Possible undercoating for salt protection?

sphanna

sphanna

Well-known member
I would like to coat the underside of my Fordor this winter with a product that could be used as an undercoat for salt protection. Have any of you done that and if so what do you recommend as a product? I want to use something that comes in spray cans if possible. Or possibly I could brush it on. Maybe brushing is the best course of action, now that I think about it. Product or advise?
 
well problem with undercoating is 80% of the time it ends up trapping moisture somewhere causing more problems than if you didnt use it....
 
I agree, but I thought if I spray washed it well and let it sit in my heated garage for a month, that It would be dry and OK to do.
 
When I was a kid, my dad always had his cars undercoated. Any new ones he bought were undercoated before he took delivery on them.
 
I use Eastwood undercoating. But, it is necessary to sandblast the metal so it has a good bond. Then I paint over the undercoating with chassis black paint., but I would never take my antiques out in the salt.
 
old farmers around here used to take a tank sprayer and put in some kerosene and a quart of motor oil then spray the heck out of the nooks and crannies and undersides, inside panels, etc. the ones that did that once or twice a year never had any problems with rust.

Brian W.
 
3M makes a rubberized undercoating in a spray can. I used it to protect some damaged front panels on my 1999 Olds after a deer hit. It sprayed on nice and is doing it's job, but I don't know how it would do on the bottom side with road salt hitting it. I sure wouldn't drive with salt on the roads.

When I worked at the dealership in the 70's one of my jobs was to prep and undercoat new cars. My brother's girlfriend (later wife) bought a new Pontiac and had it undercoated. I gave it the best possible protection I thought possible. Years later my brother sold the car and when I asked how well the undercoat worked, he said the car had plenty of rust. So, the best protection is to not drive in salt.

In the 60's I brushed grease all over the bottom of my Corvair Spyder, and that was working well for the couple years I drove the car until some jerk totaled it when he turned into the rear of the car and sent me sliding through the grass and wrapped around a telephone pole.
 
i have found Herculiner to be very good, its around $80 a gallon, just thin a little bit of it to brush on the corners and edges of brackets so it can flow in, let dry and then go back over and brush the whole frame, any bed liner tho wil with stand salt water, if oil and gas cant hurt the the stuff salt water sure cant
 
All my antique cars are professionally undercoated at Ziebart and I couldn't be happier. The Model A Fords are very reasonable because of the. Small surface area to be protected. Wayne
 
I rarely drive in winter and then ONLY when the roads are completly bare of moisture. Never in melting snow because of the salt water spray or mist. I only have driven when temp is enough below 0*F so any moisture is frozen. I have soaked the fender to running board seams etc.in oil & grease. I just wondered if I could do more to protect it.

I appreciate all of your suggestions and advice. Thanks for the input. Gives me things to ponder.
 
I drive mine year around. If it is wet and the roads have been sanded and salted, I just hose everything underneath off when I get home.
My car has seen at least 25 trips to Bonneville over many years and the salt there will get into every possible nook and cranny so every night when you come to town you just hose it off good....So far it has worked fine. I don't use any undercoat. I just keep lots of paint on everything.
 
I agree with Pete that good paint on everything is probably the best protection. My Model A's don't have much of any paint left on the bottom side, and that's why I don't even like to drive them in the rain or on wet roads. It wouldn't bother me so much if they were restored and had good paint on the bottom side.
 
Up here in salt central, there is a product called Krown rustproofing. It is a reddish coloured oil that has been formulated to give excellent creep qualities. It works really well and is the only product that will keep a new car together more than a few years. The biggest problem is that it is really messy and keeps oozing out of joints and seams.
None of the tar based products work and in many cases do more harm than good by trapping moisture beneath them.
By the way, it is what I use as a penetrating oil as well.
 
I remember working on a truck, the owner drove it on the beach, he had a homemade concoction of kerosene and tar and asbestos fibre, it never dried, i remember it because you got covered with it every time I had to work on it, but never problems with rust

Anyplace that salt moisture can get trapped needs to be treated with something ----between the fenders and aprons ---down inside the body where water going down between moveable windows and the body drains


I would treat all areas with waxoil or a similar treatment---- https://www.tetrosyl.com/tetconnect/workshop_consumables/wax-oil_rust_proofing/TWO006-
 
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