Underbody Coating

UNDER BODY COATING

What is under body coating?

Under coating is the sprayed application of a wax or a rubber-based composite onto the entire underside of the vehicle.

Why is under coating done?

This are usually done to prevent rusting of the body. This will create a rustproof layer between the underside if the vehicle and the water on the road. Under coating will include the floorboard, wheel well and frame. Even if the car underbody is not visible it is exposed to potential damages when you drive on road. Things like mud, water, derbies, etc., can stick on the frame and can causing the rusting of the vehicle under body and weaking the strength of the vehicle.

As of now there are four types of under body coating are available for vehicle

1. Rubberized underbody coating

Rubber underbody coating is a coating of rubber which will protect the body from scratch and water splash. Applying is also easy and most reliable for personal cars. This coating dries to touch un 30 min. it is fully dried in 24 hrs. the professional grade undercoating dries to the touch in 10 min. Some rubber coating brands are 3m, bondo, SEM and much more.

2. Wax based underbody coating

This coating will last for few months. Wax based underbody coating puts up the fight against moisture. It is also the most affordable potion. As wax coating is cheap but wax dose poor job sticking to metal so it needed to be reapplied soon sometimes in months. Normally wax coating stays for a year but it again depend on the quality of the wax.

3. Asphalt based automotive underbody coating

Best suited for heavy vehicles like trucks and lorries, provide better degree of protection compared to rubber based coating. This also contain a small amount sound insulation. This coating will take 24 hrs. to fully dry. This coating provides some benefits over wax coating as this stick better to almost any surface and do great job sealing out moisture, road chemical and oxygen.

4. Polyurethane underbody coating

This coating closes up splits and fracture on the underbody. It offers up good protection against corrosion and also bond with the metal. This is a 2-pack polyurethane based on the chemical reaction of polyfunctional acrylic and isocyanate-based material. This can be used for undercoat and upper coat also. This will take 30 min to touch dry and 6hrs. to fully dry.

All of the coating gives better prevention over rust and corrosion and before applying any coating some things are needed to keep in mind.

Pros:

1. It will protect the under body from rusting hence long life of the parts
2. It will also give some strength to the body depend upon the thickness of the coating
3. It will prevent vibration and noise of the vehicle
4. Stop spreading of rust if it is already started and save the body from any further damage
5. It keeps underbody clean and dust free
6. Make easy to clean underbody in case of mud

Cons:

1. Surface need to cleaned properly before applying the coating
2. Need to be dried properly
3. For all coating has a specific time period for lasting so it needs to be reapplied after that period of time
4. In rubber-based coating if there is tear in coating it needs to reapplied to the body where as on other coating it can be fixed by over coating