Undercoating my 73 240z

[JUANZ]

Hi to all , im replacing all my floor and i will like to know whats the best undercoat i can used to complete this project? I will be protecting the rest of the under car all at one time please help what the best undercoat product out there????? I do know the rhino is good but its very expensive please let me know ....

[trykflyr]

I've used the rattle can stuff from NAPA before. Put it on the rig I drove up here to Alaska from Vegas before I left there. When I traded it in after 180K miles and 6 Alaskan winters it still looked fine. Make sure the underside is clean and oil/grease free. Cover EVERYTHING you don't want coated (including you) and have at it. Go heavy in the corners and the along the seams.

[mikewags]

I've used some rubberized undercoating sold at the local auto parts store. Goes on easy and works really well. Great for covering rust as well to stop it in it's tracks. Any of the brands should be fine.

The stuff I got costs about 7 bucks a can.

http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductDetail.aspx?MfrCode=MMM&MfrPartNumber=03584&CategoryCode=3280

Here's a picture of the wheel well of my car undercoated.

Edited September 18, 2008 by mikewags

[cunniwj]

I've used some rubberized undercoating sold at the local auto parts store. Goes on easy and works really well. Great for covering rust as well to stop it in it's tracks. Any of the brands should be fine.

The stuff I got costs about 7 bucks a can.

http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductDetail.aspx?MfrCode=MMM&MfrPartNumber=03584&CategoryCode=3280

Here's a picture of the wheel well of my car undercoated.

Mike, you can cover rust but sooner or later it will bite you in the arse

[Carl Beck]

Hi to all , im replacing all my floor and i will like to know whats the best undercoat i can used to complete this project? I will be protecting the rest of the under car all at one time please help what the best undercoat product out there????? I do know the rhino is good but its very expensive please let me know ....

Are you stripping the entire undercarriage down to bare metal? With everything taken off the car? (suspension, fuel/brake lines, etc)

Under what conditions, what road types, etc. do you plan to drive the car?

Will you have the car on a rotisserie - in a place that you could spray anything you wish?

Do you have a compressor and spray gun - or will you be forced to use spray cans?

Without knowing all the above - it's hard to make a recommendation

FWIW,

Carl B.

[mikewags]

Well, my car had very little rust---most was surface rust. I used a drill with a wire brush to take most of the surface rust off, used some naval jelly to eat it up; then painted over.

Small bits of surface rust can be killed with paint though.

[7277]

best bang for the buck i'd HAVE to recommend is 3M Underseal/Undercoating PN 08882 or 08883.~$12/can. the stuff goes on thick and wet and dries almost to a hard rubber shell in about a 2hrs...weird, but awesome. much better than generic Autozone stuff. good luck trying to scrape it off...

another tidbit about it that i like is that it's nice and BLACK...not a dark-brownish color like the generic brands

Edited September 21, 2008 by 7277

[texasz]

No mention of POR-15 yet? I was planning on using POR-15 on the under side of the car and engine compartment. Thoughts on that?

[mgmoreau]

No mention of POR-15 yet? I was planning on using POR-15 on the under side of the car and engine compartment. Thoughts on that?

I thought POR15 was meant to be used to cover surface rust. Does it also work for undercoating?

[ToXIc]

I thought POR15 was meant to be used to cover surface rust. Does it also work for undercoating?

good question

i was planning to used pour-15 as a base coat then put down a undercoating on top of it...

the 3M product sounds like a good idea... ( my preference but they make the best stuff)

[mgmoreau]

Are you stripping the entire undercarriage down to bare metal? With everything taken off the car? (suspension, fuel/brake lines, etc)

Under what conditions, what road types, etc. do you plan to drive the car?

Will you have the car on a rotisserie - in a place that you could spray anything you wish?

Do you have a compressor and spray gun - or will you be forced to use spray cans?

Without knowing all the above - it's hard to make a recommendation

FWIW,

Carl B.

Hi Carl,

Now that I have a lift I plan to start working on cleaning up the undercarriage of my car.

Here is my situation:

1. Although I live in NE, this car will never be out in the weather, even the rain during the summer months.

2. I do have a compressor but no spray gun yet. I am bringing the car to my body shop to get some work done so I would use them to do any painting or undercoating.

3. It looks like the original owner had it undercoated.

A piece of the undercoating came off the fuel tank and the original glossy black shows through in that one spot. I am tempted to try to remove all the other undercoating or would I be better off leaving this protective coating on?

When these cars came off the assembly line there was no undercoating. I know the suspension parts where painted black but what is the correct color for the underbody structure, black or the color of the car? Given my planned use would it be OK to bring the undercarriage down to the metal and paint it the correct color but not undercoat it?

Thanks in advance for your reply!

Marc

Edited November 4, 2008 by mgmoreau

[Zs-ondabrain]

I thought POR15 was meant to be used to cover surface rust. Does it also work for undercoating?

Use the POR-15 as a base to not only stop rust but to prevent rust from happening. It's more of a preventive maintanence thing. I'm using it on everything rusty as well as clean metal, before paint and undercoating.

Dave.