
Which Corrosion Inhibitor Spray Brand Wins?
In our test we compared 7 corrosion inhibitor spray options head to head. CRC Heavy Duty Corrosion Inhibitor came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.

CRC Heavy Duty Corrosion Inhibitor
Price shown in test: $12.60 for 10 ounces or $1.26 per ounce
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Flex Seal
Price shown in test: 92 cents per ounce or $12.89 for 14 ounces
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The quick take
The short version of why each pick lands where it does, built straight from the measured results.
“I'm really impressed with CRC. It definitely did the best coming in first place.”
The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Products are listed in the order they finished.
Pressure washer survivability
- 1CRC Heavy Duty Corrosion Inhibitor
I'm really impressed with CRC. It definitely did the best coming in first place. The high pressure washer did not remove the CRC from either metal panel
- 2Flex Seal
Flex Seal actually did very well. It survived the pressure washer and there is a little bit of rust that's formed where the rock chips occurred. In my opinion, a second place finish
- 3WD-40 Specialist Long-Term Corrosion Inhibitor
WD-40 actually did a better job than Fluid Film and Corrosion X withstanding the pressure washer... it did really seem to cause a lot of issues for WD-40 Specialist which finished third
- 4Fluid Film
the pressure washer seems to remove the Fluid Film from the clean metal panel. However, the panel that had Fluid Film on it that was already rusted is looking pretty good
- 5Corrosion X HD
the pressure washer seems to have washed away the Corrosion X protection
- 6Corrosion Block
It appears that the pressure washer removed the protective barrier provided by the Corrosion Block product
- 7Rotella T4 15W-40 used motor oilnot tested
Dirt/dust road test
- 1CRC Heavy Duty Corrosion Inhibitor
Flex Seal and CRC seem about the same. CRC may look like it has more dirt accumulation on it due to the color, but actually CRC turns into a dry surface and it just doesn't seem to be a magnet for dirt
- 2Flex Seal
Flex Seal actually did a very good job. Not a whole lot of dirt accumulated on it
- 3WD-40 Specialist Long-Term Corrosion Inhibitor
WD-40 Long-Term Corrosion Inhibitor definitely seems to be about the same as used motor oil. Quite a bit of dirt collected on the panels
- 4Fluid Film
Fluid Film definitely caused a lot more accumulation of dirt
- 5Corrosion X HD
CorrosionX is definitely by far the worst. Look at that. That is a mess
- 6Corrosion Blocknot tested
- 7Rotella T4 15W-40 used motor oilnot tested
24 hour oxidizer test
- 3WD-40 Specialist Long-Term Corrosion Inhibitor
WD-40 Rust Specialist is also doing a fantastic job. I don't even see rust where the hammer has come in contact with the steel
- 4Fluid Film
Fluid Film just totally crushed it. It did a fantastic job at blocking the rust
- 5Corrosion X HD
CorrosionX is actually doing a fantastic job so far in the testing. I don't see any corrosion forming where the CorrosionX has been applied
- 6Corrosion Block
the Corrosion Blocker isn't blocking the rust. You can see quite a bit of rust beginning to form
- 7Rotella T4 15W-40 used motor oil
it's just not going to do a very effective job. As you can see, it's definitely better than the control, but there's still a lot of surface rust that has already formed
- 1CRC Heavy Duty Corrosion Inhibitornot tested
- 2Flex Sealnot tested
48 hour dirt/water test
- 4Fluid Film
Fluid Film fourth
- 5Corrosion X HD
Corrosion X heavy duty third place
- 6Corrosion Block
Unfortunately, Corrosion Block isn't doing too well compared to some of these other brands. It is doing better than used motor oil as well as the control
- 1CRC Heavy Duty Corrosion Inhibitornot tested
- 2Flex Sealnot tested
- 3WD-40 Specialist Long-Term Corrosion Inhibitornot tested
- 7Rotella T4 15W-40 used motor oilnot tested
All measurements (4 more)+
24 hour oxidizer plus dirt/water test
- 1CRC Heavy Duty Corrosion Inhibitor
CRC definitely seems like a first place finish with Flex Seal coming in a close second
- 2Flex Seal
Flex Seal coming in a close second
- 3WD-40 Specialist Long-Term Corrosion Inhibitornot tested
- 4Fluid Filmnot tested
- 5Corrosion X HDnot tested
- 6Corrosion Blocknot tested
- 7Rotella T4 15W-40 used motor oilnot tested
48 hour stationary test
- 1CRC Heavy Duty Corrosion Inhibitor
CRC did an amazing job. I'm really impressed with how this product performs
- 2Flex Seal
Flex finished in second place just ahead of Fluid Film and just behind CRC
- 3WD-40 Specialist Long-Term Corrosion Inhibitornot tested
- 4Fluid Filmnot tested
- 5Corrosion X HDnot tested
- 6Corrosion Blocknot tested
- 7Rotella T4 15W-40 used motor oilnot tested
Rusted panel test
- 7Rotella T4 15W-40 used motor oil
for the metal that already had some rust pits it looks like used motor oil actually made the problem worse
- 1CRC Heavy Duty Corrosion Inhibitornot tested
- 2Flex Sealnot tested
- 3WD-40 Specialist Long-Term Corrosion Inhibitornot tested
- 4Fluid Filmnot tested
- 5Corrosion X HDnot tested
- 6Corrosion Blocknot tested
48 hour test
- 7Rotella T4 15W-40 used motor oil
I don't really see any benefit of used motor oil over the control. They look to be about the same
- 1CRC Heavy Duty Corrosion Inhibitornot tested
- 2Flex Sealnot tested
- 3WD-40 Specialist Long-Term Corrosion Inhibitornot tested
- 4Fluid Filmnot tested
- 5Corrosion X HDnot tested
- 6Corrosion Blocknot tested
How it was tested
- dirt and dust accumulation while driving on a gravel road
- simulated rock chip damage with a chipping hammer
- accelerated rusting via an oxidizer of hydrogen peroxide, vinegar, and salt over 24 and 48 hours
- high pressure washer survivability test
“I'm really impressed with CRC. It definitely did the best coming in first place.”
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