Oh, Bret!!!
Aren't you glad you asked??? If you are going to do concours, you definitely
do not want to do that... And as some others have said, the benefit is really
questionable anyway... More important that the frame be REALLY clean bare
metal and rust free before painting, use a primer that will really bond with
the metal as a first prime coat (something like Veriprimer) followed by a real
thorough primer coat, and a really good coat (or two) of nice hard color.
Provided you don't off road it, and scrape all the paint off, or leave it out
in the snow, or drive in the salt, -a good professional paint job should last
you a long, long time. The key being really good prep, quality paints and
thorough coverage at the start. It is not something you want to have to go
back and try to do over later on...
My PO had undercoated mine, -as everyone did back in the sixties, -and as one
other lister said, there is no easy way to get that stuff off once it's on!
Portions of mine had become brittle and could be chipped off. In the places
where it was still pliable, the stuff was a nightmare! I spent all of my free
time for 3 weeks under the frame on jack stands with a set of sharpened putty
knives and a torch, cussing the PO.... I even made up new cusses... My
neighbors all thought I had terets syndrome...! That was seven years ago, and
I think I still have chips of undercoat up my nose!
Of more concern than the frame is the seam between the steel fenders and the
aluminum shrouds. -The dreaded fabled electrolytic corrosion. Undercoat, even
if it worked, doesn't address that. Some places offer a rubber strip to be
sandwiched between the panels, but there again, the best solution is really
good paint coverage in the seams under the beads, and to avoid salt, and
having those seams be wet for extended periods.
David W. Jones
'62 Mk II BT7 tricarb
Cumberland, RI USA
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