I recently bought a 99 F150 and would like to undercoat it myself using Chassis Saver. Yesterday I was underneath the truck scoping it out, and I'm not real sure how I will get the undercoating up behind the various lines that are tucked in alongside the frame. Do you guys just paint those, too? Or is there a trick anyone can point to for getting in behind them? I was also wondering about all of the bolts and such---should you paint over them or not? They're rusty and could certainly use sealed, but I would imagine that would make them extremely difficult to remove if it was ever necessary to do so. Any thoughts? Thanks.

 

i wrapped mine in aluminum foil and painted away.

 

Careful with spray-on undercoatings to make sure the frame is completely dry - if not you'll be actually trapping water against the frame.

 

I used chassis saver on some parts of my truck. I used it on my rear axle, leafs, front cross member, frame etc. I DID NOT use it on the rear diff cover bolts because its suppose to seal everything super good. After i used chassis saver i went over everything with rustoleum undercoating spray. Turned out really nice but i still have a lot to do. I only did the outside of frame and rear axle because i could see them and they were bugging me being all rusty..

 

Thanks guys. I like the idea of using aluminum foil to wrap up the brake lines and stuff. I was under there looking at it, and all I could see was one big mess waiting to happen. Is it ok to paint the differential aside from the bolts? I thought I read somewhere you aren't supposed to paint it, but I wouldn't know why. Maybe they were more referring to not sealing up the bolts? I'm still on the fence with the other bolts and stuff on the frame---I think of how bad it sucks to paint a window shut; I can't imagine trying to get to one of the bolts on the frame once this Chassis Saver has cured.

For areas that can't or shouldn't be undercoated, can anybody recommend a good rust converter? Are they all pretty much the same? There's a Boeshield T-9 that lots of guys seem to like. I was considering that.

This truck is really very clean, except for this rust underneath, which I want to get ahead of. Thanks for any thoughts.

 

Wow, I'm right in the middle of painting the whole underside of my '00 F150 with Chassis Saver right now.

I dropped the rear axle, removed the fuel tank, skid plates, wheel well liners and spare tire.... I plan on being at this for quite awhile... I'll take lots of pics and post them up as I go... and also give any pointers I can come up with.

As far as painting over bolts, from what I've discovered in the past, you don't want to paint any exposed threads, but the heads can be painted and it doesn't take much to break them loose later, just might have to sand some paint off to get the correct socket to slip over.

 

Capri Debris, thanks. That would be great. I'll watch for your progress.

 

I'll start a thread in a couple weeks.... gonna be alot of other stuff included like rust repair and reassembly. Hope yours goes well and post pics of your progress too.

 

I was lucky and did mine when new back in 2000. I sprayed outside the frame rails under the doors and cab corner areas real well and it wasn't that bad. I used a few pieces of cardboard to block stuff I didn't want sprayed.
Glad I did it as even today the bottom is rust free and looking good but we also don't have much snow removal chemicals working against us either rusting stuff up....

 

Thanks Capris Debris. Good luck to you too.

2000FordStyle, were you spraying Chassis Saver? Or was it something else? And what kind of spray equipment did you use? How difficult was it to clean your spray equipment afterward? And were you working with your truck up on a lift, or did you have enough room while lying under it on the ground? I have a HVLP spray system for finishing wood, but it can spray anything, really. I've used it before for paint, for a kitchen cabinet job. I suppose though I'd be concerned about cleanup, and then too spraying in such close quarters that I essentially undercoat myself beneath the truck! Because I'll be working on the ground. But I can definitely see how spraying would have some advantages when it comes to reaching tricky areas.

 

I used the 3m qt size bottles I bought from a dealer supply house we used to have here. They specialized in collision repair and painting and had all sorts of body restoration items. It was a combo body protector and sound deadening product by 3m.
I had to buy a special sprayer to spray the stuff and the bottles screwed right to it but it was kind of expensive and not a HVLP type gun. It also had a longer flexible wand to get inside smaller area but I never used it. They said I could drill holes into the panels and spray inside but I just did the whole bottom of truck since I`m in a mild climate here in NC. Not much snow and snow/ice removal products on the roads that could help promote rust
It looked like this It was fairly easy to clean but was done while the stuff was pretty fresh and had not hardened up and cured all the way yet. If you run cleaner under pressure and then break down and clean it quick and easy.

I did do it on the ground BUT I put truck up on heavy duty jack-stands giving me extra clearance. I also had bought some painters plastic sheeting and put it all down on the ground first . This is A MUST as the stuff will spray/drop little droplets all over the ground. You will also want old clothes on and nothing like another car real close by. I also don't recommend doing it on a real breezy day. I do remember taping up along the rocker panels so it wouldn't get all over the painted areas on the bottom edges

Thought about doing the same thing to sons new car but have not gotten around to it. I did get a compliment from the exhaust people a yr or so ago when I got new exhaust. They said the rustproofing job on the bottom was done real nice and the people that did it did a nice job...Made me feel good

 

Hey 2000FordStyle, thanks for the additional info and the link. This is going to be a messy job. But that's OK. If I can get the rust taken care of, I think this truck might last for a pretty long time.