Fancy paint on bottom of your car

[70 sublime]

I am rounding up some parts to start some work on a 70 Charger I have
It is a blank canvas and has been sand blasted clean of all paint and sealed up after any metal work has been done

I have never had a Charger that I painted the bottom side to be as nice as the top side and considering doing it to this car
Also want to be able to drive it

Any of you guys that have taken the time to paint the bottom of the car how well is it staying nice ?
How many miles do you put on it a year ?
Would you use a different paint to stick better or more coats to make it thicker ?

I suppose if and when it starts to fall apart I could just go back and under coat the car

Just wondering how long it will last if I drive 5000 miles a year for say ten years if it is worth the trouble to start with

[birdsandbees]

Did my 200 mile inspection, since bolting mine all back together, inspection 2 days ago. I have a mile of gravel road, in and out, every time I go for a cruise. Not a single rock chip (and I haven't even undercoated my wheel wells), nothing I coated in RPM over the past 4 years has rusted and my cosmoline dip LCA's haven't changed in appearance one bit.

[XH29N0G]

I went with paint and had the original undercoat removed.  The person who did the work said that his experience was that the underside paint held up as long as the car was kept clean and driven to air it out.  I do not know how true that is, but I now we get condensation in my area and that does cause things to rust.  That was in 2012.  I have driven about 1000-2000 miles a year in mostly dry weather.

Your post made me go to take a look because I was not good when I put the car away last and there is dirt in and behind the wheel wells.  The paint under the dirt still looks OK, but I will not know if it truly is until I get under there and clean it properly.  .  I will need to clean.  
That was in 2012.  I have driven about 1000-2000 miles a year in mostly dry weather.

Third picture is of dirt behind wheel
Fourth is after wiping dirt off area with my fingers.

The wheel wells are also very dirty and probably have some rubber stuck up in them from time at the drag strip.

If I clean them (possibly this weekend) I will let you know whether they are damaged.

I have not driven on gravel or in other adverse conditions.  Can count on my two hands and two feet how many times I have been in the rain or two the drag strip with it. 

What I do not know is what it looks like inside some of the frame rails.

[mr. hemi]

Mine was painted with Dupont Centari in about 1982. It has been driven approx. 20000 miles since then and stood up very well. Always kept in climate controlled storage. I will get some photos and post. It is on the lift right now.

[70 sublime]

OK you guys with the painted bottom of your cars

Did you use any more layers of paint than on the top side ?

[birdsandbees]

Nope, same 4 coats of Blue and the bottom only got one clear, as apposed to the top that got cleared, interfaced and then two more coats of clear to cut and buff.

[kent]

Mine was just done last night. Roger my painter used a flex agent in the paint to help with chipping. We did use sprayable seam sealer in the rear wheel wells and on the upper part of the front fenders. He has fixed a few front fenders due to stone chipping. Base coat with two shots of clear. This picture taken after first shot of clear.  Taking her out side this morning to let her bake in the sun. I'll get some better shots. But here is one with my phone.

[70 sublime]

 

[Challenger340]

Lots of great ideas here... I like the 'cosmoline' dipped LCA's 

I guess the N97 Broadcast Sheet Cars were factory undercoated as part of the 'Noise Reduction Pkg' being California Sale Only ? 

How do you guys find road noise being clean bottomed undercarriages ? or are you using other sound deadening methods on the interior like sound matting ?

[XH29N0G]

I cannot hear the road noise over the engine noise. So probably not a big deal, but see what others say.  I have mufflers and resonators as well so I am not particularly loud, but I am louder than stock.

I will try to send a note about whether/how the paint on the bottom of the car is different from that on the top.  It looks like there is less clear coat from what I see.

I got a promotion today.  Don't think it comes with a pay raise, but I'll find out soon.  It does come with $5000 to spend however I want but not on myself - probably use it to pay someone else when I need help. 

[kent]

One in the sunlight.

[birdsandbees]

Lots of great ideas here... I like the 'cosmoline' dipped LCA's 

I guess the N97 Broadcast Sheet Cars were factory undercoated as part of the 'Noise Reduction Pkg' being California Sale Only ? 

How do you guys find road noise being clean bottomed undercarriages ? or are you using other sound deadening methods on the interior like sound matting ?

Thanks, I've got 5 gallons of the $$$ stuff if anyone wants to have theirs done.

Don't really notice any road noise, no more than when the complete underside was undercoated anyhow. This is complete stock exhaust, and you'll note I'm not really into using my brakes! 

https://youtu.be/oYVRGXryjHA

[Kern Dog]

Kent, that underside looks fantastic!

[kent]

Thanks Greg! Appreciate it. I'll let Roger know. He's the man! Turned out to be a real good friend now. We seem to be on the same page when it comes to stuff. And he's not scared to do something over if it's not right.  I might add. But at 65 he says this is his last one.  He said he would not of done it if it was in bad shape. I try to treat him right. I bought him that rotisseri so he wouldn't have to take his life in his own hands every time working on my car. Like his old death trap rotisseri. lol

Sorry for ranting on your thread Sublime. Don't want to hi-jack it.

I asked Roger about the flex agent. He said he doesn't put it in the paint he adds it to the clear. He swears it seems to help with chipping. He puts it in all the clear on my car. At a slightly added cost. I said go for it. And I guess I mentioned the sprayable 3-M seam sealer to help absorb the stones impact when hitting under the fenders and wheel wells. Not a fan of the front but looks good on the back.

[alfaitalia]

With our bumpy chipping strewn roads and salt residue left after winter I thing a car underside would only last a couple of years before the stone chip damage let the "golden body lightener in"! I re-underseal EVERYTHING under my cars (not exhaust!)....even if they have factory underseal!!!

[Charger-Bodie]

Paint it! If it gets chipped up down the line , undercoat it then!!

[70 sublime]

Paint it! If it gets chipped up down the line , undercoat it then!!

That is what I was thinking
Was just trying to get an idea how long it might last or if there was anything special to do to make it last better

Seems just paint it is winning the battle 

[Moparpoolman]

I would paint it, but if you ever wanted undercoat, you could always do it on top of the paint at a later date.

[birdsandbees]

Paint it! If it gets chipped up down the line , undercoat it then!!

Exactly, why I haven't even bothered to undercoat my wheel wells. Waiting for stone chips for the undercoat to bond to!   Might be awhile, as despite living on a gravel road I have zero chips at this point. Guess I can drive faster..

[70 sublime]

Paint it! If it gets chipped up down the line , undercoat it then!!

Exactly, why I haven't even bothered to undercoat my wheel wells. Waiting for stone chips for the undercoat to bond to!   Might be awhile, as despite living on a gravel road I have zero chips at this point. Guess I can drive faster..

How many miles on your paint job ?

[Kern Dog]

I've had cars since I got my license in 1982. When I got my '70 in 2000, I wanted to have a nicely painted underbody. I don't drive on dirt roads except for in my back yard. No gravel roads. I have only been in the rain a few times. I do have to put the car on the lift to wipe it all down sometimes. It is a CA car and only has the thick sound deadener/undercoating in the wheelwells.
My other '70, AKA Jigsaw, is also a CA car but was factory undercoated. I recently replaced the trunk floor. I am strongly leaning toward scraping all the undercoating from everywhere except the wheelwells, just like Ginger.
I tried an air hammer today and I think that it is too violent for the job. It jumps around too much and hits too hard. I will have to do a search on what others have used to remove their undercoating.
The look of a nicely painted underside is  my personal favorite. That is why I get annoyed when I see the guys at Graveyard Carz roll a car out with Rhino Liner or some other black coated underbody while claiming "WE build cars to look exactly as they did the day they were born"....
First off, cars are never "born", they are built. Secondly, Why not claim instead that they Build these cars better than they were when new or some other thing?

[kent]

Propane torch and several different shaped scrapers. I even used a table spoon to do inside the rear wheel wells. Seemed to match the contours nicely.  Just slightly heat up the undercoat and it scrapes right off. Move around and don't put too much heat in one spot. I got around a 5 gallon bucket full of undercoat.

[birdsandbees]

I removed it the easy way..

[Back N Black]

My car was painted underneath when i restored it 15 years ago and 20,000 KM's. It looks just as good as the day it was painted. Once in a while i crawl under and clean it up. I think the painter said he used a single stage urethane, anyhow it is rock solid. I'm in Canada and it it stored in winter in garage with no heat, with the garage door opened everyday to get the snow blower out.

[mr. hemi]

Lots of great ideas here... I like the 'cosmoline' dipped LCA's 

I guess the N97 Broadcast Sheet Cars were factory undercoated as part of the 'Noise Reduction Pkg' being California Sale Only ? 

How do you guys find road noise being clean bottomed undercarriages ? or are you using other sound deadening methods on the interior like sound matting ?

Well, mine is a Hemi 4spd car and radio delete. All you get to hear is the Hemi scream.

[kent]

I'd like to listen to that too

[chargered]

Heck, I'd be happy just to have some fancy paint on the top of my car let alone the bottom.

[kent]

Heck, I'd be happy just to have some fancy paint on the top of my car let alone the bottom.

That's what I wanted when I started???

[Midnight_Rider]

I have heard of some folks using color-matched Raptor liner for the underside as well.