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Underbody Coatings Underside of vehicles serves as an intermediate between metal components of a vehicle and outer environment. Underbody of vehicles is prone to damages due to harsh environmental conditions. Coatings are applied to the underside of vehicles to protect them against…
Krishna Kanth
updated on 22 Sep 2022
Underbody Coatings
Underside of vehicles serves as an intermediate between metal components of a vehicle and outer environment. Underbody of vehicles is prone to damages due to harsh environmental conditions. Coatings are applied to the underside of vehicles to protect them against factors such as corrosion, chemicals, moisture, water damage, and chipping of the underbody. Automotive underbody coatings offer a protective layer to vehicles’ underside.
Most of these coatings provide chemical and corrosion resistance, along with several other properties based on different product formulations. Protection of underbody and wheel arches against chip damage is achieved by applying automotive underbody coatings, which protect the metal from debris of gravel, stones, salts, etc. tossed by the road.
Coating process of a vehicle body (automotive coating process) comprises minimum five layers of paint, while the underbody coating process comprises the first two layers in the overall coating process. These two layers provide durable protection against corrosion; however, damage over time requires renewal of these coatings. Automotive aftermarket service providers often provide these services during scheduled vehicle maintenance.
Automotive underbody coatings also offer protection against humidity, moisture, and wet conditions that can seep through the undercarriage of a vehicle through joints or cracks in the paintwork; and cause corrosion.
Elasticity of polymers used in automotive underbody coatings allows for low noise when struck by road debris compared to that with uncoated underbody. As a result, vibrations of vehicles are dampened and kept to a minimum.
The obvious pros of undercoating are the protection it provides to the carriage of your vehicle. If you live in an area where salt and sand are used on the roadways in cold weather, these materials can be corrosive to your vehicle. Undercoating gives you an extra layer of protection against rust and corrosion, protecting your car. Undercoating will eventually wear out, but you can get years of protection from it. Even vehicles in warmer climates gain protection as debris is repelled and kept away from eating at the vehicle.
The service might help with the cost of your insurance.
Vehicular insurance is based on risk. If you reduce the risks of a claim by giving your vehicle a proactive service, of which an undercoating applies, then it may lower your overall premiums. States which see high levels of corrosiveness, such as Hawaii, typically see the steepest discounts with this advantage. Northern and coastal states in the U.S. might also see this benefit.
When examining the vehicle undercoating pros and cons, you do want to look at potential downsides to getting undercoating. Undercoating will work best on new vehicles that have not been exposed to road conditions. A used vehicle may already have residue on the bottom of the car or even have spots of rust and corrosion. Undercoating will not help you if corrosion already exists and the corrosion needs to be removed first before it can be applied, which can be expensive for you.
adds weight to the vehicle.
Although the amount of weight added to a vehicle with an undercoating is minimal (between 10 to 20 pounds for most vehicles), there is a small element of fuel economy to consider. When your vehicle weighs more, the distance you can travel on a single tank of fuel is reduced. The undercoating might reduce your efficiency by up to one mile per gallon, which creates a small additional fuel cost over time. Still, the effect on mileage of this additional weight is negligible compared to the effect a driver can have by the way they drive.
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