Ask them... Woolwax™ | Toyota FJ Cruiser Forum (fjcruiserforums.com)

 

Woolwax, Boeshield, Fluid Film, are all lanolin based rust preventers and work very well at keeping water off of surfaces.

But note that if you already have surface rust its porosity will make it very difficult to prevent continued rusting even if you slather liberal amounts of lanolin over it.

Ideally, wire brush off as much surface rust as possible, then apply a phosphate converter like Ospho (available at ACE and Sherwin Williams stores) to reduce any remaining red rust into iron phosphate.

Then, you can either apply lanolin over that.

But, if you live in a rusty environment, I found the lanolin tends to rinse off during the winter and allows some red rust to proceed.

So, I went back and cleaned off the surfaces (with oven cleaner, and rubbing alcohol) to apply a thick coat of underbody paint, to help seal the surfaces (things like POR15 are awesome, just so long as it is a paint). The key before paint is to make sure the surface is very clean, so it can bond. Abrading the surface with a green scrubby helps key the paint mechanically, too.

Then, because I hate rust, I put two coats of paint, and then over that a heavy coat of 3M Cavity Wax (or Cosmoline). If using aerosol use 3 heavy coats to equal one coat of bulk liquid.

Then, because those petroleum based waxes dry semi-hard, don't penetrate all that well and don't self heal, went over that with Fluid Film (cheap, easy to apply, self healing, penetrates well and takes no time at all to touch up each fall).

Rust prevention is a series of layers, with each one protecting the one beneath, and each layer providing a good bond to the one above.


Norm

 

Woolwax, Boeshield, Fluid Film, are all lanolin based rust preventers and work very well at keeping water off of surfaces.

But note that if you already have surface rust its porosity will make it very difficult to prevent continued rusting even if you slather liberal amounts of lanolin over it.

Ideally, wire brush off as much surface rust as possible, then apply a phosphate converter like Ospho (available at ACE and Sherwin Williams stores) to reduce any remaining red rust into iron phosphate.

Then, you can either apply lanolin over that.

But, if you live in a rusty environment, I found the lanolin tends to rinse off during the winter and allows some red rust to proceed.

So, I went back and cleaned off the surfaces (with oven cleaner, and rubbing alcohol) to apply a thick coat of underbody paint, to help seal the surfaces (things like POR15 are awesome, just so long as it is a paint). The key before paint is to make sure the surface is very clean, so it can bond. Abrading the surface with a green scrubby helps key the paint mechanically, too.

Then, because I hate rust, I put two coats of paint, and then over that a heavy coat of 3M Cavity Wax (or Cosmoline). If using aerosol use 3 heavy coats to equal one coat of bulk liquid.

Then, because those petroleum based waxes dry semi-hard, don't penetrate all that well and don't self heal, went over that with Fluid Film (cheap, easy to apply, self healing, penetrates well and takes no time at all to touch up each fall.

Rust prevention is a series of layers, with each one protecting the one beneath, and each layer providing a good bond to the one above.


Norm

I'm in the process of knocking off surface rust as the beginning of my FJ's life started in Ohio for a few years, then made its way to Austin, and has been in SoCal for the past 4yrs. since I live in southern california and will most likely never see snow/salted roads, my final step will be to paint the frame and not use a product like FF. I'll be doing the steps you sugget here but wondering about paint.

Steps:

1. wire brush all scaling and surface rust as best I can.
2. de-grease/wash. I'll be using simple green full strength.
3. apply phosphate converter.
4. multiple coats of paint. I'm leaning towards Rust Oleum High Performance Enamel and I was thinking of doing a Rust Oleum Primer coat before hand - would this be overkill? Thoughts on Rust Oleum High Performance Enamel? I've had good experience with this paint in other applications.

 

Lanolin products like FF can be bought in bulk, and applied with a cheap undercoating sprayer like this:

Amazon.com

With a gun like that its easy to control where it goes (to keep it off of brakes and tires, because it is slippery).

 

Woolwax is certainly more viscous and will provide protection longer than any of the other lanolin brands that were mentioned. There is nothing wrong with the competitive products, but they are designed as "multi purpose" products (lubricant, penetrant, boot spray, leather softener, etc.). To do that they have to remain very low viscosity. Woolwax bulk products (gallons, pails) is developed solely as an auto/truck undercoating and is much more viscous and resistant to washoff. We hear all the time about lanolin "washing right off", and that is frustrating. Woolwax will not wash off like the low viscosity products. For an awesome cavity wax that is solvent free, check out Creep N' Crawl by woolwax.

Creep N' Crawl Undercarriage & Cavity Wax-wwcc

 

Another contender I’m considering using this time around is PB Blaster surface shield.
It seems like the bulk pail is the only sure method of application however, as the spray cans are reported to clog and/or not completely empty.

 

 

Please keep in mind that video is by a paid influencer and a full time employee of Blaster. He gets paid to trash all the competitive products. There are plenty of products that perform well (besides woolwax) and I encourage you to make your decision based on 1st hand experience from people on forums like this, and not from a paid Youtube influencer. There is also a good recent post about this at the very top of the link below:

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I don’t mean to ruffle any feathers but I did not hear him trash anything, just his informed opinion, complete with the shortcomings of the product.

I listened to your opinion too, even though I would guess you are paid to tout the benefits of Woolwax.

 

I don’t mean to ruffle any feathers but I did not hear him trash anything, just his informed opinion, complete with the shortcomings of the product.
I listened to your opinion too, even though I would guess you are paid to tout the benefits of Woolwax.

No feathers ruffled here Luke. It's all good. I think where we may respectfully differ is in our interpretations of the video. Especially with the images of Woolwax & Fluid Film to the far right with the big red "X"" and the words "Done with them". As a consumer you believe it to be "his informed opinion". The fact is that he is an employee of the "other" brand and this is actually an infomercial. And yes, Woolwax is a paid Vendor on this site and others. There are plenty of products available that perform well, and you really can't go wrong with ay of them.

 

This is a deep subject. There’s different use cases and products when it comes to rust:

• Rust removal products
• Treating metal where the rust has been removed
• Sealing rust that can’t be removed
• Protecting new parts from getting rusty

There’s no one product that can do everything.

For protecting new parts and fasteners from rusting…

This video convinced me that CRC is the best. It protects well and doesn’t wash off or collect dirt. I’ve used it to protect new parts, especially bolts that I’ve cleaned or replaced but also areas of the frame I’ve removed rust from and repainted, or new parts like Control Arms. You can’t just spray this or anything over rust though and expect it to stop.

 

I’ve had good results with POR 15 in the past.

 

Where are you located?

 

Howell,MI.

 

I purchased a 2007 MT FJ almost three years ago. I checked the frame then it and knew it was manageable but something I would need to address at some point. I have researched and purchased all the Ospho, Wool Wax, cavity wax and various tools I've seen referenced across this forum. Today I got Grumpy Bear up on jack stands and crawled underneath to start the process of removing the rust. I've got to say, it was satisfying in a similar way to power washing and the progress was encouraging. The needle scaler I got from HF was awesome. I am excited to finish.

Now to my question. I am curious as to how much and what parts I should remove to make sure I get to hidden and obscured areas. I was planning on pulling the wheels and possibly the rear bumper. What else should I consider? Also, I am looking for tips to getting into tight spaces for removing the rust. I can get a lot with my angle grinder but any tool tips or general advice would be welcomed.

Thanks!

 

Definitely the bumper. 👍 I only made it as far as the back doors before winter hit 😉 so I’m not much more help.

 

What I have done is: the first time I just treated what was accessible from underneath. Then, as the years have passed any time I was under there working on something I attacked all that it gave me access to in detail. Any time I install new parts I apply 2 coats of paint over the top of them and 3M cavity wax over that, keeping it off of anything rubber (and then fluid film over everything after installation).

Two years ago, prior to aux tank installation I doubled down on the rear body and suspension, and pulled the rear bumper to treat everything there.

This spring it was time to do the rear brakes and with the rear hubs exposed attacked that area.

I also run a tap in all threaded holes while things are apart and a die on all fasteners being re-used (or buy new fasteners for a fresh coating of zinc chromate) and re-assemble with anti-seize on the threads.


Looking at it all at once is way too much to take. But doing it a little at a time is SO satisfying ("die, rust!"). Seeing how well the treated areas are holding up (they look like hell, because the sticky gloop collects a lot of road dirt, but a wipe with a cloth shows just how clean the surfaces beneath have been holding up!).

 

I like the mindset of an ongoing process.