Ok, here are my final results from testing. I have to say that my testing may have been a tad harsher than Mike's. Instead of spraying the salt solution on the test pieces, I poured it on with a jug and left the ends of the pieces soaking in a "puddle" of water at one end. You can see from the pics below which ends wound up sitting in the water. With that. In some of the pictures you can also see where I buried the pieces in the dirt and left them buried for a week. I did this to allow for showing how the metal protectors would do after being cleaned. Overall, in my testing, the AMSOIL MPHD accomplished one thing over the others. Where the others not only allowed more encroachment under the protectors from the sides as well as the areas that had been eaten away by the salt solution, it also cleaned better than the others after being buried in the dirt. Overall, they all performed better than I expected, like I said, my testing was HARSH to say the least. Much harsher than anyone here will probably ever put them through in the real world as an under coating, but I wanted to make sure that I knew exactly what they would put up with. Enjoy...
These pics show how I soaked them in the salt water. I used a plastic saw horse with a "shelf" so that I was able to raise one end and leave the other end soaking in the salt water solution. The solution was mixed with one cup of table salt in one gallon of tap water. Beside the pieces in the first pic, you can see the "floating" rust I mentioned in earlier posts that came from the untreated piece of metal.
This pic shows how bad the untreated piece rusted.
This pic shows how different the pieces looked after treatment. LPS3 is first on the left, then the AMSOIL MPHD next, then the ACF-50, then the untreated piece.
This pic shows how the three treated pieces held the "floating rust"
These pics show how they looked after cleaning the floating rust off of the areas that had been soaking.
LPS3 did have to be cleaned, but didn't take much to get the floating rust off. Unfortunately, doing so left it to rust worse during the next stages of the testing.
AMSOIL MPHD was harder to remove to clean the same area, but had similar results of being just about completely compromised once cleaned in that area
ACF-50 was a LOT easier to clean, but also rusted faster than the other two once cleaned.
The untreated piece at the time of cleaning off the floating rust...
This pic shows the top side of the pieces after this cleaning, although the ACF-50 was much easier to clean, it began to rust much faster than the AMSOIL MPHD and LPS3
This pic shows the bottom side of the pieces after at the same time. It clearly shows the damage from the soaking in the salt, but also shows where the salt solution was able to sit on the pieces where they were touching other parts of the "shelf". They are in order, LPS3 - bottom AMSOIL MPHD - middle ASF-50 - top.
It must also be reiterated that I purposely did not treat the "sides" of the pieces because I wanted to find out how each would allow encroachment under the treated areas FROM the untreated areas. I did this because as hard as we try, it will be almost impossible to get in ALL the nooks and cranny's under our vehicles. So this pic also shows how much rust was allowed to spread UNDER the metal protector.
All three treated pieces spent a full week buried like this. Yes, they are really under that dirt...lol
These pics show how the dirt stuck to the treated pieces.
ACF-50
LPS3
AMSOIL MPHD
These pics show the treated pieces after cleaning the dirt off with a water hose in the gravel. I will say, that after being buried in the dirt, the AMSOIL MPHD and LPS3 both showed signed of staining from the dirt where the ACF-50 did not. That will probably never happen in an under coating application because most people who get into the dirt/mud, will more than likely wash their vehicles before staining accurs.
ACF-50 - Middle AMSOIL MPHD - Top LPS3 - Bottom
Bottom side
Top Side
I then set the pieces up on a picnic table with one end lifted with a piece of 2x4 to ensure water didn't just sit on them.
LPS3 - top ACF-50 middle AMSOIL MPHD - bottom
This is the same view a few days later. The ACF-50 began to rust faster than the other two.
This is the bottom of the pieces in the same spot in the same order.
Now, I waited and left them there long enough to be covered by snow, we wound up with one of the largest snow storms in years and I waited for it to melt off. The good news? The rust seen above is the limit of the rusting for the most part. None of the pieces fell victim to a LOT more rust. But my final assessment is as follows:
AMSOIL MPHD
The AMSOIL MPHD does not clear up to an actual clear coating. There remains a yellow tint to it long after applied. With that said, as an under coating, of the three tested, the AMSOIL MPHD won hands down. It not only cured solid within 24 hours, (the other two never really cured completely), it created a hard shell that without soaking in salt water would have lasted and been hard to remove without using something along the lines of mineral spirits.
LPS3
The LPS3, while being a seemingly decent metal protector, never fully cured, leaving a sticky, tacky covering that in an under coating application would in my opinion collect road grime in a BAD way. It like the AMSOIL MPHD is very hard to remove, but just isn't the kind of product that folks who take pride in their rides would want on them.
ACF-50
Overall, the ACF-50 had the best looking coating because after treatment is was almost completely invisible. However, it also never completely cured and left a greasy film that attracted dust, bugs, etc. It was also MUCH easier to remove whether being soaked by the salt water or not. It also allowed encroachment of "moving rust" from the sides and other odd places more so than the other two.
In the end, my testing has shown me that AMSOIL MPHD indeed out performs these other two metal protectors and will be the best choice of product of these three for use as a vehicle under coating.
I do apologize for taking so long for my testing, but like said I wanted to make sure that my testing was as harsh as possible. I also want to make sure that no one can say that I am one of those "Snake oil" salesmen that are all about AMSOIL AMSOIL AMSOIL, all the time. I wanted to be sure that I could honestly and faithfully continue to back AMSOIL MPHD to my customers for the long term and not be concerned with selling them products that actually work as advertised.
