Yes some of you will not agree with an undercoating application but I felt it was in my best interest in a location with a lot of salt/snow.

2013 FX4 Crew Cab.

With that being said I've started to notice some of the undercoating peeling off in the rear wheel wells and underneath the vehicle. I brought it in for them to look at it and they are going to redo it but i'm worried about what might happen down the road.

Are they going to scrape the old coating off and scratch through the initial paint on the parts and will this promote rusting/discoloration

Will it keep falling off due to poor preparation

etc

Just trying to figure out what to expect or how you would approach the situation.

Thank you

 

Unfortunately the only good preparation is to have the undercoating applied on a new vehicle with 0(zero) to low miles, driven on a sunny, warm day directly from the dealership lot to the undercoating application shop on a paved road.

What you now have will require sandblasting the undercarriage, a thorough cleaning/degreasing, and reapplication. Anything less than that will only cause more peeling/flaking. And will they be doing that ... Probably not. BUT ... As per the (assumed) guarantee that they provided, they will refund the original co$t of the undercoating job.

(probable)MEANING: You're screwed. *But then I'm an optimist.
.

 

Besides just having the truck brand new and completely clean I don't see what other kind of prep would be realistic. Most coatings I've seen put on paint require some kind of abrasive scuffing for prep, no way they could do that to the entire belly of a truck anyway. That sucks.

 

Gee that's tough. I wouldn't be doing any sandblasting and disturb org. paint. I think you are do a refund. Maybe it can be power washed or steam cleaned and resprayed. As it comes loose you could spray fluid film.

 

I went there and talked with them today and asked them what they felt the repair options were and they didn't really know, so they have Auto Armor coming into town next week to take a look at it and recommend a course of action which I will be there while they discuss.

I will keep the thread updated.

Thanks!

 

I live in western Maryland. Years ago (20+) undercoating used to be an option pushed by the dealers and I have even had it done myself back in the day. Eventually there was concern in the industry that if the undercoating got damaged it presented the opportunity for moisture to get underneath. After manufacturers started dipping the frame and undersides I never heard anything more about undercoating in this area. If you already have undercoating that is coming off I don't think I would let them put undercoating on top of what is left.....what is to say the remaining undercoat is not ready to loosen. Good luck!

 

Being in the body industry for 25 yrs I can tell you that undercoating that "hardens" like that isn't worth a pinch of $^!#. The best undercoating is undercoating that remains for the lack of a better term "greasy" its the penetration into the seams, nooks and crannys and keeps salts from biting into the surface that protects the best. Undercoating that hardens becomes brittle, rarely bites into the surface its sprayed onto and chips and flakes off. Water and worse yet salt water gets trapped behind the hardened undercoating that is left and actually creates more issues had you never undercoated to begin with. You would actually be better off spraying a qt of oil on all the sheet metal on the underside of your vehicle every fall right before winter. Makes a mess doing it but FAR better protection than what you have going on there.
We use WK products on all repairs. WK yellow inside new panels and WK black on anything exposed. Excellent product

 

I would have to agree with you I've been a body man for over 10 years and the best I've seen is usually the clear undercoat as it tends to stay softer or moist and doesn't flake off or chip it actually dents kinda like a rubberized undercoat

 

Cosmoline

 

I would ask for refund and ask stated above go with fluid film for now on. Living in NW PA I've seen a ton of vehicles destroyed by salt, and I've seen vehicles with undercoatings that harder usually fair the worst.

I can say personally I bought an 87 chevy from my step father that he had undercoated like this, in 04 when I was 20. The truck was his baby but he finally decided to move on. When I got it and started to run it hard, the undercoating started coming off in chunks and revealed that the frame was deteriorating in spots because of the undercoating.

My buddy now has an 00 f150 that we started working on a bit and the undercoating killed it.

Honestly most people in my family save motor oil and use that. They spray the whole undersides of their vehicles with it and you wouldn't believe how they last, better yet when working on things you rarely find bolts rusted off and in place and the whole process is alot easier.