Protecting underside of supra

[Tyson]

Right I'm wanting to protect the underside of the car what's the best stuff to use ? And does anyone know anywhere near Chesterfield that does it and can be recommended ? Cars never been protected before so what kind of price would I be looking at for prep and application ?

[j_jza80]

Assuming your car has seen 22 UK winters on the roads, the very first thing I would be doing is giving it an extremely thorough inspection. That means taking most of the interior out (carpets, door and rear cards, boot trim etc, and checking all of the cavities. I would then use that opportunity to thoroughly waxoyl said cavities, assuming no repairs are required. Then it needs to go up on a ramp, and again, very thorough inspection. Wheels off, arch liners out, bumpers and undertrays off etc. Then, assuming no repairs are required, all cavities want a thorough waxoyl treatment, and exposed sections behind trims, bumpers etc and under the car want treating, preferably with a waxoyl type product (some use 'stone chip', but it's awful to work with and remove).

 

Just putting some underseal on the car without doing the above is likely to result in expensive repairs in the future.

[Sheefa]

Agree with Jason.

 

It's taken me a good month working most evenings just to strip back the front offside, remove any minor surface rust, clean thoroughly, seal with Hammerite and Waxoyl Chassis seal and ACF-50.

 

I haven't even got to the undercarriage yet but am going to wait until the summer when we can hopefully rely on there being no moisture about.

 

Once I have done this on every corner and undercarriage I'll then replace all rear suspension and powder coat subframes and fill all cavities.

 

This is not a simple job. It'll take tens of hours of work to do it properly. You cannot have any moisture present otherwise it'll accelerate the problem if you seal it in incorrectly.

 

 

 

 

[peter richards]

mine isnt to bad but needs doing but although ive got a heater in my garage its still not perfect and its not something i want to do twice

[Supra-love]

I'm using some good stuff on mine that removes light rust patches, brings up metals to a satin finish too, and it works great, it can be used on paintwork as well as it's a very light abrasive. If I can help give me a shout got quiet a few of these.

 

Edited March 15, 2017 by Supra-love (see edit history)

[peter richards]

ive got a small makita grinderette with a stainless wire brush , should do the job

[Supra-love]

Just take it nice and easy, the rubber blocks are more for a finishing effect or after the more abrasive stages.

[Dnk]

Assuming your car has seen 22 UK winters on the roads, the very first thing I would be doing is giving it an extremely thorough inspection. That means taking most of the interior out (carpets, door and rear cards, boot trim etc, and checking all of the cavities. I would then use that opportunity to thoroughly waxoyl said cavities, assuming no repairs are required. Then it needs to go up on a ramp, and again, very thorough inspection. Wheels off, arch liners out, bumpers and undertrays off etc. Then, assuming no repairs are required, all cavities want a thorough waxoyl treatment, and exposed sections behind trims, bumpers etc and under the car want treating, preferably with a waxoyl type product (some use 'stone chip', but it's awful to work with and remove).

 

Just putting some underseal on the car without doing the above is likely to result in expensive repairs in the future.

 

[Tyson]

Assuming your car has seen 22 UK winters on the roads, the very first thing I would be doing is giving it an extremely thorough inspection. That means taking most of the interior out (carpets, door and rear cards, boot trim etc, and checking all of the cavities. I would then use that opportunity to thoroughly waxoyl said cavities, assuming no repairs are required. Then it needs to go up on a ramp, and again, very thorough inspection. Wheels off, arch liners out, bumpers and undertrays off etc. Then, assuming no repairs are required, all cavities want a thorough waxoyl treatment, and exposed sections behind trims, bumpers etc and under the car want treating, preferably with a waxoyl type product (some use 'stone chip', but it's awful to work with and remove).

 

Just putting some underseal on the car without doing the above is likely to result in expensive repairs in the future.

 

It's never seen a gritted road as far as I'm told the previous two owners and me which total 18 years or ownership have never used it in the winter only as a second car and the mileage / underside I think reflects this. But I want it doing properly as you explain above and I don't have the time to do it myself so looking for somewhere that will do this for me. Does anyone know where and how much this will cost ?

[Krister]

Take it to a specialist. You need to sand blast the rust out before you put any protection on it, then paint it and then rust protect it. Otherwise the rust will stay under the protection and eat away the metal and you will only make it look good and not correct the actual problem. Then after a couple of years, it will be a mess if you dont do it properly in the first place.

[Dnk]

When you do do it take lots of photos at each stage otherwise the sceptics will think its just had the underside covered over

and could be a potential rust bucket in waiting

[Dnk]

Take it to a specialist. You need to sand blast the rust out before you put any protection on it, then paint it and then rust protect it. Otherwise the rust will stay under the protection and eat away the metal and you will only make it look good and not correct the actual problem. Then after a couple of years, it will be a mess if you dont do it properly in the first place.

 

I think there are possibly better mediums for rust removal/stripping old protection off to

be honest, i wouldn't use sand or grit, be better off with dry ice, soda blasting etc

 

I made the mistake of having an RRC bonnet blasted with grit/sand and wouldn't do that again

[Burna]

I'm currently having all this done. Rear sub-frame off, rear bumper off, crash bar off, petrol tank out, all fuel and brake lines off from front bulkhead back, de-cats and exhaust off, heat shields off, all original UK spec underseal removed. Basically complete bare shell underneath from front bulkhead back.

 

Then the chassis was fully inspected. Any surface rust cleaned up and removed, sills straightened, everything Dinitrol treated, then primered, then Upol Raptor coated. And that's currently the state it stands, as we are waiting for the rest of the new parts to arrive at the end of the month.

 

All parts from the front bulkhead back are being replaced with new, except for the rear crash bar, as Ibrar kindly sorted me out with a used chemically treated and powder coated one So a brief run down of parts are: New full length brake and fuel lines from front to back (5-Off in total) all new brake lines and fuel lines at the rear of the car, along with all fixings and clips. New heat shields, new fuel tank cover and straps, the list goes on lol

 

To give you an indication of cost Mike, the bill for the parts alone is around £2k, so on completion it will be a few thousand. To me it's worth every penny as the car isn't ever going anywhere, and this future proofs it for another 22 years and well beyond!

 

Next stages will be interior out to waxoyl all the other cavities, then engine out and prep and treat everything from the front bulkhead forward, but that will be later in the year, as DB is coming up, and I want to use it a lot more this summer.

 

A few pics attached showing the work prior to the Upol Raptor going on.

[mplavery]

I was thinking under sealing my car. The underneath of the car is spotless TBH, kept in a garage and only comes out in dry weather.

 

My worry is people thinking im hiding something though when I go to sell it.

[Krister]

I think there are possibly better mediums for rust removal/stripping old protection off to

be honest, i wouldn't use sand or grit, be better off with dry ice, soda blasting etc

 

I made the mistake of having an RRC bonnet blasted with grit/sand and wouldn't do that again

 

What bonnet?

 

You shouldnt blast body panels with sand because it distorts the metal. Here they use water + sand for the under body so you dont get dust every where.

[Supra-love]

I was thinking under sealing my car. The underneath of the car is spotless TBH, kept in a garage and only comes out in dry weather.

 

My worry is people thinking im hiding something though when I go to sell it.

 

Just take pics before and after mate

[Burna]

I was thinking under sealing my car. The underneath of the car is spotless TBH, kept in a garage and only comes out in dry weather.

 

My worry is people thinking im hiding something though when I go to sell it.

 

No offence, but I bet if you strip it down you will find plenty of parts that need replacing. These cars are getting on now, and there's no getting around that.

 

If I was going to look at buying a car this age, I would want either it untouched underneath, or fully documented with photos of what was done to the underneath prior to sealing. Because as you say, I would feel the person is trying to hide something by making it 'look' like it's 'mint'.

[Krister]

I was thinking under sealing my car. The underneath of the car is spotless TBH, kept in a garage and only comes out in dry weather.

 

My worry is people thinking im hiding something though when I go to sell it.

 

Take pictures before you have it done.

[rider]

mine isnt to bad but needs doing but although ive got a heater in my garage its still not perfect and its not something i want to do twice

 

A heater in the garage is the last thing you need if you are worried about corrosion. For a given set of moisture and acid conditions then the rate of corrosion ramps up with higher temperature. You ideally want an air conditioner that will maintain a constant, cool, temperature with constant, low, humidity. Failing that, second best is a dehumidifier. The heater should be thrown out.

 

http://www.amteccorrosion.co.uk/images/webpapers/soa/diagram1.gif

[Scooter]

I was thinking under sealing my car. The underneath of the car is spotless TBH, kept in a garage and only comes out in dry weather.

 

My worry is people thinking im hiding something though when I go to sell it.

 

 

If it's spotless what are protecting it from!? Unless you plan to use it differently ie all year round etc, I'd say why bother?

 

 

No offence, but I bet if you strip it down you will find plenty of parts that need replacing. These cars are getting on now, and there's no getting around that.

 

If I was going to look at buying a car this age, I would want either it untouched underneath, or fully documented with photos of what was done to the underneath prior to sealing. Because as you say, I would feel the person is trying to hide something by making it 'look' like it's 'mint'.

 

I'd certainly like to see some pics of his car I've got a feeling it may surprise us just how clean it is.

[Scooter]

A heater in the garage is the last thing you need if you are worried about corrosion. For a given set of moisture and acid conditions then the rate of corrosion ramps up with higher temperature. You ideally want an air conditioner that will maintain a constant, cool, temperature with constant, low, humidity. Failing that, second best is a dehumidifier. The heater should be thrown out.

 

http://www.amteccorrosion.co.uk/images/webpapers/soa/diagram1.gif

 

I think Pete was thinking of using it from a drying out point of view not a long term thing, as I agree high temperature all other things being equal just accelerates corrosion.

[rider]

If I was going to look at buying a car this age, I would want either it untouched underneath, or fully documented with photos of what was done to the underneath prior to sealing. Because as you say, I would feel the person is trying to hide something by making it 'look' like it's 'mint'.

 

Undeniably true. I had my supra undersealed maybe 15 years ago. It has fallen off in clumps particularly on the rear sub frame and on the floor panel around the rear wheels and what was underneath wasn't exactly rust free. So any areas where the underseal has failed are being treated and repainted so that any return of rust can be clearly seen. If I had my opportunity again I would never have had the underside undersealed. I would have gone for a corrosion resistant polymer paint instead, just like the stuff that is on my wrought iron railings. No chance of rust on those and the finish is good to; probably because I painted them.

[Tyson]

I'm currently having all this done. Rear sub-frame off, rear bumper off, crash bar off, petrol tank out, all fuel and brake lines off from front bulkhead back, de-cats and exhaust off, heat shields off, all original UK spec underseal removed. Basically complete bare shell underneath from front bulkhead back.

 

Then the chassis was fully inspected. Any surface rust cleaned up and removed, sills straightened, everything Dinitrol treated, then primered, then Upol Raptor coated. And that's currently the state it stands, as we are waiting for the rest of the new parts to arrive at the end of the month.

 

All parts from the front bulkhead back are being replaced with new, except for the rear crash bar, as Ibrar kindly sorted me out with a used chemically treated and powder coated one So a brief run down of parts are: New full length brake and fuel lines from front to back (5-Off in total) all new brake lines and fuel lines at the rear of the car, along with all fixings and clips. New heat shields, new fuel tank cover and straps, the list goes on lol

 

To give you an indication of cost Mike, the bill for the parts alone is around £2k, so on completion it will be a few thousand. To me it's worth every penny as the car isn't ever going anywhere, and this future proofs it for another 22 years and well beyond!

 

Next stages will be interior out to waxoyl all the other cavities, then engine out and prep and treat everything from the front bulkhead forward, but that will be later in the year, as DB is coming up, and I want to use it a lot more this summer.

 

A few pics attached showing the work prior to the Upol Raptor going on.

 

Would love to do that but unfortunately I don't have that kind of spare cash lying around

[Supra-love]

Would love to do that but unfortunately I don't have that kind of spare cash lying around

 

Maybe copy that process mate. Just use the same products as it looks a good way to go about it.

[Burna]

Would love to do that but unfortunately I don't have that kind of spare cash lying around

 

It's not a case of me wanting to do, it had to be done sooner rather than later, and unfortunately that is the case for all of our cars now mate. Once you start delving into it I think a lot of people on here would be surprised at what they need to replace on their cars now. I had mine replaced new in one hit, as I don't want to be going back to that area ever again for the next few decades. Do it once, do it right