Krown, Woolwax, or Fluid Film?

Hello!

I am about to be purchasing a 2013 4Runner Limited (92k miles, 4 years in Cali, rest in NY.) I live in the rust belt (Albany NY area) and after some research I am well aware of the rusting issue that 4Runners have on their frame. I have heard that Krown, Fluid Film, or Woolwax are the leading options for undercoating when it comes to 4Runners and dealing with the harsh NY winters, salt is frequently used in my area during snowstorms/winters. I am torn on which undercoating to go far as I have the 3 big ones close in my area.

Which undercoating would y'all recommend?
Should I wait until the spring to apply it or as soon as I can?

This is my first post and I have seen there have been a few on this forum regarding how to deal with rust, but I am looking more so for the opinion. I am sorry if this is a duplicate post, thanks!

 

Apply any of the three ASAP. Another option I’d consider, PB surface shield, but that’s on the newer side and hasn’t gotten the same following yet. I can’t speak about Krown, other than it’s a Canadian product and I am sure they know rust up there A. I have used both Fluid Film and Woolwax, Fluid film creeps more, wool wax is a little thicker and is believed to last a bit longer.

 

Had NH oil applied to mine

 

There's another easy product called Amsoil Heavy Duty Metal Protector that looks and smells like cosmoline, it comes in rattle cans. It sprays out like light oil so it seeps into cracks, after a few hours it cures and is waxy, not oily. I don't know how long it lasts but it's not going to rinse off at the carwash.

 

Another effective method to avoid rust is to move to the desert.

 

I'd love to move to the desert, or somewhere out west, if for no other reason then all the open space. I'm so sick of all the people up here and being boxed in by the ocean on one side.

 

With any luck, prayers and savings I’ll be in Michigan for spring, summer, and fall for our great fishing then alternate to FL and or AZ for winter when I retire. It’s good for my body and the 4Runners body

 

Thanks for all the helpful advice everyone. Anyone have any experience with Krown? Also the dealership I purchased from shouted out Glass Coat from SIMONIZ

*I did some research on SIMONIZ and I heard its a classic shitty dealership scam, so I'll just ignore that*

 

Another vote for PB Blaster. I used it for most of the frame, covered nicely and so far it is holding up very good. Reason I know, I installed new skid plates, which was not planned and had everything already coated...lol. I used FF for the inside of the frame for the reason yoy mentioned.

 

I would use krown...

if it was spelled with a C. Since it isn't I use fluid film.

 

That’s exactly why I moved away from the Midwest over 20 years ago. I got tired of the flat plains and every inch of the state being private property.

My apologies to the OP for hijacking the thread.

 

So far, I've had very good luck with Krown. But I had the first application done when the vehicle was new with 600 miles. Going in for it's third annual application this coming May.

 

Switched from Fluid Film to Wool Wax this year. Seems to hang on better then FF, smells better and applies easier in my opinion. As others have said, apply now and do not wait. If you are going to do it yourself, Wool Wax sells a spray gun kit that works well. I normally do a thorough application inside and outside the frame/underbody in the winter and then an exterior frame touch up in the spring.

Occasionally the front cover of the rear diff housing and lower, forward facing components might need a quick touch up mid winter.

 

I live a few hours away from you and we probably use even more salt than they do in your area. Having lived here for my whole life, I've seen my share of vehicles rust away completely and have evolved my rust proofing process over the years. First, here's my thoughts on the products you mentioned.

Fluid Film is great stuff. I've used it extensively on various projects and I'd recommend it. The real beauty of products like this is that they creep into small areas where salt would normally go when mixed with water and start corrosion. The downside of FF is that it's messy to apply and unless you really know what you're doing (or have somebody who knows what they're doing apply it), you may miss critical areas. Oh, and then there's the problem with it getting blasted off by road spray in certain areas over time.

Krown is similar to FF in that its oil based and sprayed on. The big advantage to Krown is that it's professionally applied. That said, they recommend annual resprays to replace what gets blasted off. I like the product and have it on two vehicles, but I don't care for the fact that at least part of the time, I'm running with less than optimal protection until a respray.

Wool Wax can be thought of as a thicker FF type product and that solves most of the issue of it getting blasted off. I'm not entirely sure if it actually creeps into tight areas as well as FF though.

I will add that in my experience, all of the above products will make your favorite mechanic both happy and sad. He'll be happy because he (generally) won't be working on a rusted mess. He'll be sad because he'll have rustproofing product residue all over him every time he works on your vehicle.

If you want to know what I did on my new T4R to protect it from rust when I bought it, read this:

Complete Corrosion Protection for my New T4R | Toyota 4Runner Forum [4Runners.com]

 

I was just talking to the wife about this....time to move

 

Thank you so much for such an in depth explanation! I have 2 separate mechanics in my area where one does FF and one does Krown, I am gonna get a quote for both and go from there. Thank you!!!

 

Thank you all for all the advice, I decided to go with Krown because those damn Canadians know rust better than anyone.

 

I've been using Krown for my vehicle since new as well. I'm up in Plattsburgh NY so I'm very well aware of the rust we see. I've had no issues with mine so far and plan to keep it that way

 

Buying a 2023 4Runner and live in northern New Mexico - it's a desert climate but we do get snow and I ski so I'm typically driving up to the local ski area or Taos every time it snows, and take occasional longer trips to ski in Colorado/Utah. So my question is, do I need to do an undercoating of some sort when I take delivery? Also I'm planning to put the RCI set of 3 powder coated steel skid plates on it, does that change anything?

 

Do they use salt or whatever in northern New Mexico?

 

Good question, I had to look this up as I wasn't sure. Turns out they use a combo of salt and cinder. Sounds like sometimes they do salt first, then cinder, and sometimes use a 4:1 mix of cinder:salt.

City:
"City snow removal crews use a salt and cinder mix to melt the snow and ice. This is applied in all situations on all streets that are being maintained, as means of melting snow and providing traction; the ration is four parts cinder to one part salt to reduce corrosiveness of salt on equipment, vehicles and streets. The deicer is rock salt, a naturally occurring product that is mined in Carlsbad."

NMDOT:
"A couple of hours before the storm is set to hit, road maintainer crews are called in as a preventative measure to ensure the equipment is ready and the trucks are loaded with materials (salt and cinder. The cinder is actually red pumice stone that’s mined west of Santa Fe). At the first sight of the wintry weather they begin putting down salt on the roads to keep them from freezing. A layer of cinder follows to provide traction. They repeat this process over and over again as needed throughout the storm and as long as it’s needed afterward."

 

Fluid Film for the win for me. Have used it for 12 plus years and no issues. No need to change the product if it works!!!

 

I don't know about cinder, but it's not zero salt, so you might benefit from Fluid Film or whatever.

 

As others have said I would do it ASAP with either product you mentioned. I live north of you and they like to use sand w/salt so I get the abrasion of the sand against the chassis paint and then the salt to accelerate the corrosion. I've used all three products mentioned but chose Waxoyl hoping it lasts longer.

 

Did they drill holes on body？

 

Nobody should be drilling any holes in anything!!! The rockers have plugs that can be removed (underneath) if you want to spray inside there. Just be aware, the rocker panels have little drains in them that could get clogged up with product. I didn’t spray inside them because nothing really gets in there.

 

I use fluid film, but mostly because my BIL has his own undercoating business. They use regular FF, FF black, NHoil, and have their own thicker version of FF that they mix.

 

Krown drills holes...not sure if I want that...

 

This for anyone who has done the wool wax. I had fluid film done on my 4runner and tundra when I had them. Nothing yet on my 23 4runner. Does the wool wax leave a film on the vehicle after it’s done. The fluid film did on both of mine. I’m talking about the overspray that comes up over the vehicle. I bought a plastic cover to prevent that when I first bought my 23 Pro. So whoever does it can cover the whole vehicle when it’s done. Not sure if wool wax causes that also.

 

I live in the rust belt. I have never used any undercoating products. What I do is buy spray wax(the cheap shit) and spray my undercarriage. I use 2 or 3 bottles. And I also lightly pressure wash once a month.

Seems to be working. Cause my undercarriage looks like new (4 years old and 70k miles)