protecting undercarriage

[bkelly]

My restoration is moving much faster than I planned. I'm ready to drop the rear subframe and prep the undercarriage. The only metal that needs replacing is on the corners of the floor pan. What little rust there is is only on the surface in a few places. I am going to be media blasting only the bottom of the car in my garage, using plastic bags to make a skirt around the car to create a "booth", then crawling under that and making one hell of a mess. Once I'm down to metal, what are the steps I should take to finish it off so it won't rust again? As much as I like restoring cars, I don't want to have to go back over this in 15 years. I refuse to use undercoating as I hate the stuff and my car will most likely never even see rain. My first Z had about 3-4 layers of undercoating that trapped in moisture and caused it to rot out. Should I just prime/paint like it is now? How is that rust encapsulator that Eastwood makes?

[zbane]

I think you will find many people have had great success with POR-15 products. Run a search on the stuff and you will find all sorts of info, including some great write ups on how to use it. The process for use is detailed, but everyone who has used it seems to be very pleased.

http://www.por15.com/

[beandip]

I agree , do a search there is a ton of info. One thing follow the directions from POR and you will be vary pleased. Cut any corner and the stuff will peal off like a decal. Done correctly it is damn near bullet proof. Gary

[fuzze]

I to will be doing my undercarriage this winter And from what I saw yesterday on my friends resto project Por-15 is the only way to go . I intend to follow the directions to the word as this was also the advice I received .My question to you all is ,the previous owners had done undercoating with gravel guard and now I need to remove this crap , what are my steps other than the obvious scrapping and wire wheel grinding . Is there some sort of solvent ?

Thanks

Chris'

[bkelly]

I lucked out and the undercoating on mine (what little there is) is rock hard so it comes off with a scraper. My other one was drowned in it. I used a heat gun and a scraper on that. It takes a long time. You then have to go over it with a solvent. Eastwood makes something called undergone I believe that is made for removing undercoating. They also have a POR15 substitute that is cheaper.

[fuzze]

Thanxz , the scraping will start soon , it's supposed to snow tomorrow so the winter resto session will start to unfold .

Chris