Underbody Coating

Automotive Underbody Coatings:

Underside of vehicles serves as an intermediate between metal components of a vehicle and outer environment, underbody of vehicle 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 coating offers a protective layer to vehicles's underside.

Underbody Coating is a sprayable coating, which protects the under surface of the vehicle from 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 Protecting the underbelly of the car should be our top priority. Especially during monsoon when heavy precipitation causes the road; become mini-rivers and our cars are left stranded there. This makes them prone to heavy corrosion in the underbody region.

Modern automotive coating process:

The modern automotive coating process consists of five steps:

1. Pre-treatment removes and cleans excess metal and forms an appropriate surface structure enabling bonding of a corrosion protection layer.
2. The next step is electrodeposition (ED) of the anti-corrosion or rust protection layer.
3. A sealer like poly vinyl chloride (PVC) is applied for anti-corrosion, elimination of water leaks and minimization of chipping and vibrational noise.
4. A primer is then applied to promote adhesion between the surface and basecoat, it also imparts a smoother surface to subsequent layers and anti=chipping properties.
5. Finally, the topcoats that include a basecoat and clear coat are applied, they provide surface properties that are sought after including colour, appearance, gloss, smoothness and weather resistance.

Types of Underbody coating:

(i) Rubberized Undercoating

Rubberized undercoating is easy to apply and offers sound-cushioning as well as protection from dust, moisture and dents, It also provides protection to 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 if necessary for a bodywork also it can be easily removed using a undercoating removal spray. It is generally the best option for protecting the vehicle's undercarriage since it provides the simplest and best protective measures against rust and moisture.

(ii) Polyurathane undercoating

The other option for undercoating the vehicle is to use a polyurathane based sealant. This type of vehicle undercoating is quicker and easy to apply often polyurathane undercoating will come in preload into an application gun. This type of sealant works by seeping into all cracks and seams displacing salt and moisture and oozing around rusty areas to bound with and protect unoxidized metal. It also sands quikly on the contrary this type of car undercoating generally requires a little bit more surface preparation work before applying i.e, Sanding and applying an etching primer to bare metals before using are generally required.

(iii) Wax or Paraffin-Based undercoating

A paraffin based coating will be the cheapest and quickest option available with which to protect the undercarriage of the vehicle. However it is to be considered that this type of underbased coating will wearoff quickly and needed to be regulary re applied atleast once a year. Wax based underbody coating never truly harden, During application they drip or flow into seams and cracks to provide protective properties. They are usually available in a spray gun canister or in an aerosol can and offer at least a base protection in moderately humid climate.

(iv) Asphalt-Based undercoating

For standard vehicles any of the above mentioned type of undercoating will provide sufficient protection. For large trucks and heavy machinery asphalt-based undercoating provides a bit of extra durability against rocks, chips and moisture. Asphalt-based undercoating contains a little bit of rubberized material that sets up firmly and also helps soften noise, generally sold in five gallon containers, this type of undercoating also needs more cure time than other three and is NOT paintable making it best to use only for undercarriages.

Advantages:

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

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

• Allying underbody coating will not have any effect to the already corroded part.
• Undercoating is costly.
• Since the corrosion itself starts after few year, underbody coating is not preferable to ower who change their car after few yea