complete underside restoration?

[monterey1962]

Was under S.U. tonight. The usual surface rust is pretty much everywhere. Nothing seems to be anything of a major issue, at this point. What is a good way to go about an underside restoration without removing the body from the frame? Strip down everything and undercoat? Prime/paint? I'm talking about the whole works ... fuel lines, floor pans, trunk floor, frame, rear axle, etc. What would be some good tools to use for this job? Thinkin' I may wait 'til next year when I get an air compressor and attachments.

[boXman]

spray on bedliner would be a lot better than undercoating, altho more expensive.

[Lincolnmania]

wirebrush and por15 all the bare metal......i'm not sure about por 15 over the surface rust on the painted floor pans.....check their website

[P72Ford]

POR 15 will go right over rust, IIRC. If you want another option; 3M rocker shutz (yes that is the name). Its stone gaurd. You need a special gun (less than $75), and a compressor. You can paint it after too. Its really durable.

I personally would do the sand, prime paint. I like the smooth surface look. Good luck, as I think this will be a substanial project.

[Tiggie]

I spent the weekend sandblasting under the wagon to clean up the brake and fuel lines. The supply side fuel line basically vaporized (it didn't even leak before!). I don't recommend sandblasting a car on the frame!

The problem with undercoating is the rust continues to grow under it. If there is no rust to begin with, it's great.

I'd take a wire brush on a grinder and open up the rust. Get some "Rust Converter" paint and paint all the rusty spots. This probably means brushing some because it is hard to get to all of the frame and lines with the spray. Then top coat with two coats of paint (or one coat paint, one coat undercoating).

[monterey1962]

wirebrush and por15 all the bare metal......i'm not sure about por 15 over the surface rust on the painted floor pans.....check their website

I do believe the Por15 won't take well to the bare metal. At least, I think that's what the can said. I'd use this in the hard to reach spots that I can't get the brush into.

I personally would do the sand, prime paint. I like the smooth surface look.

At this point, I'm leaning towards that process. I want to do this once, and right the first time. I'm hoping to do a complete restoration of the underbody. The overall plan is to pull the rear axle from the car and replace all rear bushings, along with replacing all front end components (bushings, worn ball joints, etc). Body mounts are also on the list of replacement items (if I could find 'em).

I may, however, put this off until next spring. That is when I hope to have the money saved up for a nice air compressor and attachments. This would also allow me to do a much cleaner job of painting/undercoating the car since I'll also be getting a paint gun. I'm getting tired of messing with rattle cans.

[saiyaneye]

Why not sand blast, I know it can cause panel warp, but who cares about floors? Just wondering because I want to sand blast my trunk floor.

[Tiggie]

Why not sand blast, I know it can cause panel warp, but who cares about floors? Just wondering because I want to sand blast my trunk floor.

It won't hurt the car. But you will get sand in places on you that you never ever wanted sand.

[saiyaneye]

The trunk floor is pretty clear, not too much stuff I can accidentally hit right? I really want to do this w/ rubberized undercoating to help with sound deadening.

[Tiggie]

The trunk floor is pretty clear, not too much stuff I can accidentally hit right? I really want to do this w/ rubberized undercoating to help with sound deadening.

As I said, it's not really gonna hurt the car at all. Sandblasting will just make a mess on you. I had sand in my eyes, nose, mouth, ears, belly button, between my toes, in my vagina (j/k) , in my armpits, everywhere!!! And I was fully clothed wearing a hood! It just gets annoying to get all that sand on you. That is why I don't recommend sandblasting under a car.

[saiyaneye]

Damn it i wish each of my arms were 9ft long :p