Consumer Reports says that undercoating does nothing to prevent rust and
adds weight to your car. Even if you undercoat a surface you -know- has
been sanded, painted and protected, rust can still start inside the hollow
frame members due to trapped welding gases. Some of us used Waxoyl inside
the frame. Even undercoating dries out, especially near areas of heat and
then water gets underneath it as it flakes and rust grows faster than ever
because the water is trapped by capilary action against the frame. I don't
know about concours, but you'll hear from those who do. There was up to
1/2" of undercoating everywhere on my car when I bought it and the only
places that weren't rusted out were the ones traditionally protected by the
friendly oil leaks. No matter what, the time will come when you have to
remove the undercoating and that will be the time you curse yourself for
ever putting it on. Wire brushes and grinders just chase it around from one
area to another. You can make some progress with a propane torch and
scrappers; heat, scrape, heat scrape, clean scrapers. Repeat forever. I've
heard of some people using solvents, even gasoline, but these things don't
burn, they explode and there are sparks everywhere when you're scraping
something. My neighbor lost his Corvette and his home doing just that.
You might or might not want to sell the car eventually and I can tell you
that buyers want to see metal. You've got no idea what's under the
undercoating unless you scrape it off and most owners don't want prospective
buyers doing that. I'd rather poke myself in the eye with a sharp stick than
undercoat anything. JMHO.
Bill Moyer, BJ7, no undercoating, none of the time
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