I am curious as to how many of you Screw owners have had your truck undercoated by either your dealer or aftermarket. I chose not to have mine done, but I'm thinking of getting it done by someone else.

I would like to hear your thoughts on the pros/cons of undercoating.

Thanks in advance,

Jim

 

I would like to know what undercoating is?

I have heard of it but have no clue what it is or what benifits it provides...

 

Undercoating is a spray adhesive (well sort of) that is applied to the undercarriage of a vehicle to protect it from rusting. It's kinda like the spray in bed liners. Esp here in the East where we have snow, road salt etc.

I know there are places to go to get it done (aside from a dealer). I am just trying to weigh the benefits vs $$$ etc.

Hope this helps.

Jim

 

I haven't heard of undercoating being applied since 1976. Undercoating is not the same as rustproofing. It is an elastomer coating resembling spray-in bedliner material (but I'm sure not as durable) that was used to coat the chassis of your car. The common "myth" was that it prevented rust, but in many cases, because of the myriad of dangling pieces in a chassis, complete coverage was not possible, thus resulting in "trapping" moisture. Undercoating was also much less resistant to tearing and scraping than bedliners, which allowed additional moisture into the chassis.
The benefit touted by most "old timers" was the reduced noise and vibration coming from the car structure. It acted as a huge noise dampening blanket under the car. Car chassis' are much tighter than decades ago (Oldsmobile actually "tuned" the Aurora chassis to resonate at 25Hz) and NVH (Noise, Vibration and Harshness) has become a major design objective. IMHO, I don't think today's modern vehicles benefit enough from undercoating to warrant the cost (or risk).
I can remember seeing aerosol cans of undercoating at auto parts stores years ago (it was always kind of a joke, like the do-it-yourself roll-on bedliner kits).

 

Undercoating is still done at several companies here in the north. I had mine done yesterday. It may be a little early to tell but my truck does seem quieter. Less road noise. I can't put my spare back for a week as it would stick to the tar like substance. I also had the paint treated so I don't have to wax as it is guaranteed for 5 years. I got tired of waxing and having it wash off if any soap got on it at the car wash. Just my 2 cents.

 

My truck came from Ford with undercoating. I have since bought some of Ford's spray undercoat to touch up a few spots. I have a 2001 King Ranch.

 

Undercoating your f150 will greatly reduce road noise. Std 150's have little or no sound insulation and are basically big resonating metal boxes.

I have dynamated (how to posted in Interior section) the interior and undercoated the cab and it makes a HUGE difference on the highway. My SCREW is about as quite as the wifes Navigator. makes long trip much more enjoyable.

Moden undercoaters will not plug drain holes or do other things to interfere with proper drainage from various truck areas. Just make sure you go to someone that does this professionally and do not just crawl under there and stary spraying the bottom with undercoating as you will likely cause more trouble.

I paid 169 to have my SCREW done. There were two options 129 and 169 and the difference was the thickness of the coating.

My .02

Dave

 

Probley the reason I have never heard of the undercoating is because in San Diego we really don't have the salt on the road issue, and were lucky to get rain 20 days out of the year.

By the way if anyone knows any rain dances, please send us some rain! I really miss it and my truck needs washed.

 

Man! I am still wet from running from my truck to the building... That was almost 2 hours ago... Check this out... It has been pouring all day and we've had around 2 inches of rain for the past 4 mornings. The ground is now saturated and the forecast calls for more of the same through Monday! Looks like we are on the way to a little break in the deluge...

That's why I am heading to the coast to go fishing!

 

i paid the money to have undercoating done on my truck. ive had it on for about 2 years now. at first i thought it was nice it made it look better by covering the bare frame. no it has began to chip and peel. another thing is if you hit with water with any pressure behind it, it comes right off. i dont think it is worth it.

 

Boring weather out here...

 

Thanks for the input guys. Still not totally sure what to do.. Has anyone ever had the Zie Bart done on there vehicles?

Check this out...
http://www.ziebart.com/prodServicesMain.htm

Jim

 

They say it is a good product, but you have to take it back every year for a checkup or the warranty is void. Do you have a Ming centre? Their product seems a little better and they have a paint treatment that is guaranteed for 5 years. You don't have to wax again. Just my 2 cents.

 

I had a vehicle Ziebarted in the 1980s when I lived in Indiana. They not only coated the underside of the vehicle, but also interior cavities.... they drilled small holes in the doors (the latch panels) sprayed the interior of the doors, plugged the holes with plastic buttons. At that time, I doubt that they had any technology that prevented plugging drain holes, but I did not have any problems with drainage, so I assume when I returned it in a week for inspection, they cleared all the drain holes.

The undercoating was sprayed on thick (1/8"), and after 11 months, it was falling out in sheets from the front wheel wells. I took it back to them. They said the paint on the wheel wells was too slick (it was a year old when I originally had it done), so they scuff sanded it, and resprayed. No charge for the repair.

I had the vehicle for 10 years, only rust was surface rust from rock hits.

Don't know about Ziebart now though.

In the south, the only reason for undercoating is looks.. keeps the underside all black....