Fluidfilm AR

I’ve used Fluidfilm NAS on a bunch of stuff in the past year. Mostly it does what is claimed, sprays on easily with the supplied “professional” gun, it stays wet but sticks and protects metal from corrosion. Areas that don’t get access to dirt like the inside of the pillars stay oily feeling. Areas under the truck get a coating of dust so it feels dry but if you scratch it with your fingernail you can tell there’s gunk under there protecting the metal.

Fluidfilm AR on spare tire holder. Stuff is pretty solid, like frozen snot.

One area that isn’t getting protection though is the wheel wells and the center rear of the underside. I sprayed it on quite heavy but after a few drives in the rain there is nothing left. I’m mostly concerned with the seams there around the edge so looking for something thicker.

Enter Fluidfilm AR. The fluidfilm website says NAS is recommended for undercoating, the AR is… not. Maybe too difficult to apply? The site is strangely silent on AR and so is the internet. I bought a gallon to see how it would do, so can share.

First note that AR is much, much thicker than NAS. At room temperature NAS is like Yoplait yoghurt, you can scoop some out with a spoon and if you hold the spoon upside down it will glop off. The NAS will spray fine thought the fluidfilm gun. The AR is like frozen ice cream. You can take a scoop of it but it takes some work to force the spoon in. Hold a heaping spoonful upside down and the AR won’t glop off.

I found a video on the internet, in german, about how to apply AR:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egK4XyDPpdc

The guy heats it up in a crock pot, then sprays it. Seems doable.

My first attempt to apply it I put the bucket of AR into a big pot of water on the stove, I figured a double boiler would do the trick. I had it on the stove, water boiling, for most of the day, it became soft but the fluidfilm didn’t become liquid. Using a funnel I did manage to pour some into the 1 quart spray bottles but the stuff is too thick and clogged the cold gun. I used a stick to clean it out and was able to get the 200F stuff to feed into the spray gun, but clearly it was too thick and was firing large drops, making a mess.

I tried putting the bottle into the microwave but I guess its transparent to microwaves because it didn’t heat up. Bummer. I live at sea level so failure of double boiler means Fluidfilm AR is not sufficiently liquid at 212F (100C).

Next attempt I put a scoop into a coffee mug and left it in the oven at 250F. After 3 hours it was slightly sizzling, I removed with an oven mit and it was a very light liquid, fully flowing, like turkey grease. I went down to the garage and painted it onto some hardware using a 1″ bristle brush. Initially the liquid was so thin that it ran off the bristles, dripped off whatever I painted it on. After 15 minutes it was becoming significantly thicker, like syrup, I poured it back into the bucket.

After the area I painted was all cooled down the AR makes a wonderful thick coating, much thicker than NAS. I think perfect for the spare tire holder and mechanism. Only thing with this stuff is that its very thick when cold so not good for inside doors or anywhere else that needs to drain. A glop of this would plug up a drain hole. I bet I could clog a toilet with it. So… just for surface use, M-Kay?

Conclusion:Fluidfilm AR requires a temp of above 240F to be easily sprayable.

I put my quart nylon spray bottle full of fluidfilm AR into the oven at 250F, left it for 2 hours. It became fully liquid. Given the larger quantity I was able to spray all four wheelwells and the underside before it cooled. Used about 1/2 a bottle for that. Need to be careful because that stuff is hot! Wear gloves, wear a mask.

Driving on the freeway in the last 2 weeks of heavy seattle rain (40F-50F) the stuff hasn’t budged. If you wipe your finger in the wheelwells you’ll get back a fingertip of cold greasy gunk. Note I said finger not fingernail, its caked on there. Looks like it is holding up very well all the way around.

Given how thick it was at 100C I suspect it will laugh at hot summer rain. I’ll see I guess.

Windshield Replaced: Quality Time with an Old School Master

When I bought the cruiser there was a crack in the windshield from the drivers side corner. Crack extended so that in my field of view it just barely intersected with the front left corner of the hood. At the first gas station that I stopped at in the US of A I wondered if it would spread so I licked my finger and drew a line across the end of the crack.

I’ve been watching that smudge for almost a year. The crack has grown by about 2 inches and I decided it was time to look into a windshield replacement.

My wife recently needed a windshield replaced and was recommended the folks at Eastside Auto Glass, in Bellevue. She had a fine experience, said the guy told her all sorts of interesting things and she came away happy with the replacement.

A month ago I got a nasty rock in the windshield of the Porsche, eastside managed to fill it (took two holes to suck the epoxy through). As I was paying for the Porsche repair I asked about the land cruiser. Even before he looked it up the owner started talking about land cruiser windshields. “Theres a blue tinted one, and one with a very slight tint at the top…” and “Dang, the land cruiser windshields are sometimes oversize. We end up needing to GRIND them. GRIND THEM!!”

The price was going to come in under $300. Was $140 for the glass and 2+ hours of labor. I tried to arrange an appointment but the next week he was short handed. I would call in the future to arrange the install…

My windshield is missing is missing its upper driver side corner trim, I had it on order and was going to wait until I had it before arranging the windshield install, but Eastside called after 2 weeks saying the windshield was in. Ok! I arranged to come by at 8am on a Saturday.

Owner called on Friday night to be sure I would be there at 8am on Saturday.

Rainy Saturday I arrive at 7:45 to wait. Sure enough, 8am a guy shows up and opens the garage. This guy was 60, had large shoulders and a handshake that was gentle but had a kind of passive strength like an old construction worker. Kinda looked like Lee Van Cleef in “the master”.

Bring the car in, the guy sets to work. Seal is cut free from the glass and the frame, then the glass is gently worked out.

The old glass, fractured fully during removal.

With glass removed there are 3 small areas of rust on the frame.

Rust on window frame.

More rust on windowframe.

I scrape at it with a screwdriver but guy brings an electric grinder and polishes the rust away.

Rust polished away from window frame. Small amount of perforation.

Next is a zinc rust preventative and primer, then a different black primer around the entire frame of the window.

This primer is needed, otherwise urethane won’t adhere to the paint and metal?

He says to spray the Fluidfilm onto the far side of the dash when I get home.

Finally the rubber seal around the new glass and puts a bead of urathane around the seal. This urathane is heat activated, kept in heaters and dries fully in less than 10 minutes.

The magic urethane.

Special urethane heater.

A helper is called over and the seal is centered. There are wide eyes for a few moments since the driver’s corner is “popping” but they recenter the glass and get the seal situated. They both spend maybe 10 minutes adjusting the seal to center the glass.

New windshield, seal is applied without urethane, then bead of urethane around the outside edge. Inside of seal isn’t glued until the glass is centered.

This is where skill counts since the urethane dries quickly and the glass doesn’t like to flex.

Next, guy puts a bead of urethane between the outside glass and the seal.

Next the chrome trim is inserted into the rubber seal.

Finally the rubber bead of urethane is cut away from the window and the window is cleaned and car is vacuumed.

Entire time I’m able to hear the wisdom of Cliff:

• The urethane that glues the windshield in place is needed for rollover protection. This was done by “the japs” first since they otherwise couldn’t pass the rollover tests.
• The previous owner had just used butyl rubber to hold the seal in place, that’s how you did it in the old days, but the old butyl rubber had asbestos in it to give it strength and body, the current stuff was no good.
• urethane sika they use dries fully in less than 10 minutes. Once they put a windshield in a car that crashed a few minutes later. Sika flew out 8 people to the scene of the accident to evaluate how their glue performed.
• Primer is really important for urethane.
• Urethane is so strong that it will pull paint from the car rather than release, which is why you see raw metal around the windshield in an accident.
• Often you see where the previous person had cut corners, for example the previous installer didn’t use the right glue, didn’t seal properly which explains the rust.

Anyway, Cliff started at 8am, worked straight through and finished only at 11:10am. 3 hours and 10 minutes to install a windshield. I got to watch the entire thing and there was not a moment wasted. Several of the jobs, especially centering the windshield were things I could not have done without special tools. Really was an honor and privilege to watch, this guy did a good job and its not often you get to see such skill at work.

During the time my car’s windshield was being replaced there were three newer vehicles in and had their windshields swapped. An Audi SUV, a Jetta and a Honda. The process was the same for each of those cars:

• park car
• cut away old windshield (using a special weird cutter tool)
• clean old glue off car’s windshield frame
• spooge urethane around the frame
• splonk windshield onto urethane
• wait 5+ minutes for urethane to cure
• drive car out.

The new windshield design makes a lot of sense though the windshields themselves cost a bit more than mine.

Anyway: wow, my new windshield is really clean!

Front Sway Bar installed – Survey Says?!

Survey says: “Awesome.” Survey says: “don’t drive your lifted 60 on the road without one.”

True, I’ve no honest notion of the state of my shocks, my springs or my steering joints, but installing the front sway bar has made an enormous difference in my truck’s handling.

Used to be the truck felt like the front wheels were tucking under the front of the car. The truck would dive and lean to the outside of every corner and that feeling limited my speed. Truck didn’t feel like it would tip but I was definitely losing grip from the lean.

Now the truck is tastefully flat in the corners, the truck handling really is transformed. Amazing. Amazing.

To any doubters I say: try this! $60 for extended links, $6 for bottle of epoxy spray, its a huge value. I’d have paid $1000 to have the handling this much better.

Installation Process:

Hardened Steel Tap for Chasing Threads

First thing the brackets bolt onto the frame, there are holes waiting with threads. The previous owner had coated the frame with some rust preventative coating so bolts wont’ go in, first every threaded hole must be chased with a tap. If you don’t know, a tap is a special hardened steel screw that cuts threads into metal. But running the tap through the threads I clean them out so bolt will not be damaged.

Tap with Tiny Wrench. Gently spin tap in and out to clean out the existing threads. Idea is to clean, cut as little as possible. Avoid cross threading!

Holes tape about 5 minutes each to tap. After chasing the threads my precious new Toyota bolts thread cleanly.

Tapping frame on passenger side.

Bolt bracket into place.

Sway bar bracket bolted into place on passenger side.

I pre-installed the Man-A-Fre extended sway bar links to sway bar. This was a mistake:

1) No way to thread the sway bar into place with the linkages in place.

2) I installed the linkages the wrong way.

Stock BJ60 Sway Bar with Man-A-Fre extended sway bar links installed pointing the wrong way!

Don’t be stupid like me – the front diff hump is on the passenger side.

Next steps were very simple. These steps should be done for each side before moving to next step:

• Chase threads where brackets bolt to axle housting (there are only 2 of these)
• Thread the sway bar through springs so it lies in front of bracket mounts.
• Apply grease all over the rubber bushing, wrap it around the sway bar and insert it into metal bracket.
• Insert bracket tab into axle housing.
• Bolt other side of bracket into axle housing.

Now you have a sway bar that can be rotated on the axle housing. Next:

• install linkage between frame bracket and sway bar end. You’ll need two wrenches for this.

Now take a victory lap and enjoy the new responsiveness and non-scary turning.

Back home and hose it all down with Fluidfilm. You’ll not be touching it for a while except maybe to check that bolts are still torqued tight.

Sway Bars installed, looking back at passenger side.

 

Frame, frame bracket, man-a-fre linkage an sway bar on passenger side.

Drivers side bracket.

 

Door Latch No Worky and the Secret of Releasing the Window Opener

Getting out of the car yesterday, dang, the drivers inside door latch doesn’t work! Roll down the window and fortunately the outside latch works.

Gotta get it fixed!

Clearly I need to take off the inside door panel, something I’ve not been able to do before. Well now I need to.

How to get that panel off to check the opener mechanism?

 

I undo the door handle by releasing two Phillips screws.

I undo the plastic piece that fits behind the inside door latch, that’s one more Phillips screw.

Now I need to get the window roller arm loose! Shoot! There’s no Phillips there to undo. I gently pry at it with some flathead screwdrivers. It seems like its stuck!

I check my factory manuals, but I don’t have anything covering the interior. Dang!

Search the internet!

• One guys says to crush the window opener handle with vise grips and buy a new one.

NO!

• Several folks say to use the special Toyota tool (which looks like a pry bar.)

Hmm. Well.. there needs to be a better way.

• One generic internet help site suggests:

“If you don’t have the special Toyota tool then gently thread a clean shop towel between the handle and the plastic washer. Move it all around and eventually the handle will pop loose.”

Hmm, the description is for a 2005 Toyota but maybe it works here too. I’ll try that.

I find an old T-Shirt in the rag box, gently thread the edge through, wrap it around and start flossing. After about 4 seconds I hear a click and the handle pops loose! Wow! Magic!

Who would have thought this? I bet a lot of people destroyed a lot of stuff before the internet. I take it out along with a little gold colored clip in the shape of an Omega. By flossing this clip was pulled free of the groove in the arm, and of the groove in the splined metal window opener post inside the door. Cool!

Window Opener Handle with the magic “Omega Clip”

 

I gently pry the clips free from round the panel, then unhook the panel from the door (It hangs from the top of the door).

Revealed is a pretty decent job sealing the car from the door. This is a good thing as it keeps the door panel from disintegrating due to moisture.

Door is sealed with cloth tape, silicone and plastic. Good job PO!

Close up of wire going into door. Since the wire moves I know the problem is where the wire meets the mechanism.

I gently peel back the plastic and tape until I can access the mechanism.

And there I can see the wire has popped out of the mechanism.

Wire loose from the mechanism.

 

1. I click the wire back into place with my fingers
2. hose down the inside of the door with Fluidfilm (because I couldn’t reach well inside the doors when I used the sprayer)
3. Gently replace the tape and plastic
4. rehang the panel
5. bang in each clip with the heel of my hand
6. Now, to replace the window roller handle I slide the omega clip over the handle’s slot, then press the handle onto the splined post. Click, the handle is locked in place again.
7. Screw on the handle and that piece of plastic that goes behind the latch.
8. Climb into drivers seat, close the door and…
9. I can open it again!

Hooray for the internet, couldn’t have done it without you.

 

Child Labor: Installing the Transfer Case Skid Plate

Cleaning in the garage, wife asks what this pile of metal is doing in the corner.

Well hon, its like this… uh… yeah… they go on the truck? Yeah, sure, I’ll get them out of here. No problem?

I have the bolts, I guess its as good as time as any to put the sucker on. Hey, and an opportunity for my little one to make some money helping dad with the truck.

This skid plate bolts to the frame right below the transfer case. It protects the transfer case from debris. I’ve already painted it with POR15, only thing left is to install it.

The first step is to paint the entire top side of the skid plate with Fluidfilm, since I won’t be seeing that surface again for a while. Little one does a fine job.

Second, we chase the threads in the frame with a tap. This because the previous owner had coated the frame with epoxy. Without doing this it was impossible to screw the bolts into the frame.

Skid Plate held in place with car jack, little one tightens the bolts.

Third, we hold up the skid plate with a car jack and screw in the bolts. Little one is good at this.

Finally we go over everything again with fluidfilm.

The smile of someone earning cash-money.

Skid plate in forground

 

BJ60 Battery Replacement

Yeah, I left the lights on:Mountain biking at some distant location last weekend. Arrive back to the frankencruiser in the afternoon, load the children into the car and lo, the car doesn’t turn over, just a “Click!”

 

Oh jeese. I left the lights on. Couldn’t see them shining in the morning light. Good thing this car doesn’t need electricity to run and that I parked on a good slope. Release the brakes, back the truck out, then roll forward under the courtesy of gravity. Pedestrians walking side by side up the parking lot are loath to give way to a silently accelerating land cruiser. Shift into 4th, pop the clutch and engine catches instantly. I suppose startup was helped by being warmed all day in the blazing sun.

Drive 2 hours back to seattle and put the batteries on the charger. Batteries accept the full 6 amps. 3 hours later its still taking 5.5 amps. Oh boy, maybe the batteries are toast.

Next morning the batteries are taking 3 amps. On starting the voltage is very low, like 10.5 volts but dropping to 6 when I hit the glow button. Such low voltage after charging all night is a bad sign. I notice that the left battery has a crack in the plastic near the positive terminal, oh man, wonder if its leaking? Out comes the baking soda, distilled water. I fill the 2 cells that are low, scrub the batteries down with water and baking soda. The baking soda boils ominously, especially down the side of the battery and into the battery tray. Boilage means there is acid all over the thing. Not a good sign, its leaking…

I leave the charger on all the next day but signs are not good, looks like I’m in for a new pair of batteries.

Sure enough the engine starts right up the next morning. I drive to work and back home. That night I attach the charger again. 2 minutes later, walking past the rig I hear an odd hissing or buzzing. Hmm. Scan around with the ears and zoom in on the left battery, the one with the crack in it. The battery sounds like its boiling or off gassing something serious. Smells bad. This is not good, not something that should happen when only 2 amps are applied. Now I’ve no doubt. I disconnect the charger with plan to get a battery the next day.

The old batteries:

For the record the batteries in the truck were 3 year old Energizer Deep Cycle 27DC. The side of the battery said “Marine Deep Cycle” but I doubt they were truly deep cycle as they listed 850 CCA each which is high even for a starting battery. Also amazing they list 180 reserve capacity, which is huge and probably optimistic. These batteries are both dated 1/10, so dead after only 3.5 years and they did not age well, I suspect the high CCA came from thin plates and they didn’t survive the deep cycling that previous owner applied.

Cracked case to the right of the positive terminal, leaking acid all over everything.

The new batteries:

First temptation is to get the super awesome excellent batteries that the previous owner had installed. Searching old messages they were Optima D27M, “Blue Top” deep cycle batteries. “Spiral Technology”. They’re also $215 each. I search a little more on the internet and learn something about batteries. First that the optimas are really expensive and don’t seem to last longer than regular batteries. Really the longevity of batteries depends upon their usage.

Research online, perhaps the best overview of batteries is this solarpower web site:

http://www.solar-electric.com/deep-cycle-battery-faq.html

By Wikipedia CCA is cold cranking amps, means (from Wikipedia):

Cold cranking amperes (CCA) is the amount of current a battery can provide at 0 °F (−18 °C). The rating is defined as the current a lead-acid battery at that temperature can deliver for 30 seconds and maintain at least 1.2 volts per cell (7.2 volts for a 12-volt battery). It is a more demanding test than those at higher temperatures. This is the most widely used cranking measurement for comparison purposes.

This value matters as a starter needs sufficient current to turn the engine over. There is not much benefit to actually having huge CCA, but often a higher valued battery will be able to deliver more current when the battery is drained. The CCA has to do with the amount of surface area of the plates in the battery.

Downside of CCA is that the plates will be thinner, will corrode and wear more quickly, so there is a tradeoff.

Another orthogonal measure of battery performance is Reserve Capacity (again from Wikipedia):

Reserve capacity minutes (RCM), also referred to as reserve capacity (RC), is a battery’s ability to sustain a minimum stated electrical load; it is defined as the time (in minutes) that a lead-acid battery at 80 °F (27 °C) will continuously deliver 25 amperes before its voltage drops below 10.5 volts.

This matters if you are drawing current over a longer period, for example running a fridge in the back while the engine is off.

These two battery properties are balanced against each other to form 3 categories of battery:

Starting Battery: used for starting, short draws of high amperage. These batteries will be quickly ruined if they are discharged more than about 2-5%.

Deep cycle battery: used for continuous low power draw these generally tolerate a 50% draw without damage.

Marine battery: these are a balance of deep cycle and starting. They provide sufficient CCA to start a motor, but otherwise are built with thicker plates or lead sponge to survive a deeper draw.

Replacing the batteries:

End of the day I was convinced by a set of posts I saw that generally suggested:

Get the biggest heaviest battery you can find that has the Lowest Sufficient CCA

That is, CCA must only meet your needs, unused CCA compromises durability. An example is Golf Cart Batteries, or forklift batteries, which have CCA of 30-40 and which weigh 100 pounds. Those batteries tolerate deep discharge to almost 20% because their plates are so thick.

I see Costco sells the Interstate 27DC under its own Kirkland brand. They’re $88 each, rated much more conservatively at 600CCA and 115 amp hours. Seems a good price compared to the other stores I visited and both Interstate and Costco have a fine reputation. It seems to meet my “heavy and low cca” requirement.

New batteries from Costco, made by Interstate.

Canadian BJ60 with Arctic Package comes with two batteries. As a 1984 it is still 12 volt, same as nearly every other car on the road. The two batteries are connected in “parallel” meaning that the batteries are connected: positive to positive, negative to negative. By connecting the batteries in this way the voltage remains at 12 but the capacity is roughly doubled, double the CCA, double the reserve capacity.

I put on my gloves and disconnect the batteries, pull them out of the truck.

View of the two batteries, one on each side, with connector cables.

Out with the old, in with the new.

The new and old batteries

Once the batteries are out its an opportunity to inspect and clean the battery tray. They look amazing and new, until I tapped the base with a screwdriver. Uh oh, looks like the rubber coating has detached from the metal, no doubt there is rust underneath:

Oh yeah! Classic Rust in battery tray. Battery acid is nasty stuff! This is right before I peeled that rubber coating off the metal.

Turns out they are both pretty rusted, the one with the leaky battery maybe a little more so. I peel and scrape, then sand. Then clean with degreaser. Even scrape from underneath. Let the water dry and then apply a coat of zinc galvanized repair paint:

Galvanized paint to the battery tray.

Yes, this is not a professional job. I should take the trays out and media blast. That would take days though and I need this done by the weekend.

After an hour for the first coat to dry I pull up any remaining loose rubber coating and apply a second coat.

Coat of zinc galvanized paint.

Later that evening the paint is dry to the touch. I find some awesome black epoxy suspension paint and recoat everything, also sand down and repaint the battery hold downs. Let it all dry overnight.

I also put the new batteries on the charger.

In the morning the epoxy paint still smells toxic but is dry to the touch. I pull out the pail of Fluidfilm and coat the battery trays top and bottom, all over everywhere including the frame where the washed out battery acid had dripped.

Connectors are shiny after buffing

I also take out the sander and buff all the cable connectors in the car (seriously corroded and nasty) so they’re all bright and brassy.

Install the new batteries, recoat the terminals and everything with more Fluidfilm.

Fluidfilm caked onto battery terminals. Prevents corrosion and arcing.

Result:

Holy moly! Since I first laid eyes on this truck the voltage has dropped from 12 down to 7 or 8 when the glow plugs are activated. Even when the engine is running the glow plugs would drop the voltage. Now I turn the key, voltage meter rises to 12. When I hit the glow plugs – The Voltage Doesn’t Move! Man that is some additional capacity. I’d no ideas those batteries were so dead.

Rust Treatment: Hosed It All Down with Fluidfilm

Purchased a gallon of fluidfilm at Granger, $38. Wow the stuff is thick. First I tried repurposing a kitchen hand sprayer. Ha. Then tried painting it on with a brush. Many hours under the car and little to show for it.

Finally went back and carefully reviewed the fluidfilm web site. Recommended sprayers, tip size, pressure. Trips to hardware store to try and rent on, then review craigslist ads for commercial sprayers, various rental stores. Dang, everything is expensive. $500 to buy, $200 to rent, lots of concern about contaminating the lines in their paint guns. Undercoating guns start at $120, $60 for spray wands, etc, etc. Prices seem so high!

I even call around local restoration shops and find good advice: “$100 isn’t much in this line of business”, no one around here applies undercoating. Quotes to be involved were on the order of $500+, really this is not a service thats offered around here.

In the end, the fluidfilm-developed spray gun looks like the best choice. Designed to do a good job hook to a normal air compressor. I call Fluidfilm and he talks me into the Kit #1, upgraded to the “pro gun”, and with a 360 degree flex wand, included another gallon of fluidfilm. I even ponied up $10 for a second wand since it seemed like it’d be suffering abuse. Total was ~$110 including shipping. Fine.  Neighbor has a 25 gallon compressor I can borrow.

The pro gun and wand from fluidfilm kit #1

Big day arrives, I put on my coveralls and mask, fire up the compressor. Holy crap the gun works well. Underside takes about 5 minutes to coat. Then attach a wand and do the inside of the frame, the inside of the rockers, every single hole gets zapped with the wand. In total the underside and frame took about 40 minutes. Gun creates a fog that goes everywhere, good to wear a mask! Spray from about 2 feet away its easy to get a consistent layer.

Doors were next, then inside of rear quarter panels and inside of wheel wells, engine bay, battery boxes, radiator, airbox, up behind the gas tank, inside the bumpers, etc, etc. Also did the body’s internal crossmembers from access holes inside the car. Best part, all the frame pillars (next to windshield, between front and rear doors, and by the tailgate) all have access holes, simply insert wand to the hilt, spray and slowly remove the wand. Also applied inside the rear tailgates even though they’re already rusted. I guess we’ll see how this stuff does in stopping rust.

I probably spent 3 hours spraying the car inside and out and most of that time was spent inserting the wand into all the access points.

The craftsman electric 25 gallon compressor worked well at 120-130psi. Generally I paused 20 seconds every few minutes for the compressor to catch up.  This application would have taken weeks with a paintbrush.

In all that time I used almost 2 quarts of fluidfilm (kit comes with 2 quart bottles). Real surprise to me, besides how easy the application was compared to a paint brush, was the violence of the spray. Need to use short bursts, tap-tap-tap. I thought it worked well.

At this point the only part left, I’d like to zap the inside of the roof seam which means putting holes in the roof liner. The wand that fits to the pro gun is 1/4 inch in diameter, too big I think. The kit came with an aerosol can with a smaller diameter wand, that might be ok. Also I don’t know what to do about the inside of the door’s window frames, pretty thin, no room for the wand.

Here’s a snap of the problem wheel well, all hosed down:

Problem wheel well, drivers side rear, all hosed down with fluidfilm. Wonder if its all gunna wash off?

I haven’t used any of the rubber plugs yet, there have been access holes or plugs everywhere I needed them. I guess I drive the truck a few days and see how it ages. The frame and internals are good now, I believe this will last for a few years at least. I’ll be surprised if the stuff can stick to the wheel wells in the rain. I’ll see I guess.

Finally, I was worried the stuff would reek but so far no complaints. No one seems to notice or mind the slight “sheepy” smell.