kevinmarks Posted March 24, 2008 Report Share Posted March 24, 2008 hi all as i intend to use the car quite a fair bit what would be best to use underseal or stonechip i intend to coat all underneath of car including inner wings also inside outer wings Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AndrewMAshton Posted March 24, 2008 Report Share Posted March 24, 2008 Kevin, my advice would be to use one of the wax based products that stay soft, ie don't go off. My concern with the hard underseals is that rusting can occur behind the coating, a good wax based underseal, regularly applied and sprayed into enclosed areas works, and it is easy to get off with white spirit if you need to touch up etc, Good luck, Andrew Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trevor S Posted March 24, 2008 Report Share Posted March 24, 2008 Kevin. my TR4 was painted in 2 pack paint which I believe is more resistant to chipping than cellulose. The underneath and lower sills and lower apron below bumper level were painted with gravitex stone chip before the 2 pack top coat was added. Gravitex is visible through the paint as it has a rough finish but I believe stonechip paints are now available that don't show as much. I have then regularly applied waxoyl, and have been pleased with the results over the last 10 years. The car has only been used for road use however, no rallying, off road stuff etc, and very little use in the winter months. I too would be concerned about harder underseals cracking with movements in the body and retaining water dirt/damp casusing corrosion. Trevor. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
littlejim Posted March 24, 2008 Report Share Posted March 24, 2008 I think I am approaching that stage of the restoration soon too. At present it looks like the underseal material was applied over the top of the body colour paint on the underneath of the tub. What is the usual approach to this? a. paint tub, then apply underseal. b. apply underseal, then paint tub. c. all of the above. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 Hi Folks, I had the same as Trevor - primer, stone chip, top coat, waxoyl. Underseal is good in theory but if water gets behind it you will not notice till it is too late. Stone chip is much thinner and more forgiving to reveal the nasty things. The textured stone chip/paint finish along the sill line and below looks good (mind you I still like tank tops). Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TR 2100 Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 At present it looks like the underseal material was applied over the top of the body colour paint on the underneath of the tub. When new, the car would be painted first, as standard, and underseal applied on top if indeed any underseal was applied. That doesn't mean it's the best system. Preparation of the metal is obviously all important, but if you want the underseal to get the best adhesion, choose whatever primer is recommended to do that. I doubt if that would be a gloss paint. I went with a thin sprayed underseal and body colour paint on top, but I had the whole shell blasted. I'm not sure that would work if you were doing it bit by bit by yourself in your garage. I believe the rally boys go for something similar, so there can't be too much wrong with that. (Not that it will protect you against rock impacts, but rally cars must experience more flexing that a road car). The top coat will crack a little and show the underseal underneath, but you can choose a spray underseal in some different colours, so you may be able to get a reasonable match. AlanR Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kevinmarks Posted March 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 When new, the car would be painted first, as standard, and underseal applied on topif indeed any underseal was applied. That doesn't mean it's the best system. Preparation of the metal is obviously all important, but if you want the underseal to get the best adhesion, choose whatever primer is recommended to do that. I doubt if that would be a gloss paint. I went with a thin sprayed underseal and body colour paint on top, but I had the whole shell blasted. I'm not sure that would work if you were doing it bit by bit by yourself in your garage. I believe the rally boys go for something similar, so there can't be too much wrong with that. (Not that it will protect you against rock impacts, but rally cars must experience more flexing that a road car). The top coat will crack a little and show the underseal underneath, but you can choose a spray underseal in some different colours, so you may be able to get a reasonable match. AlanR thanks all yes it seems to be a bit of a grey area as to whats the best i am having all bodywork acid dipped and e-coated then primed so i might even go for stone chip and then a flexible underseal.im not to bothered about seeing paint colour on inner wings im much more interested in protection kevin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
trtom Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 if your car is bare metal then best way is coat of etch primer, coat of stonechip, coat of wet on wet primer then top coat and wax as needed Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted March 26, 2008 Report Share Posted March 26, 2008 if your car is bare metal then best way is coat of etch primer, coat of stonechip, coat of wet on wet primer then top coat and wax as needed Exactly Tom thats how I always do mine and it not only makes them bomb proof it also looks much better than blacked out arches. Remember Underseal will dry out over time and any chips in it will allow water to travel under the coating and quietly rot out the panel underneath which can go unseen for a long time until its too late. Stuart. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
NeverRunning Posted March 26, 2008 Report Share Posted March 26, 2008 thanks all yes it seems to be a bit of a grey area as to whats the best i am having all bodywork acid dipped and e-coated then primed so i might even go for stone chip and then a flexible underseal.im not to bothered about seeing paint colour on inner wings im much more interested in protectionkevin Hi Kevin, How are you managing to get the body e-coated? I thought this was a factory process only? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kevinmarks Posted March 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2008 Hi Kevin,How are you managing to get the body e-coated? I thought this was a factory process only? hi a company called SPL in the midlands do the complete process acid dip then e-coat costs approx £1700 and thats including the vat they advertise in classic monthly Quote Link to post Share on other sites
david ferry Posted March 30, 2008 Report Share Posted March 30, 2008 I have used Surface Processing on a number of different projects and always been very pleased with the results. Here is a link to their website Surface Processing Ltd David Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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