Challenge

Underbody Coating

VVidhan Shah2 Nov 2022

Write a one-pager about Under-Body Coating and its purpose, its types in detail, and its pros and cons.

UNDERBODY COATING:

A car’s underbody is exposed to the most wear and tear caused by muddy water, potholed roads, stones, and other obstacles on the road. Because it’s not in plain sight, we often do not see the damage.

Underbody coatings are the protective coatings used to protect the vehicle chassis from the external environment to ensure the integrity and safety of cars. The use of underbody coating 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.

It also protects the parts like internal body panels, frame rails, and other inner cavities that are not physically accessible but are prone to corrosion. The underbody coating provides long-term protection from corrosion to the car’s underbody. The underbody coating also helps in reducing the NVH(Noise and Vibration Harshness)level of cars. The underbody coating also increases the life span of the car.

The underside of vehicles serves as an intermediate between the metal components of a vehicle and the outer environment. The underbody of vehicles is prone to damage 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’ undersides.

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 the debris of gravel, stones, salts, etc. tossed by the road.

The coating process of a vehicle body (automotive coating process) comprises a minimum of 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 the 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.

The underbody coating that is most commonly used on cars in India is a thick, rubberized paint that forms a 2-3 mm thick coating all along the underside of the car when sprayed on. In general, it is required to apply such a protective coating in the manufacturing of a new car. (Depending on the Manufacturer the thickness of these stock coatings varies).

You also get a thinner clear coat underbody coating which is like a lacquer that coats the entire underside of the car. Some even inject rust-preventive coating materials into crevices such as the bottom of doors and door sills, to protect them from rust.

The resistance of the Underbody towards corrosion & erosion also depends upon the thickness of these coats.

Types of underbody coating:-

Now let us look at the various kinds of automotive underbody coating for vehicles.

Rubberized Underbody Coating

This is generally thought of as the best underbody coating for your car. It preserves the underbody well, protecting it from scratches. Applying this to the undercarriage is not much of a hassle either. Rubberized underbody coating is easy to apply and offers sound cushioning as well as protection from dust, moisture, and dings or dents. In addition to your undercarriage, rubberized underbody coating is also safe to use on wheel wells and quarter panels, and dries to a soft rubbery finish that prevents further rust, damage, or moisture seeps.

The coating can be painted over and, if necessary for bodywork, can be easily removed with an underbody coating removal spray. Overall, rubberized underbody coating is generally the best option for protecting your vehicle's undercarriage, as it provides the simplest and best protective measures against rust and moisture.

Wax Based Underbody Coating

paraffin or wax-based underbody coating is made from oil and they have greater deflective abilities for road salts and grime. The paraffin or wax base helps repel ice and water better than the water-based underbody coating. This type of underbody coating also needs to be replaced once a year.

Asphalt Based Automotive Undercoating

Asphalt-based underbody coating is the strongest underbody coating available and it is used in military vehicles and on all-terrain. Asphalt-based underbody coating will last longer and is the best option for vehicles that endure heavy road use. Asphalt-based underbody coating is the thickest coating and has the most damage-resistant properties.

Best suited for lorries, trucks, and large vehicles this provides a greater degree of protection compared to rubber-based coatings. However, asphalt-based coatings contain little amounts of rubber for sound-insulation purposes. The process of applying this coating is a bit time-consuming though.

Polyurethane Underbody Coating

This coating closes up splits and fractures on the underbody of the vehicle. It offers up good protection against corrosion and also bonds with the metal. Unlike in the case of asphalt-based coating, you can paint over the polyurethane coating.

Polyurethane coating is easy to apply and works by sealing up cracks and seams. The compound displaces salt and moisture and protects the unoxidized metal from rust.

It’s often sold in canisters that are ready to preload into an application gun. It, however, requires some surface prep work before application, like degreasing, and applying an etching primer to the bare metal.

Purpose of Underbody Coating:-

1. Protection against corrosion

The main reason for getting an underbody coating is to prevent rusting and corrosion.
This is not only required during the monsoon season but also in hot and humid climatic conditions.
The coating is also a must if you tend to live in coastal regions where the humidity in these areas speeds up the process of corrosion.
This can be eliminated by asking your car service professional to apply a rubberized anti-rusting coat on your car’s underbelly.

2. Protection of vital car components

The car underneath holds vital components like the silencer, engine, and numerous other wires and small engine components for different purposes in the car.
The car’s underneath cannot simply be led to corrosion and further damage due to the car being driven during any weather condition.
To avoid further major issues, the antirust coating is a must for the underbody.
This is again extremely important if living in an all-year monsoon season or moderately high rainy regions as underbody coating is highly necessary for these situations.

3. Car’s resale value

Just ensuring your car looks outside and inside is not enough.
One must take great care of the underbody as well as the resale value would be greatly affected due to high corrosion.
It should not be left uncared for which would lead to permanent damage and huge loss and might not be taken for resale.
Therefore, regular inspection of the car’s underbody must be carried out to retain the car’s value.

4. Reduces NVH

It minimizes the sound from underneath the car resulting in a noiseless, smooth driving experience.
Being in a country where not all roads are smooth enough and are filled with potholes, stones, debris, and uneven road leveling, the underbody coating prevents and absorbs all noise created by the contact between the surface of the road and the car by minimizing this.

5. Prevents paint from chipping

When your car travels at high speed on a highway, the small stones and debris hit your car’s underbody in this process and may lead to the chipping of the underbody paint.
Hence, it is advisable to have a thick layer of underbody coating to prevent paint from chipping.
Thus, you must get your car’s underbody coating done from time to time to ensure the above factors do not affect your car.
Here at Pitstop, we offer underbody inspection and coating services hassle-free.
hence it is highly recommended to get underbody coating not just for the monsoon season, but for any season throughout the year.

PURPOSE OF UNDERBODY COATING:-

Protect against rust and corrosion:

The primary objective of getting underbody coating is to prevent the metal components that are exposed on the bottom side of the car which damaged from corrosion. The adverse effect of the corrosion can be overcome by applying a rubberized anti-rust coating all over the belly of the car.

Prevents from the stone chip:

There are thousands of pieces of stones on the road and they are constantly hitting your car on the underbody, wheel arches, sills, and the trunk lower part while driving on road. In some cases, the underbody might be scratched by uneven roads. 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 in contact with the moisture in the air. If not promptly getting anti-rust treatment the rust will soon spread to a large area. Underbody coating or anti-stone-chip coating is a thick elastic layer that could not be easily damaged by stone chipping or scratch and therefore could protect the metal sheet of the underbody.

External influence:

External environments such as baking from a hot road in summer, the road’s&nbpa;anti-frozen gent in winter, rainy water, and the salty water in the atmosphere, will attach the underbody of car areas, and 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 underbody is covered by thick and tight layers, it would act as a strong barrio to prevent these external substances from attaching to the metal sheet.

Keep the value :

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

Improves driving comfort:

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

Prevents Paint chippings

Running on the highway or while pacing through a city road, you will often encounter sharp gravel or any other unattended object hitting the belly of your car with high momentum. This scrapes and chips off the metal from down below. A thick layer of under-body coating comes to aid and minimizes the effects of such contacts on the body

Minimize sound:

It minimizes the sound from underneath the car resulting in a noiseless, smooth driving experience.

Heat insulation:

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

Pros:

It provides an extra layer of protection against rust and corrosion
It will extend the life of the vehicle
It can be applied to damaged areas
It can be self-applied
It minimizes the sound from underneath the car
The coating does not chip away when hit by stones.
It insulates the interior of the car from the extreme temperature beneath the vehicle.

Cons:

It won’t do anything about the corrosion which is already present
It adds weight to the vehicle
It works best on new cars
An undercoating is not impervious to damage.
It must be reapplied every 3 to 5 years for best results.
The underbody coating is expensive