For anyone who doesn't know, I'm doing an frame off on a 66 Riv GS. All the factory undercoating has been striped. The bulk of the factory stuff was in the wheel wells. I'm looking for opinions on which direction I should go. I need to decide if I should re-undercoat the wheel wells to make it as close to factory as possible, or just paint them satin black. I'm attempting to do a concourse level resto where practical but its very unlikely the car will ever be in a concourse level show. BCA 400 point judging is more likely. I've never been dinged in BCA on two other cars for no undercoating in wheel wells. Painted wheel wells are easier to maintain cleanliness on so thats why I'm considering not undercoating them. The car isn't going to be a trailer queen, I plan to drive it to shows. What would you do?
I am doing a complete restoration on my car and I am leaving the smoth so that they will clean up easer at shows. No undercoat
Jason we use a product from Evercoat part #10 1348 premium Rubberized Undercoating and sound deadener. It goes on nice and cures out/hardens to a flexible satin black rubber. It will only be as thick as to how many coats you put on. It can be painted, very user friendly and very durable. Shoot me a contact number and time to call and I can give you more info on the product from many years of experience using it, if you need.
Used a very similar product Jason, by Dominion Sure Seal Group - available here in Canada - it's a black, sprayable, chip proof, rubberized rocker guard paint. It comes in spray cans, or you can apply it with a low pressure 'shutz' gun. It dries to a hard, durable, thin, textured surface, that helps to prevent chipping and abrasions caused by stones and debris, and inhibits the developement of rust, in addition to some sound deadning characteristics. It washes easily, and appears 'factory original' in the wheel well areas. I also used it in the floor and trunk area of the car too, after seam resealing, as well as the rear surfaces of both the rechromed bumpers that are prone to rusting over time !! :TU:
Most originals I see were undercoated so that is what I am doing on my resto. The road sand will beat the paint off in short order. Even on nice roads. Undercoating looks better that blasted paint.
my '72 gs is undercoated as well as the rear wheelhouses but the front fender lines are not. the car was originally undercoated, probably by the dealer.
I know for sure on the GM A-bodies, rear wheel wells were always undercoated with a brand name product Duane mentioned here previously. Fronts are satin black.....if you don't drive it much, paint will be fine.
The front fender wheel houses were not undercoated on my '70 Riv, and recall they were the same on the '66 I owned. So, I guess I would vote to just coat the rears like Buick did.
The original stuff in the wheel wells was called "body schutz". Not sure of the spelling on this one. On the A-bodies it was used in the rear wheel wells, and applied on the bottom of the trunk from the rear wheel wells straight back to the end of the car. The front wheel wells were also undercoated at some plants but not others. Duane
I used the 3M Body Schutz on my silver 4 spd car, as I wanted it as original looking as possible. I used a lot of it, 3 cans I believe ($$) just on the rear wheelwells. It produces a rather rough finish. Jason, you may want to compromise and use a modern undercoat that produces a smooth texture that is easy-to-clean
Jason, why not consider using a tough and durable product such as a Truck Bedliner coating or the sort? I think just leaving them painted satin black if you plan to drive the car, would lead to badly chipped paint in a short amount of driving time. That's kinda what I was thinking of doing on my 65 Riv GS I'm restoring.
Thanks again guys. Learned something new today! So that stuff is called "body schutz" That was some good "schut" back in the day to have lasted so long and 99% still intact. Walt, Did you think the 3M stuff duplicated the factory pretty close? Do you need special equipment to apply it? Would you use it again? Looks like I have a few options to think about here. Definitely leaning towards an undercoating though. After speaking with JESUPERCAT on the phone, the Evercoat stuff he mentioned also sounds like a very good product. It comes in a large aerosol so thats a plus for application. Rob, I brush painted two coats of 7777 Rustoleum in the wheel wells on the 67. It held up surprisingly well over 17 years and thousands of miles with very little maintenance. Brushing offered a more durable coating than the same in spray cans. Touch ups were required more for stains vs chips. Clean up was quick and easy after reaching my destination and thats what I really liked about it. The bedliner products are a good suggestion as well and they seem to be available everywhere now so I'll look at those too.
Ding Ding Ding you are the winner. I am planning the same for my car as there must be 10 lbs of undercoating on each wheel well. Scott
No, the 3M undercoat looks much better than the horrendous factory undercoat! I used an off-brand undercoat gun to apply it, ATD 6899 http://www.amazon.com/Advanced-Tool-Design-ATD-6899-Undercoating/dp/B000OV31PG It wasn't a good experience.... Gun kept clogging, and it used a lot of material to cover the wheelwells.... 3qts@ $20 each. Final result did give a textured finish, MUCH more uniform than the original. For an original appearance, I would use it again.
All these comments about factory undercoating As far I can find out there was no factory undercoating (sealer) expect for along seems in rear of the wheel weels ??? easy to tell it under the paint. - Undercoating was (and still is cases by the dealerships - my sons 2005 Dodge had none- $400 extra cost for dealer to do) Attached are some pictures of my 71 factory chassis paint - The floor pans are the front is black paint (almost seems to dipped lots of runs on edges paint) with body over spray (not all black like many restored cars are) see edge detail in pictures - notice inspection plates are not painted on underside no seem sealer on underside. - the back section is grey primer with body color mostly just over spray - the rear wheel wells are grey primer, seam sealer, black and body over spray - notice not completely covered with body color and the stone chipping, showing it was driven before undercoating was applied. seam sealer form center seem has been removed in pictures Inside lower rear quarters has a heavy black undercoating applied before paint along both seems, staring just back of wheel wells and going all the way to rear , and along inter seems a couple inches wide. According to the original owner- it was first undercoated in 1979. Front wheel wells are black paint (same as top side), bolts are black I also know of another completly original 71 GS - owner is ROA Boattail Tech advisor who bought his new - he says no factory undercoating also.
What we are talking about when we say "undercoating" is the body Schutz that was applied at the factory...............NOT................the sticky undercoating that was applied by the dealerships. Duane
WOW that looks great without the undercoating and probably weighs allot less! With it being that clean i can vouch for the truck bed coating! It is great and tough as nails! Scott
