Underbody Coating

Underbody Coating

Underbody coating is a special coating given to the underbody of an automobile. Underbody coating will be applied after cleaning of the underbody to removing of dust, debris in that. The primary reason the coating is applied is to prevent and reduce corrosion/rusting of the surface, which occurs due to oxidation of the metal. It is also necessary to apply this coating to reduce damage caused by the flying debris from the tyres onto the surface. This coating can be specified by the customer to be applied onto the surface during the manufacturing process or can be applied separately after the vehicle is recieved.

Steps involved in underbody coating:-

• Cleaning the under body (degreaser, grinding, sanding)
• Applying priming
• Applying under body coating

without underbody coating with underbody coating

Advantages and disadvantages of using an underbody coating:

1)advantages:

1. i) Rust Prevention: Underbody coating ideally should be applied when the car comes out new from the factory, when there are no dust particles present. This will result in a good adhesive coating to prevent rusting of the underbody surface and also extending the life of the parts. It becomes extremely important to apply this coating when the vehicle is to be driven close to coastal areas.
2. ii) Protection from debris: this is one of the main reasons to apply underbody coating to the vehicle. While we travelling on the road the vehicle will hit by the debris from ground, it may come with wind or by the tyres of vehicle. They can damage the underbody components of the vehicle. The underbody coating will help us to improve the lifetime of the underbody components or parts in vehicle. In that way we can achieve good surface protection.

iii) Sound reduction: if any object or debris hits the under body the noise will comes into cabin. By coating the underbody with rubberized paint upto some thickness we can reduce the sound from outside to cabin it may be comes from the road, tyres and from debris.

1. iv) Easier maintenance and increase the life span of vehicle: by giving a good underbody coating will protects from the moisture, that means while cleaning the underbody with water can’t harms the it. Water does not enter into components to form the rust and damage material. Slush also not created because of water resistance. That means it will increase the life span of the vehicle.

2) disadvantages:-

i)High cost: The cost of underbody coating has reduced over the years, but it is still expensive. The option of applying a coat at the dealership can get quite expensive, since dealerships will look forward to making profits and hence increasing the price for an underbody coating.

ii)Damage during application: In case of thick rubberized paints, if the coating is not applied properly, then there is a possibility of the paint getting into moving parts and create mechanical failures. It can affect the differential, propeller shafts, joints and even the suspension. If not done carefully, there is also the possibilty of the coat damaging the paint job at the lower edges of the car.

iii)Added weight: Although insignificant, there is a possibility that the extra weight can affect the fuel economy of the vehicle.

2)Types of Underbody Coating:

i)Rubberized coating:

this is the most common and cheapest coating method for underbody. The paint will be coated by the form of spray or liquid to the required places on underbody. After drying it will give rubber finish.it will prevents the moisture and debris effect on vehicle. But it will increases the weight of the vehicle and it may damage damage the vehicle if properly not applied.

ii)Wax or Paraffin based coating:-

this is also one of the cheapest methods to use as coating for underbody. This will available in form of sprays, it quickly seeps into cracks and seams to provide moderate protection against moisture. But it should be re-applied after few months of usage, because it will not run very long time. Wax is not very adhesive to the metal surface.

iii)Polyurethane/PVC coating:-

this is a special type of coating used to works on sealing up cracks and seams. Used for protect from salt and moisture to prevent the corrosion. this will be used for personal use and manufacturing by using robotic arms. In this coating we should prepare the surface before applying the coating to it. The preparation means we should apply etching primer to the metal.

iv)Asphalt/bitumen based coating:-

it is normally used in larger vehicles such as trucks and heavy machinery. It will provide higher level of protection. Some rubberized material can be added to it to reduce the noise. It will also provide the protection from chips and moisture. But it can’t be provided as sprays, hence we can use on the underbody of vehicle. This is mainly suitable for off-road vehicles.