. I was really impressed how it resisted the huge amount of salt we use here in Minnesota. I did a really thorough job the first year, and more of a touchup on exposed surfaces this year.

If you go with an outside company, I would ask if they plan to drill access holes anywhere. Personally, I would not want access holes.

 

[BSW520!]

I’m in Ohio as well . I did have fluid film coating done on my last 3 Gladiators. It works a bit messier to work on underneath but I will usually wipe down whatever area I’m working on in the summer and usually recoat in the fall.

 

[Hootbro]

Blaster Surface Shield gets my vote, but that is usually a self application process as not too many shops spray it commercially.

 

[GA D90]

Blaster Surface Shield gets my vote, but that is usually a self application process as not too many shops spray it commercially.

I’ve used it with rattle cans, how’d it go on with an airless sprayer? Never thought of that

 

[Hootbro]

I’ve used it with rattle cans, how’d it go on with an airless sprayer? Never thought of that

Works great. Just use the heavy latex nozzles.

 

[1JeepFamily]

I've thought about this myself—was offered some special deal from Zolman Tire within the first 3 months of new vehicle ownership—but decided to just go with a monthly unlimited car wash that includes underbody wash from October to April.

I know it doesn't get everything that causes rust, but so far things look pretty good ('21 Mojave, Northern Indiana).

 

[AD Mojave]

Theres multiple types of undercoating, each with their own lifespans and pros/cons. I'd reach out to a shop that offers it and ask what the best option would be for your use case.

Just some points from the shop I go through:

Woolwax

• Annual Application
• Great for new or used vehicles
• Can be sprayed over rust (and will slow future spreading)
• Contains penetrants that soak into the pores of the metal
• Not suitable for underbody wash or power washer.

Dinitrol

• 3-5 years of protection (Depends on vehicle use)
• Great for new vehicles (or rust free)
• Dries to a non-tacky surface, but remains flexible
• Able to be washed with underbody wash and/or power washer.

Waxoyl

• HIGHEST LEVEL OF PROTECTION
• Lifetime of protection*
• Great for new or used vehicles
• Dries to a soft waxy surface
• Able to be washed with underbody wash and/or power washer.
• Moisture displacing
• Contains penetrants that soak into the pores of the metal
• Highway use and Off-road

I know woolwax can get messy. It wasn't recommended since the truck would see water crossings, mud, etc., and would "stain" from dirt roads and such.

I had Dinitrol done on my Tacoma. It dried "hard", but would come off sticky if you were working on things that were coated with it. It looked just fine after a couple rounds of Utah.

Haven't used Waxoyl so I can't speak for that.

Highly recommend Woolwax. After 3 years my wife's Wrangler looks great in OH weather.
You can do your own touch up your self or have shop do it. I just did my Mojave in November.
The dealer in Mt Gilead did great job for us.

 

[ByrdEngr]

I was looking at this when I bought my JT in 2024. I wanted something I could DIY. Fluid Film has good reviews, but is supposedly a little runny and a bit smelly. I went with Woolwax, and bought a nice sprayer. This would actually be kind of fun if I had a lift, but not quite as fun on jack stands.

It does stay fluid, so picks up road dust, but on the bottom I don't really care. Minimal odor and it's not a bad smell. I was really impressed how it resisted the huge amount of salt we use here in Minnesota. I did a really thorough job the first year, and more of a touchup on exposed surfaces this year.

If you go with an outside company, I would ask if they plan to drill access holes anywhere. Personally, I would not want access holes.

I'm in Minnesota and have been considering Woolwax. MNDOT does use a lot of salt. Did you use rattle cans or a sprayer? I appreciate your insight.

 

[Scotty mac]

I’ve heard of a local shop offering an oil base undercoating? Anyone recommend this? I do off roading about twice a year in my 2020 Gladiator and live in Ohio. Just wasnt sure of the oil base. I’ve been told it only lasts 1 yr?

I also live in Northeast Ohio and I have used fluid film on my last four vehicles. I just sold my 2014 JK and my undercarriage had zero rust at 11 years. It's not that sloppy or messy. Two cans will do a whole vehicle. I do it once a year. Cost me about 25 bucks

 

[JonMN]

I'm in Minnesota and have been considering Woolwax. MNDOT does use a lot of salt. Did you use rattle cans or a sprayer? I appreciate your insight.

Wow, what a year up here! The first real winter we have had for a while. I am no expert, but I did go with a sprayer. Even without a huge air compressor, it seemed to work fine. I just went slower so the compressor could keep up.

I used extension tips to coat the inside of the frame where ever there was an access hole. As a rookie, I was not sure what the best settings for the sprayer were, so I might be a little thick here and there, but that's not a real problem. Based on other suggestions I warmed up the Woolwax to about 100F in a water bath. If I had had a lift I think I could have done a better job, but I went with some very tall jack stands and did the best I could.

I recoated in the fall, and was really happy to see that there was no visible rust underneath (except for the exhaust, which is a bit hot to spray with anything).

 

[Mr Miami]

Not to sound totally off base here, but originally being from New Jersey, I do recall growing up when undercoating was a big deal on cars. Even the dealers offered it before you drove the car off the lot. Always commercials on the TV about undercoating, I remember Ziebart was very visible at that time.

Then, supposedly because different metals were used in making the cars, the places seemed to disappear. I had not heard of undercoating in many. many years until I am reading about it here (yes, I have been in South Florida for 35 years so undercoating here is not something used here). But I still stopped hearing about it even while in NJ.

But I guess, from what I am reading here, that it still exists.

 

[JonMN]

Not to sound totally off base here, but originally being from New Jersey, I do recall growing up when undercoating was a big deal on cars. Even the dealers offered it before you drove the car off the lot. Always commercials on the TV about undercoating, I remember Ziebart was very visible at that time.

Then, supposedly because different metals were used in making the cars, the places seemed to disappear. I had not heard of undercoating in many. many years until I am reading about it here (yes, I have been in South Florida for 35 years so undercoating here is not something used here). But I still stopped hearing about it even while in NJ.

But I guess, from what I am reading here, that it still exists.

I have always lived in MN, and never undercoated a vehicle until my JT. I found out the hard way the difference between trucks and cars/SUVs in our climate. All the cars I drove in the winter, from an AWD 911 to our 100K mile Lexus RX350 are almost fully covered underneath with plastic panels.

Our F150, on the other hand was not--and it rusted so much that mechanics could not even work on some of the drive train. Even the oil dipstick rusted in! So I still skip the undercoating on our cars, but trucks are going to be drenched with something.

 

[ByrdEngr]

I had a 2004 Cadillac Escalade and drove the whole family cross country to California one summer (just like National Lampoons Vacation) we broke down outside of LA and the mechanic charged me an extra $100 because he had never seen a truck so rusty. I probably got taken advantagge of, but I had kids to get to Disneyland. Luckily the park was open and I didn't have to punch any mascots.

I am definately interested in preserving my JT as long as I can.

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