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WoolWax or Ziebart?

21K views 27 replies 17 participants last post by  C21964 
#1 ·
Those of us that are in the rust belt, what have you been using to try to keep rust at bay? Considering WoolWax for my Colorado
 
#2 ·
Live in TX, and do not know anything about WoolWax, but I had the Complete Ziebart Rustproofing job done on a 73 Chevrolet Truck. The job where they undercoat the entire bottom af the vehicle, then they punch 1/2” holes in all the hollow body panels, doors, tailgate, etc. Then they take and insert their spray nozzle in the holes and spray inside the hollow panels, then they cap the holes with plastic plugs. Back then the job cost $375 for all. I cannot say anything negative about it. Never had a rust problem. If you are up North, my only concern would be how well they clean it it remove the existing salt that you may have on it. In the 70’s, the dealers were pushing the Ziebart Undercoating at the time of sale.
 
#3 · (Edited)
Please don't use anything that is not petroleum based. You will utterly destroy your car. Yes it protects some against rust, but it traps moisture in between the coating and metal and causes rust to build at a much faster more detrimental rate. Use petroleum based coatings like Boeshield T9 or Fluid Film. There aren't any coatings, short of what OEM's use, that will protect longer than a year in the rust belt. Petroleum based coatings should be applied twice a year, or once per 6 months; best times are spring and fall.

This video explains it well:
 
#4 ·
Excellent topic and what a eye opener video, thanks for posting. After just having to bandage up the brake lines on my 05 Buick. My new truck, I was wanting to do something to preserve it somewhat. We use Cozmalene (sp) at work. It's a metal protector. I'm pretty sure it petroleum based. I was thinking about applying it to some bare metal parts. That, or plane ol' grease and oil...
 
#5 · (Edited)
Yes sir, I totally agree on the Cozmalene. As a retired machinist of 40 years, I hated cleaning that stuff off parts prior to machining, but it is the BEST rust protectorant you can get. Bioshield T9 doesn’t even compare. People like Bioshield because they normally use it on something that they want to not rust, but be able to clean it off later. The only down side, is the Cozmalene would be harder to apply. Cozmalene will last long without re-application. Another good product to consider is LPS 3. It’s an aerosol product.
 
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#9 ·
I am leaning towards getting WoolWax. It’s something I think I could push in my shop. It’s made by the makers of fluid film but is a lot more thicker and says it is less prone to spray off and can hold for one year. It also continuously creeps. Plus it has zero VOCs which I like. Ziebart is a drive for me. The closest one to me is closing down
 
#10 ·
Fluid Film is great stuff. Like Frank's Hot Sauce "I use that $!^* on everything" auto/truck/shop related. But it does have its drawbacks. The smell does not bother me one bit, but some hate it. It does cause certain rubber type products to warp or disform. It collects dirt & every time you work on vehicle you're going to get filthy dirty. I had 1 shop refuse to work on my truck because of getting filthy dirty every time. Lol

Benefits far outweigh the cons, IMHO anyway. Just traded in a 2008 Power Wagon with zero body rust. 10 years of Buffalo winters and salt. Yes, the regular FFilm does wash off in high salt spray areas.....but there is a thicker brush on version available too. I often wondered why the NYS DOT does not use FFilm on the underside of new bridges. Pigeons hate that stuff on their feet, so it would eliminate all the highly corrosive bird droppings and eliminate the rust from all the salt. I have seen new bridges go up & 15 yrs later are almost junk from rusting out.
 
#14 ·
I bought the entire professional under coating kit from them. Spray gun, straight hose, flex hose, 360* flex hose, 1/2" hole drill bit, plastic hole plugs. It works awesome. I bought a 5gal bucket of Ffilm. Have done 4 vehicles with it. I did one for a friend but he brought a gal with him.

It is messy. Suggestions: windless day, a couple of cheap blankets/sheets/tarps, a throw away set of sweat pants and hoodie. It is worth the investment. Mine paid for itself just doing our 4 cars. So satisfying being able to do it right. Our 2010 Corolla has 170,000 miles, & 8yrs of Buffalo winters & zero rust on body.
 
#25 ·
Who is "Them"?
 
#16 ·
I've used Fluid Film for years and I tried the Woolwax when they came out with it. Woolwax absolutely blows the old Fluid Film away. Fluid Film washes off the undercarriage too fast. It's not thick enough in my opinion. Woolwax sprays on just as easy, but lasts much longer. The 1st time I used it I kept checking every few days, then avery few weeks. Now I look a few times a year and I am amazed how the Woolwax holds up. I'm tempted not to even re-apply this year because I don't think it needs it. But for $50 bucks a year I'm going to shoot the undercarriage again.
 
#21 ·
I have used FF for years and I re-apply every fall but absolutely love the product. I am going to buy the Woolwax when I use up the last of the regular FF. You can't go wrong with any of these products, some are better than others but with chemicals they put down on roads during the winter you can't just trust that the car manufacturers will keep things from rusting.
 
#17 ·
If you are going to keep it no longer than 12 years save the money. Most of today’s vehicles will run 12 years in the rust belt here and not suffer great issues of rust.

Today’s models have decent protection to go that long.

Just my experience on the last number of cars and truck I have owned. Most are kept 8-12 years with not major rust issues that Rust proofing would have prevented.
 
#19 · (Edited)
If you are going to keep it no longer than 12 years save the money. Most of today’s vehicles will run 12 years in the rust belt here and not suffer great issues of rust.

Today’s models have decent protection to go that long.

Just my experience on the last number of cars and truck I have owned. Most are kept 8-12 years with not major rust issues that Rust proofing would have prevented.
My experience has been different than yours. I find that the chemicals being used on the roads today do a tremendous amount of damage. Even after the 1st winter. I've had brake lines deteriorate in no time. I think that all of the protective coatings work to a certain extent. Some much better than others. I'm not a fan of the one-time permanent rubber coatings because you cant see whats going on under the coating (corrosion). I find that the annual maintenance applications (like Woolwax) do indeed save quite a bit of money on repairs and prolong the useful life of the truck.
 
#26 ·
Ziebart around here charges you a $100 to $125 cleaning fee each time you bring it back. I would also read your contract - years ago it said they would only repair rust up to the cost of the Ziebart treatment cost, so in your case, $350.
 
#20 · (Edited)
Yes, auto companies have come a long way with using anti corrosive techniques to fight rust. but if you live near the ocean, or salt covered winter roads, it is simply is not enough. The liquid brine that is sprayed on winter roads is a huge challenge for automakers, as it will destroy galvanized coatings and many components, such as break lines, sensors etc.. I went with Ziebart on my 2018 Colorado and I couldn’t be happier with the professional job they did. I believe Ziebart is one of the best in the business. If history repeats itself as with my 1975 Camaro, which had Ziebart and NO frame or floorboard rust after 12 years, I’m sure I’ll continue to be a very happy customer.
 
#22 ·
I applied Fluid Film last year to my 2018, did the whole under carriage, and used about a half gallon or so, a long with 5 cans. Bought the long spray nozzle to do down the interior of the frames and in rockers. Also removed wheel liners and coated the entire wheel well, Time will tell how good it works, as I'll have to touch up areas that do seem to wear off, as higher surfaces still have a good coat. Only thing I haven't coated is the interior of my doors, as I'm not drilling holes. So eventually I'll need to remove door panels and coat the bottom half, as the interior of the tailgate was a lot easier.
 
#23 ·
They sell a flexible plastic hose with a 360 spray head at the end I was able to stick into the drain holes as well as pulling the rubber plugs out any where on the doors to spray inside of each door. I have found that after spraying the undercarriage is drive it on a dusty road to dust it up, helps prevent from coming off easily. I have coated my under carriage twice now and will hit one more time soon. I didn't pull my wheel liners out, I used the flexible hose kit that came with the pro spray kit I bought from FF to spray their products.
 
#28 ·
I had an old Rolls Royce that used beezwax from the factory and the areas where it was still intact looked brand new more than 60 years after it was applied. Additionally it had a central oiling system for all the joints that spread oil out on the undercarriage which resulted in heavily oil soaked dirt, likewise those areas were pristine. Any unprotected areas were rusted.

Some places they use Calcium Chloride for dust control on unpaved roads. When those roads get muddy and it sticks to your vehicle it is incredibly corrosive, so not just a snow country issue.
 
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