I can’t claim that I actually noticed it, nor was I listening for it. But from looking at it, feeling it, and seeing where it’s been applied (plus the enclosed places I can’t see), it would be more than reasonable to expect that it would have significant sound deadening qualities. For me a lot of it is peace of mind - feeling that it’s not corroding and deteriorating continuously. It just feels less vulnerable and I want it to be as preserved as possible. Call the guys at Alpha they are really good to talk to (no high pressure snake oil salesmen). And give them my name!
I looked it up for you: Built to last the lifetime of the car: Insulates against temperature changes and provides sound-proofing for a quieter ride. Temperature range of active protection from -30°F to 302°F.
Great video and pics! I think it was money well spent.The purpose of this thread is to provide information about my experience with professionally rust proofing my 2021 Bronco Wildtrak. This is an update to some earlier threads I started here:
“Worried about rust on your Bronco? You should be. Here's why.”
“Startling video about why you should be worried about RUST!”
Background: I live in New England where they heavily salt the roads. My previous car (2006 4Runner recently had to be towed away for parts at 140K miles because the frame had rotted beyond repair – otherwise it was in great condition. This experience jaded me so I was particularly eager to avoid a recurring situation. Disclaimer – my 4Runner was one of the ones (like Tacomas which were recalled for frame rust) that Toyota outsourced the frame to a 3rd party that failed to properly treat for rust. I am now part of current litigation pursuit for 4Runners. That said, I’m now hyper-sensitive about rust and I keep my cars for a long time. This is my daily driver.
My Wildtrak Bronco is a Dirt Mountain POW, delivered on Dec 23, 2021. The day I got it, the roads were heavily salted. In less than 2 weeks, with only 250 miles on it, there was already a strange amount of rust build up on some parts. For comparison, a friend of mine, also in MA, has been driving his bronco since August (not from Dirt Mountain) and the parts on mine that are rusted are still pristine on his (did something happen at Dirt Mountain????).
So, I brought my Bronco to Alpha Cars in Boxborough, MA to have it treated for future rust avoidance. This is a high end shop of perfectionists that restore/sell exotic cars, and provide services such as detailing, body work, performance mods, exhausts, stereo, engine/suspension upgrades, ceramic coatings, PPF, detailing, etc. This shop provided some insightful pics and video of before and after.
Who should keep reading:
About this vendor, pricing, and products used:
- Anyone who wants to see what the Bronco looks like underneath
- Anyone who lives in areas where they salt the roads, who wants to learn more about rust protection approaches with before/after video
- Anyone who wants to understand what Ford has/hasn’t done to protect Bronco’s from rust
- Anyone in New England who is considering professional rust protection
Before you tell me that I wasted my money:
- This is a high-end vendor. They are meticulous and the shop is like a museum. There are surely less expensive vendors that offer rust protection services. Personally, I was worried about finding someone I trust, because I am a skeptic on pretty much everything and the value/effectiveness of rust proofing has been debated for decades. This vendor left me confident that they did as very comprehensive job. They did a combination of cleaning/prepping the undercarriage, sanding rusted parts, treating them with rust converter, adding multiple coats of “hard wax” to the undercarriage, and spraying “Waxoil” into the frame and body cavities. They removed wheel wells and other parts. The treatment is intended to last for the lifetime of the car. There are other products that other vendors and DIY consumers use including Fluid film, NH oil, tar-like undercoating, and other products, which all have pros/cons and price implications. If your car is already heavily rusted, the cost would be more because it would require more preparation. For my vendor, with my "new" car, it was around $1200 to clean, prep and apply 4 coats of hard wax to the undercarriage. I had them go further to get inside the frame, rocker panels and other areas with Waxoil, for a few hundred more. If you choose to do business with Alpha Cars, and mention my name (Jeff Abbott), they will give you $100 off your service. No I don’t work for them. (978) 237-5906. Ask for Jacob. They are good guys.
Jeff, I don’t want to spend the time watching these videos. What are the key takeaways?
- I understand that my Bronco is new and barely had any rust on it. However, I was alarmed at how quickly rust had already formed on some hardware and other parts in less than 2 weeks and it makes me cringe. I plan to keep my car for a long time and again, my 4Runner was just hauled away for parts from frame rust. Not going to let that happen again.
- I understand that there is a realistic chance that I could have ignored this issue and I may never have a mechanical problem from rust ever.
- I understand that there are DIY products that cost less and will help protect from rust, each with pros and cons.
- I understand that rust proofing, ceramic coating, and other things are associated with snake oil salesmen, and some people feel that rust proofing doesn’t do anything at all, isn’t needed, or even makes things worse. I chose this vendor because I believe that they have integrity and expertise and the best products and processes, and will stand behind their work. Can I prove that it was worth it? Not yet.
Okay, enough already, show me the Before/After Videos:
- According to Alpha Cars, compared to most other cars, the Bronco has very little rust protection from the manufacturer. For example, the body panels have between 5 and 9 mils of paint thickness. FYI, a mil is a thousandth of an inch (not a millimeter). The Bronco frame has only 0.5-1.0 mil of paint, which is nearly nothing. For comparison, Alpha Cars tells me that most American cars have between 1-2 mils on the frame, and European cars usually have have more. Some places on the Bronco have no paint at all where they should.
- Different products have pros/cons. Hard wax is for the undercarriage and it is more resilient to the outside world. Unlike oils, hard wax is designed to stay on the car for life with little to no maintenance. Unlike the old-school tar-like undercoatings, hard wax doesn’t gum up your undercarriage to the point to where you couldn’t get a wrench on a nut. The hard wax was applied over several days in 4 coats. Waxoil, is more liquid-like and is sprayed to the enclosed areas, where it can travel to hard to reach areas and penetrate. Also, DIY versions of these exist, and other people will use Fluid Film, NH oil, spent motor oil, or even WD-40, but these require annual reapplication.
- It’s up to you as to how thorough you want to be, and it comes with a price. In my case, they not only treated the undercarriage and frame, but they also removed the wheel wells, flares and plugs in the frame/rockers to access many enclosed areas, including the entire inside of the frame. In the case of the Bronco, there are so many built-in holes in the frame, they did not need to drill the frame to access everywhere. In my case, they also sanded and rust treated the drive shaft and axle shafts. I may paint them too – really just for cosmetic reasons. My yellow Bilstein shocks are now black
- I am very pleased with the service and quality from Alpha Cars in Boxborough, MA. I believe they did this as thoroughly as possible and they clearly take pride in their work. Again, if you give them my name (Jeff Abbott), they will take $100 off your service. And again, they do lots of other stuff that new Bronco owners would be interested in.
BEFORE VIDEO with evaluation. This has a great analysis of the paint thicknesses, and shows where Ford did, and didn’t, protect the Bronco from rust:
AFTER VIDEO showing everything they did.
And here are some BEFORE pics (keep in mind this is from less that 2 weeks of ownership so it's obviously still in great shape overall and there is no rust on frame yet, but...):
And here are some AFTER pics (between 3rd and 4th coats):
I am a believer in Fluid Film, but you might be interested in this video. This guys tests all kinds of things, including "Best Car Undercoating Products".
They also removed the bash plates and wheel wells. They said the didn't need to remove the bumpers but were still able to get all of the inside of the frame.
I think if I owned a lift, I would try to do it myself. But the more I watched the video the more I was glad I outsourced it. I probably would have sprayed areas that shouldn't be sprayed (like a heat shield and then realized how stupid that was)
Yeah that's the stuff - I hope that doesn't happen to mine. I'm a little surprised given these guys really seem like experts and said it was the best product. They did say that they recommend having it re-examined every few years to see if any touch up is needed. It's been used for many years and I don't see many stories like this so I do wonder if we're talking apples to apples. I wonder how much is product versus process.
I'm also based in Michigan and have been considering spending the $$ on doing this right. Who did you go with? Are you happy with the job?
That kind of leads in to my question. What happens when you’re off-roading hard and start scraping the undercarriage? Isn’t that going to allow water in and trap it as well?
Ziebart in Dearborn. They had a special package deal: rust proofing/sound deadening, Diamond Gloss paint protect (which included clay bar), interior protectant (which we didn't need because we have the vinyl seats), and something for the glass (like RainX on steroids).
