Rust Prevention? Eastwood Internal Frame Spray?

I have seen a lot posts recently about rust issues on 5th Generation 4Runners. With my 2010, I spent a couple long days sanding and grinding all of the rust off of the undercarriage, spraying it down with Rust Reformer, then priming it, painting it and finally fluid filmed all of it after the paint had cured. It was on me though because I neglected keeping up on maintaining the undercarriage for many years and the winters in Nebraska aren’t very friendly. I purchased a 2018 Limited in September and had the dealer do the “rust proofing”,undercoat and paint protection, mainly for peace of mind as well as the warranty they offer with it, which was lifetime for the rust protection and undercoat, whatever that means! and 7 years for the paint protection. But still, I keep my 4Runner very clean inside and out. My daughters say that I love my 4Runner more than them, which may be true. Anytime the roads are treated for a winter storm, I make sure to spray the undercarriage down after the roads are clear and dry. In the spring, I wash the undercarriage down very good with Simple Green and spray it all with fluid film. I do the same process in the fall. I am very generous with the amount of fluid film I use. Although, the garage doesn’t smell the best for a couple days! I am a bit concerned about the frames rusting from the inside out. I try to spray some fluid film in the frame rails, but don’t know how beneficial that actually is. Has anyone used the Eastwood Interal Frame Rust spray or have any experiences with it? I only purchased my 2018 4Runner because I wanted to get a brand new 5th Generation before the 6th Generation’s came out and was able to get an amazing deal on it. (I used the trick I learned on here of emailing a few dealers in my area and essentially pitting them against each other for the best price. I was about to get my Limited for 8k under MSRP through texting and email while on vacation in Italy with my wife. So, when we got back I just had to go in sign the papers and was out in 15 minutes.) My 2010 only had 96k on it and was the best and my absolute favorite vehicle I had ever owned. I did a ton of mods to it and the only thing that ever failed on it was the passenger wheel bearing. I fell in love with 4Runners once I bought the 2010 and plan on keeping my 2018 forever. Once the xreas starts leaking, it’s being replaced with a complete suspension system. I just have the Daystar 2.5”/1.5” spacers right now. After I replace the suspension, a supercharged may be coming. So, I want to protect it as best as humanly possible. I know I wrote a novel, but living with a wife and 3 daughters no one cares about my 4Runner or anything I do to it so it’s nice to find this forum where people share the same passion about their 4Runners as I do! But, the simple question is I would like everyone’s thoughts on the Eastwood Internal Frame Rust Spray? Is it worth it? (Only about $15? a can). Is it needed? Any experiences? Any other thoughts or ideas to prevent the inevitable rust that will appear some day? Thank you in advance!

 

following!

 

going to Italy for vacation is a great place .. safe ..

 

I sprayed my 4th gen frame with the Eastwood Internal frame coat. I wouldn’t use it if it’s a 2018. This stuff isn’t made just to be shot in an essentially new frame. It’s made to bond with rust and convert/coat at the same time.

If I was you I’d buy an extension hose to put on a fluid film can and go to town on the inside of the frame and call it a day. Maybe once a year after winter give the inside of the frame a good rinse, like stick a hose in the rear of the frame and flush it out for a good 15 minutes, let it dry up real good then recoat it again before winter.

Here’s my other issue with Eastwood. You won’t find any long term results. Any brand can tout that they have the miracle cure but to be honest, the self-reported results on this stuff are not really helpful. I used it because it was the word on the street and my frame has some sizable areas of surface rust on the inside of the frame. I used Eastwood then I let it cure for a few weeks and came back with CorrosionX. Fluid film would’ve been just as good, maybe better but I hate the smell.

Edit:
I will say I’ve done a good bit of reading on rust prevention or conversion products out there, even some scientific tests. All I can say is the best cure for rust is prevention. All these miracle cures and conversion products are a mixed bag. There is pretty good consensus though that products like fluid film help with prevention.

 

Thanks for the information! I think I am going to do exactly as you said. It makes total sense. I was a little skeptical about the Rust Reformer already because I used it on a few spots on my daughter’s Jeep Liberty and it turned the spots black for a couple weeks and then right back to rust. I didn’t realize the Eastwood product was for rust already present. I’m going to keep doing what I’ve been doing with the fluid film and add in doing the inside of the frame like you said. I agree that prevention is the key. I hate the smell of it, too. I have gone to empty parking lots to spray my undercarriage to lessen the smell in my garage. Thanks again jdevtac!

 

We really enjoyed it. It was a great experience. We stayed in Naples, Rome and Florence. But, I was happy to get back home. The language barrier was tough for me. I felt like an idiot anytime I had to interact with someone!

 

The thing about rust reformer is they are usually some sort of acid solution (phosphoric acid, tannic acid, etc.) And like you saw, they convert the rust and it turns black. The issue is you have to topcoat it afterward. The iron phosphate or whatever it turns into is just a sacrificial layer unfortunately.

Good luck! Fluid film should keep the frame in top shape. My main gripe is on my first time using it I sprayed it into my door panels and realized that was a big mistake. My 4th gen still has a sour smell months later.

 

I used the Eastwood on my 1989 FJ62's frame. At the time they only sold the green color but now have a black color as well. I thought it worked well and was easy to apply. But as @jdevtac mentioned, there was surface rust on the inside of the FJ's frame. I fluid film my '16 every year but have not done anything to the inside frame rails yet. I probably should just fluid film the inside frame rails but go back an forth about that vs the Eastwood inner frame paint. I am leaning toward the inner frame paint because I don't want to fluid film the inside rails every year or every other year. I would rather paint it and be done with it for years. If it gets the Eastwood I will probably use the green again because it is bright and can easily see any issues popping up.

 

if you do take another EU vacation check out the Alps region in Italy . my friends went there it was a beautiful place .

 

Yeah, I was kind of going back and forth between the two. I love working on my 4Runner, so I could see myself ending up using the Eastwood inside the frame and then following it up with the fluid film. It may be overkill but when I run out of things to do to my 4Runner, I find cheap things like this to do to it to hold me over for a bigger project.

 

After I lifted it and put new wheels and 285’s on it, I had my 9 year old daughter sit in the driver’s seat and turn the steering wheel while I moved the fenders forward because of some rubbing. She was smiling ear to ear!! My oldest daughter is 17 and she will sit in the garage when I work on her Jeep but she is on her phone not paying any attention! I can see my 7 year old daughter getting her hands dirty with me. That would be great!

 

My wife has talked about going to Germany, Ireland and Spain. If we when to Germany, it wouldn’t be that long of a trip to check out the Alps in Italy. We will probably end up going back to Italy at some point. We loved the Positano and Amalfi Coast.

 

family member went to Spain last year did not like it dirty place. I did live in spain atlantic coast across from Cadiz .. that was when the dictator Franco was running this country .. where I lived the property owners would wash the street and sidewalks ..
could not go to Gibraltar had razor wire at the border .. not now .

 

Finally yesterday I reapplied 2 cans of Fluid Film to the frame, bolts, and anything metal since it was 55 degrees outside. We haven’t had much salt on the roads here in southern OH this year, but this weekend we are susposed to get up to 3 inches. Driving down to TN to look at a lake house we are thinking about buying, so good timing on my part me thinks.