undercarriage painting, rust treatment Options

[brer]

So is it lame to think about painting the underside of the car for a driver?

thinking about my new front suspension, and would like to strip off all of the undercoat, treat it and spray it with a modern paintable underside coating and then paint it the same color as the car.

I can do it with brushes and it will look good and i know they have some killer coatings that are supposed to be durable enough, but theres still a part of me that thinks maybe the black underside paint and some rubberized black undercoat would be more practical.

I've seen some photos here of people with their undersides painted, but how does it work out?

The other idea is to do all the underside painted green, and just use the black undercoating in the wheel wells.

hmmm. sunday leaves time for such ideas.

[rhodyguy]

rethink undercoating at all. if the suspension is out of the way, clean it up well, degrease, treat the rust, prime, color match the paint and shoot it. most if not all autobody/paint supply companpanys can color match the paint code and load it in spray cans. i took this route and was very pleased with the results. touch up is a breeze too. undercoating will only hide any further deterioration and you don't want to go through all the undercoating removal again.

k

[brer]

thats kind of what was scaring me about the current undercoating.

what about rocks kicking up and dinging the fenders from the inside?

this is why i was thinking about the thick underbody coating that you paint over once its on. works as sound insulation too. if it chips then metal isn't exposed, just the paint comes off this coating and the coating still acts as protection for the metal.

I was thinking of treating the metal, painting it and then putting this stuff on and painting over it with the color of my car. Jeeesh that sound like alot of time under the car dont it?

[brer]

I think its about 1/8 inch thick, and you can spray it with a low volume sprayer and it goes on smooth with just a light texture. cant remember what its called.

anyone else know this stuff?

[rhodyguy]

i've never experienced the rocks flying off the tire issue that i'm aware of. if you cover the bottom of car as you've implied, you had better make damn sure you have all the rust taken care of before you conceal everything. yes, you will spend some time on your back if you don't have access to a lift. is it a whole lot of fun? no. or, pay someone to do all the grunt work for you. your call. which ever road you take, i would suggest you check around and look for a firm that will steam clean (NOT PRESSURE WASH!) the bottom of your car while it's on a lift, just before you start.

k

[brer]

whats the deal with pressure washing?

[McMark]

The product we use that goes under paint is call RockerSchutz and it's from 3M. I would go this route and apply it a little heavier where the rocks from the tires will hit.

[brer]

thanks.