any body clean the underside of your car?

[Dodgenut64]

i have an AlterKation unit on the way and a goal that by this time next year having my 64 dart sitting on new suspension tires and wheels. with that goal, i decided that id like to sand or buff or what ever works best at getting surface rust and stuff off the bottom of my car to make the underside nicer. i was wondering if any of you guys have did this hard task, if so what did you use? any advise would be nice. also what did you cover it up with, primer or some sort of sealant? thank guys

 

[fishy68]

I first removed all the old undercoating by first heating it some with a propane torch then scraping it off with a putty knife. WARNING: Hot undercoating hurts!!! Ask me how I know!! Then after the blood finally ran back into my arms (several days later) I suited up and sand blasted it. Then I did the POR-15 treatment and painted it with POR-15 then undercoated it. Looks like new and should never rust. Man was that a miserable project!! Took me about a week to do it and another day to pick all the crap out of my ears and other unmentionable creavices. If you can put your car on a rotisery and rotate it on its side it wouldn't be bad but when your lying on your back it's no fun.

 

[Eric_S68]

Use a Bug n Tar Remover (some brands work better) aerosol and a putty knife to get the caked on undercoating off. After all the undercoat is tar based.. Tape all nooks n crannies if ya wanna sandblast (ask how i know) Getting that sand in the frame rails or under the cowl area and it's not fun gettin it ALL out.

 

[Cerwin]

i have never done it personally but i in time it will. but when i managae to get around to it i do believe i will plast it with sand. laying around will get time consuming and tedious. plasting not on a rotisory is still laying around and messy but it will cut the time down and will get alot of places your putty knife or hand cant get.

Cerwin

 

[fishy68]

i have never done it personally but i in time it will. but when i managae to get around to it i do believe i will plast it with sand. laying around will get time consuming and tedious. plasting not on a rotisory is still laying around and messy but it will cut the time down and will get alot of places your putty knife or hand cant get.

Cerwin

You can blast all you want but if you don't first remove the undercoating the sand will bounce right off. Believe me I tried and I had a good industrial blaster.

And Eric's right. Getting all the sand out after blasting is a chore too. The best way I found is to using a long skinny air blowgun. It'll take you a couple of hours of blowing back and forth every direction but you'll eventually get it out. Wear your blasting hood while doing this or you'll be eating more sand too.

 

[Coyote Jack]

That's the way I did it. Propane torch and putty knife,screwdriver,chisel and anything else that looked like it might work to get the undercoating off. Then the sandblasting. BUILD A ROTISERIE!!!!! If you want plans for one I can email them to you. The blasting is a very miserable job when on your back. The cleanup is no fun either. But I wouldn't do it any other way. You find every little weak spot that is there by blasting. I epoxy primered the underside but be very carefull if you use epoxy, it is nasty stuff as in it can kill you. I then put 2 coats of Tremclad over the primer. It takes about a month to cure properly but it does a good job.

Jack

 

[Dodgenut64]

thanks for the info. wow this should be fun. wow dont oun a sand blaster, wonder if i can rent one? i dont think i got alot of undercoating, maybe just inside the wheelwells. have to take a better look.