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Skid plates vs road salt corrosion

Beef78

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How well/poorly will the steel skid plates and bumpers hold up to rust in the Northern climates?
I’m originally from a dryer climate. But, I live in New England and it’s rare to see a vehicle that has spent 5 season in this region without rust pitting though the wheel wells and covering the frame from road salt. My fear is salt will get on top of the skid plates and linger after snows/ice storms and they will be all rusted out in a couple years. I would rarely actually need a skid plate, but it would be nice to have on some of the trips I plan on taking.
With longevity being my biggest concern, would it be more protection for the car to go without armor and get the plastic on the wild track or lower trims? Should I not worry about it as much because it’s inevitable? Has technology advanced far enough in coatings (fluid film, etc) so I don’t have to worry about it?
I did do a search and found stuff about coatings, but nothing about whether plastic would be better than steel up here.
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Tonka1

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How well/poorly will the steel skid plates and bumpers hold up to rust in the Northern climates?
I’m originally from a dryer climate. But, I live in New England and it’s rare to see a vehicle that has spent 5 season in this region without rust pitting though the wheel wells and covering the frame from road salt. My fear is salt will get on top of the skid plates and linger after snows/ice storms and they will be all rusted out in a couple years. I would rarely actually need a skid plate, but it would be nice to have on some of the trips I plan on taking.
With longevity being my biggest concern, would it be more protection for the car to go without armor and get the plastic on the wild track or lower trims? Should I not worry about it as much because it’s inevitable? Has technology advanced far enough in coatings (fluid film, etc) so I don’t have to worry about it?
I did do a search and found stuff about coatings, but nothing about whether plastic would be better than steel up here.
I can't imagine that the threat of rust on the skid plates is any different than the steel frame and other ferrous containing parts. When weather permits, I make sure to add an underbody flush to any of my car washes when they're using salt on roads. You may also want to annually get under your vehicle and use rustoleum on any gouges in the coatings on those parts.
 

pan-y-cerveza

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Most skid plates don't really have a place that will keep salt and moisture. Just give them a wash every now and then.

That being said I just gave my 4Runner and Fluid Film treatment and made sure to give the skid plates a coat as well.

Worst case scenario they rust out in a decade and you replace them.
 

dejones64

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I'm seriously gonna look into the Fluid Film product and spray underneath...
 

AMK610

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I'm seriously gonna look into the Fluid Film product and spray underneath...
do it, works great and lasts a long time. i do mine every year before winter but i'm sure i could stretch it to every two years. just be aware that you're gunna get dirty if you ever work under you car after you apply it lol
 

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I'm seriously gonna look into the Fluid Film product and spray underneath...
Fluid Film works really well. I sprayed my Toyotas and Lexus with it in the fall and spring and get everything looking wet, and it works; and that's with Toyota frames that rust immediately when you drive them home. My heavy duty skid plates (BudBuilt) were much thicker I am sure than what the stock plates will be on the Bronco, but I only every got a little bit of surface rust when they got scratched up, which you could spray can over and make look new. Same with powder coated steel bumpers. A quick spray and they looked new again.
 

Drafting_Monkey

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I had a 2013 Ford F-150 with the 4x4 and off-road package (skid plates) for 7.5 years here in Illinois and did not have any issues with rust. I washed it about once a week. I think the new Bronco will be fine as long as you wash it regularly.
 

dejones64

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Skid plates seem thick enough to handle salt over time. It's the wheel wells and fenders that worry me. Salt laden snow and ice pack in there and may take forever to melt out.
 

SafariJeff

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Now that frames are completely submerged I think the rust issues are relatively negated for at least 10 years. I think the skid plate have plenty of space between the mounting areas to drain everything clean for salt and snow, mud would need to be power washed out...

There is another thread that goes over the spray on undercarriage coating and every thread says do NOT do it. It cracks and leaves a place for salt to rust out pieces much quicker than the standard undercarriage.

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/foaming-the-frame.8412/
 
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RG7

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Skid plates could prevent some areas from being rinsed off if you’re just taking it through a car wash undercarriage rinse.

Best protection is a yearly winter prep with fluid film or similar
 

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Mattwings

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Skid plates seem thick enough to handle salt over time. It's the wheel wells and fenders that worry me. Salt laden snow and ice pack in there and may take forever to melt out.
I believe the fenders are aluminum and the whellwells are aluminum and plastic. Aluminum will corrode, but pretty slowly and it doesn't "rust"! Only the floor and frame, bumper and maybe skid plates are steel, from what I can gather.
 

dejones64

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I believe the fenders are aluminum and the whellwells are aluminum and plastic. Aluminum will corrode, but pretty slowly and it doesn't "rust"! Only the floor and frame, bumper and maybe skid plates are steel, from what I can gather.
Ahhh that's right, thanks for the reminder!
 

JT58Bronc

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I lived in New England most of my life. Living in FL now to get away from the rust, corrosion and road salt. It is manageable up there to keep your vehicles rust free- depends on how much work you are willing to do. I kept mine immaculate with no rust but it involves:

-Undercoating the frame, all steel suspension parts, skid plates, etc. when new or scrape and sand the rust off, primer, then undercoat. Truck bed liner spray works great too.

-Flushing the undercarriage after as many "salt" storms as you can with a hose nozzle at home or at a car wash with the high pressure nozzles. (I worked near a car wash at one of my jobs- and I would stop there first to rinse off the undercarriage before work. I'd wear rain pants, boots and rain coat. I also had an outdoor hot water faucet to rinse off the undercarriage at home). I'd only use the rinse, no soap just to to take the salt off of the vehicle. Focus was on the entire undercarriage, get to know where the nooks and crannies are and focus the rinse in those areas. I'd rinse the body too, the body is protected with paint, wax, etc. although I would rinse the body off. I'd save the washing and waxing the body when the vehicle was in the garage.

-Inspect and touch up any rust on the undercarriage once a year with primer, paint and undercoat on the undercarriage. I did this in the fall.

I bought a used 2005 Wrangler in Massachusetts that had just a bit of rust underneath it. As soon as I got it, I took off all of the skid plates, drive shafts, shocks, etc., sanded and painted them. Sanded and painted the suspension, tie rods, steering linkage, etc. and undercoated the entire frame. It was a lot of work but came out really nice. Never had any rust at all through a few winters before I moved. I would also undercoat and paint my brand new vehicles. Yes it was a lot of work and perhaps I am crazy although with my vehicles as one of my key investments I wanted to keep them as nice as possible and road salt and rust destroys them- and it can happen really fast in just one winter. I was sure glad when spring came, LOL.
 

85_Ranger4x4

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Steel bumpers are powder coated. Hopefully not just on the visible areas!
Everything else steel is gonna start rusting right away. Lol
Yay, that is a lot of fun. One little rock chip and rust spreads like wildfire under the powder coat.
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