I'm returning after selling my '03 F150 in 2009 and buying a Silverado. My insanity has been cured and I picked up a 2016 XLT 5.0 today. The only thing I regret about my '03 is not having it ziebarted. It has very bad rust and I feel bad for it every time I see it.

I don't want the same thing to happen with my 2016. I did use it on my '09 Chevy and, so far, no problems. Anyone do this for their aluminum F150? I keep my vehicles very clean and wash them regularly in the winter to keep the salt off.

Thanks, it is good to be an F150 owner again.
Paul, Sandusky Bay, Ohio, USA

 

Welcome back to the Ford Family

You are worried about the aluminum body panels rusting????? I think you should be OK

 

Id do it anyway if you're concerned about rust. The frame and suspension are still steel and will still rust.

I have an 08 and live in Vermont. They use A LOT of salt during the winter. I spray it off weekly and respray the undercarriage with satin black rustoleum every summer. I have 0 noticeable rust anywhere.

I know it's a little more work, but I think it looks better than getting it sprayed and being covered with a layer of dirt and grime that sticks to the coating.

 

For some reason, lots of people have fallen for the marketing hype that suggests aluminum won't have any rust issues. Although it may not rust, it will still corrode. It's called "oxidation" and yes, it happens to aluminum too - it just looks different. (White powder instead of brown powder.) So using some sort of corrosion / oxidation inhibitor is not a totally off the wall idea. And as has already been said, there are still a good number of steel components on the new F-150's that can rust.

Getting back to Ziebart though, I'm not (personally) sold on it's value. I've seen some simply miserable work done by various local Ziebart shops - sometimes on my own vehicles. So even the best corrosion protection is only as good as the person who applies it.

 

Hi Matthew,

Thanks for the welcome. As for the aluminum rusting, it doesn't rust but will corrode. As an example, my '03 had an aluminum hood that got a stone chip. It grew to the size of a quarter in very short order and required the proper prep and primer to repair. I have seen some of these with holes eaten through. Ziebart offers a product for aluminum trucks. The owner of the Toledo, OH dealership has it on his 2015 F150.

I Ziebarted my 2009 Silverado and take it back once a year for inspection and touch up. It costs ~ $40 and is the some of the best money I've spent. They completely clean the chassis and underneath of the truck and touch up any place needing it.

Take care,
Paul

 

Hi 2Stroked,
I think that the no rust/corrode thing with aluminum is folk lore. I say this because I've not heard this advertised by Ford and my dealer never mentioned. It is like Stainless Steel can't corrode. There are many grades of stainless with some having a higher content of iron and they will rust/corrode. Even the higher grades in adverse atmospheres will corrode.

As far as I can tell, Ford's use is more about saving weight so smaller engines can be used to do the same amount of work and get better mileage. It would not surprise me to see them drop the V8 option after the turbo V6 and 4s become widely accepted & fuel economy becomes important again.

I think I'm going to go with the Ziebart. I'm not so concerned with what I can see but what I can't see. My '03 is rusted along the wheel wells where the panels meet and in the bottom corners of the cab; places that can't be hosed out.
Thanks for your reply,
Paul, Sandusky Bay, Ohio, USA

 

Paul,

Yes, I agree it's folklore - but the average salesperson doesn't know that and lots of them are propagating the misinformation. Trust me, I spent many, many years in the metal finishing (plating & painting) business, so I know all about corrosion, oxidation, rust, protective coatings, base metals, etc. And you are correct in that Ford (and soon GM) went to it to save weight so as to improve mileage.

As for Ziebart, I'm still really not sold on it. I had my current truck undercoated by them and took it back twice the first month for huge areas they missed. Then some areas started to fall right off. When I pointed that out during my first annual free inspection and re-spray, they said, "No problem, we'll just re-spray it." I then asked, "But what about any rust that might have started when the stuff fell off?" Lots of dumb looks and back pedaling at that point.

A few months ago, I happened to be talking to a friend of mine who runs probably the best collision shop in town. I asked him what he thought of Ziebart. He said "I repair a ton of cars that have been in collisions and supposedly had full Ziebart undercoating and inner body rust proofing. You ought to see how little product is actually inside the body panels and how much area has absolutely none of their product on it at all. Next time you want a vehicle rustproofed or undercoated, bring it to me." That's all I needed to hear.

I'm sure certain Ziebart technicians actually do a decent job, but I'm not willing to bet my significant investment in a vehicle on them anymore.

Tom

 

I used to have my cars zbarted long ago. It seemed to work good when frames usually rotted out in 100k miles. I live in Maine. I didn't do my 2003 silverado and the frame rotted so that couldn't be repaired enough to inspect at 84,000 miles. I've changed to Ford, I've got a 2015 xlt and love it. I found a krown undercoating shop in Vermont about 200 miles away from me. It's a special penetrating oil that they spray everywhere for $129 and you have it redone every year. The company is from Canada where there are hundreds of franchises there. I don't know if Vermont is the only one in the US. Ohio isn't too far from Canada??? Krown.com. I think that a fair number of private garages in the US do fluid film undercoating. It's a different formula but a similar result. I chose Krown simply because Canadians swear by it. Other than that I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

 

I've heard many good things about the Krown product. And I like the theory behind it a lot better than Ziebart. Oh, and if you think you use a lot of salt where you are, stop by where I live someday. If you don't have anything to do on a Saturday night, you can go out to the garage and listen to your vehicles rot away.

 

I use fluid film. Have had good luck with it.

 

I plan on getting my yet to be built 2016 F150 sprayed at Krown, but just the undercarriage. No drilling of the panels. Krown is designed for steel and who knows what affect it might have on the various adhesives used in the aluminum body panels.

 

I haven't been a fan of Ziebart ever since I had a vehicle done by them years ago and found that their product clogged the drain holes in places like the inside if doors which caused water to accumulate and actually cause rust.

 

I'd go with the yearly oil type process.

 

Hi Daniel,
Thanks for this info, I found a Krown Dealer a little over an hour from me in Monroe, Michigan and I'll give them a call tomorrow to see if their product has any adverse impact on aluminum body panels or the bonds. I've also written to Krown to inquire about the use on the F150.

I like the idea of this as opposed to Ziebart but Krown's website does not state that this was formulated for steel and is not strong on using it for aluminum. If you go to their website, read the FAQs.

When I hear back, I'll post,
Paul, Sandusky Bay, Ohio, USA

 

http://www.fluid-film.com/testing.html