Underbody Coating

Under body coatings are the protective coatings used to protect the vehicle chassis from external environment, to ensure the integrity and safety of cars. The use of UBC plays a very important role in the service life of the vehicle. In general, it is required to spray such a protective coating in the manufacturing of the new car. Due to the highly competitiveness of new car sales, car producers have pressure to reduce the manufacturing cost, so that they reduce or even completely eliminate the use of under body coating where it is not to be easily seem by car owners.

In Indian road conditions, a cars underbody is most prone to corrosion. Underbody coating provides long term protection from corrosion to car’s underbody. It also protects parts like internal body panels, frame rails and other inner cavities that are not physically accessible but are prone to corrosion.

Benefits:

1. Prevent from stone chip

There are thousands pieces of stones on the road, and they are constantly hitting your car on the under body, wheel arches, sills and the trunk lower part while driving on the road. In some cases, the under body might be scratched by uneven road. As such the thin corrosion protection coating on the metal sheet will be destroyed and leave the bare metal exposed to the air, which will soon come to corrosion when contact with the moisture in the air. If not promptly getting anti-rust treatment, then the rust will soon spread to large areas. Under body coating or the anti-stone chip coating is a thick elastic layer which could not be easily damaged by stone chipping or scratch, therefore could basically protect the metal sheet of the under body.

2. External influence

External environment, such as the baking from the hot road in summer, the road’s  anti-frozen gent in winter, raining water and the salty water in the atmosphere, will attach the under body of a car. Particular in coast areas, the wind from the sea will bring more salt to the air, which will accelerate the corrosion and reduce the service life of a car. While the under body is covered by the thick and tight layers, it would act as a strong barrio to prevent these external substances attaching the metal sheet.

3 Keep the value

A car could keep a high value while it is well maintained. It means that if a car is well treated on under body protection, it could keep the car in a good condition and extend the car’s service life, or you could charge a higher price in a used-car trading.

4 Improve driving comfort

After curing, the under body coating becomes a thick elastic coating covering the whole under body, which could act as a good dampening material, significantly reduce the vibration of the metal sheet and reduce the noise inside the car.

5 Minimizes Sound: It minimizes the sound from underneath the car resulting a noiseless, smooth driving experience.

6 Heat Insulation: It insulates the interior of the car from extreme temperatures from beneath the vehicle providing a comfortable cabin experience.

DISADVANTAGES:

1.Risk of damage during application:

Care must be taken while applying underbody coating. This thick rubberized paint if not applied properly, can get into moving mechanical parts and cause premature failure – such as into the U-joint or CV joints in a cars propeller shaft or drive shafts. They can also hinder smooth movement of suspension components, if applied incorrectly. And there’s also the risk of overspray on to the car’s paint finish on the lower edges of the car.

2. It won’t do anything about the corrosion which is already present.
For an undercoating to be effective, it must be in place before the underbelly of your car begins to rust. If you apply it over corrosion, you won’t be making an improvement. It will look better… until the rust breaks its way through the layer of undercoating you’ve applied. If you have rust present, then it must be removed, with the metal repaired, before the undercoating is applied for best results.

3. It works best on new cars.
If you’ve purchased a used vehicle, then the cost of preparing the underbelly for an undercoating might be more than the value of the car. You must remove all the residue from the bottom before it can be applied. Failing to do so will seal in the debris that is present already, which can lead to more problems. The best time to have an undercoating applied is when a vehicle is purchased new because it offers a superior level of protection then.

4. An undercoating is not impervious to damage.
An undercoating can provide a hardened layer of protection against dirt and debris that may cause corrosion. Depending on where you drive, however, the lifespan of this product may be minimal. If you drive your vehicle on gravel roads or dirty areas frequently, you reduce the integrity of the protective layer. You might find that your undercoating begins to chip off in as little as 25,000 miles because of this issue. Driving in a salty environment is not the only threat to the integrity of this product.

5. It must be reapplied every 3 to 5 years for best results.
The only way for an undercoating to provide ongoing protection for your vehicle is to have the service repeated frequently. Most owners can have a new layer applied in about 5 years without worrying about their underbelly being compromised. In salty or destructive environments, however, you may need to have a new undercoating applied every 3 years for best results.

Figure below shows an example of how Underbody coating of car looks before and After coating: