Undercoating/Rust Check
- Thread starter cfrancis
- Start date
$ub$onic
The Sticker Guy
Oiled once a year. I do it will all vehicles. They use bar and chain lube. Works wonder.
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sx sonic
New member
I undercoated my 07 gmc sierra myself. I HATE rust and decided that $20 or $30 dollars to keep my frame from rusting over the next 5 to 10 years to be worth it.
newer cars/trucks, particularly american uni body cars appear to be very rust resistant and have good paint on the underside of the body. atleast thats what i have observed as a former auto technician.
personally i am not going to worry about under coating this car as i forsee other major components failing before rust takes over the body/undercarriage.
if your a do-it-yorself'er and have some free time then i would say definetely, otherwise
if you are really worried about it, drive in the winter alot where they salt the roads, and plan on keeping your car until the day it dies. then it might be worth it depending on what deal you can get..
a word of caution, if you do take it some place to be undercoated then do some research on the shop that does the work. some places do very little prep and just put your car in the air and blast the underside of the car with the undercoating. i do not consider that professional and worth spending money on and it can also clog up small drains that are in your car for removing water from the interior, trunk, sunroof, or A/C/heater box among other things.
-tyler
newer cars/trucks, particularly american uni body cars appear to be very rust resistant and have good paint on the underside of the body. atleast thats what i have observed as a former auto technician.
personally i am not going to worry about under coating this car as i forsee other major components failing before rust takes over the body/undercarriage.
if your a do-it-yorself'er and have some free time then i would say definetely, otherwise
if you are really worried about it, drive in the winter alot where they salt the roads, and plan on keeping your car until the day it dies. then it might be worth it depending on what deal you can get..
a word of caution, if you do take it some place to be undercoated then do some research on the shop that does the work. some places do very little prep and just put your car in the air and blast the underside of the car with the undercoating. i do not consider that professional and worth spending money on and it can also clog up small drains that are in your car for removing water from the interior, trunk, sunroof, or A/C/heater box among other things.
-tyler
SSpeckerwood
New member
I'm in utah. We use salt for our roads. Nothing will stop the rust....
SSpeckerwood
New member
Imo, washing your car probably has the same results. But makes the rest of your vehicle look good as well.
sx sonic
New member
cfrancis- if its right at the cusp of what you can spend than i probably would not do it. it just wouldnt be a very economical purchase on funds that could go to something more critical.
as another other OP stated doing a thorough wash of the car topside and underside after winter will do wonders in extending the life of your undercarriage and paint and will be alot cheaper.
my vote would be to forego the under coat and enjoy the $110ish you still have
-tyler
as another other OP stated doing a thorough wash of the car topside and underside after winter will do wonders in extending the life of your undercarriage and paint and will be alot cheaper.
my vote would be to forego the under coat and enjoy the $110ish you still have
-tyler
CyberGreyTURBOZ
New member
I will always have my car undercoated if I plan to keep it and if it will see winters. I have seen what it can do and will not drive through Michigan winters without it. My parents have a garage queen 97 Suburban with 120k on it and it looks like it was picked up from the dealer yesterday. It was undercoated with the good ole Texaco rustproofing before the first winter (not that one or two winters before coating will make the car rust.) and it needs to be touched up every few years because it wears off on some areas. This truck is embalmed in rustproofing and I always say the paint will fall off before it rust from any where else. Its a highway driver, but has seen lots of winter use(12 solid years of it). One other example i have is my 1978 Camaro Z28 that my dad bought new as his daily driver and it was driven in the winter for many years. It was undercoated when new and the only rust it really had were small holes in a few areas that usually ROT out bad. Most of the issues where from it sitting for years outside letting water puddle in areas that couldn't drain from it not being driven. Another perk about undercoating is when you need to replace parts later in your cars life the bolts come loose without any real issue. When I restored my Camaro I took 95% of the bolts out of the car and didn't break or have to use any trick to remove a single one. (except manifolds, but you cant do much about that.) Just my experience and view on the subject. Hope it helps.
Its a highway driver, but has seen lots of winter use(12 solid years of it). One other example i have is my 1978 Camaro Z28 that my dad bought new as his daily driver and it was driven in the winter for many years. It was undercoated when new and the only rust it really had were small holes in a few areas that usually ROT out bad. Most of the issues where from it sitting for years outside letting water puddle in areas that couldn't drain from it not being driven. Another perk about undercoating is when you need to replace parts later in your cars life the bolts come loose without any real issue. When I restored my Camaro I took 95% of the bolts out of the car and didn't break or have to use any trick to remove a single one. (except manifolds, but you cant do much about that.) Just my experience and view on the subject. Hope it helps.
Dragcamaro
New member
I do the undercoating at the gm dealer i work at, our system is by tst, it costs about a grand on top of your new car, you get undercoating, rustproofing, paint protection and an interior stain protector.
Undercoating is more helpful with sound in my opinion than anything else. If you plan on working on your own car eventually id avoid it. Most people are pretty sloppy with it and coat the bottom of the engine, drive axles, inner fenders ect. Im very particular about it because im a mechanic and dont want to make my job harder. adds probably 5-10 pounds depending on the car and who does it.
Rust proofing we use a small sprayer to get into the doors, hood, hatch, inner fenders and anywhere we can stick it. I dont like the stuff when you can see it. It looks like lithium grease to me. I havent been doing it long enough to justify how well it works, but if you can see it anywhere its translucent and greasy.
Paint protection is a nice deal. allegedly it has teflon in it and bonds with the clear coat. Ive been in a body shop for a while and i dont really buy that, id rather just wax my car myself. But it does give you a warranty against paint fading and supposidly chips and scratches. I havent had any come backs.
Interior protectant is basically scotch lock. It seems to work well, the leather treatment is pretty decent too, it seems to soak in and doesnt leave a trace.
Would i buy any of it?
No. Its overpriced, gm has a 6 year 100k mile warranty against rusting, As excited as i am about my sonic I doubt ill even have it for 6 more years before upgrading (hopefully to another sonic with a bigger motor or the next gen of camaro if its not an overweight POS like the current one) But i guess if you park your car in the grass constantly or would like it to be a little quieter than go for it.
Undercoating is more helpful with sound in my opinion than anything else. If you plan on working on your own car eventually id avoid it. Most people are pretty sloppy with it and coat the bottom of the engine, drive axles, inner fenders ect. Im very particular about it because im a mechanic and dont want to make my job harder. adds probably 5-10 pounds depending on the car and who does it.
Rust proofing we use a small sprayer to get into the doors, hood, hatch, inner fenders and anywhere we can stick it. I dont like the stuff when you can see it. It looks like lithium grease to me. I havent been doing it long enough to justify how well it works, but if you can see it anywhere its translucent and greasy.
Paint protection is a nice deal. allegedly it has teflon in it and bonds with the clear coat. Ive been in a body shop for a while and i dont really buy that, id rather just wax my car myself. But it does give you a warranty against paint fading and supposidly chips and scratches. I havent had any come backs.
Interior protectant is basically scotch lock. It seems to work well, the leather treatment is pretty decent too, it seems to soak in and doesnt leave a trace.
Would i buy any of it?
No. Its overpriced, gm has a 6 year 100k mile warranty against rusting, As excited as i am about my sonic I doubt ill even have it for 6 more years before upgrading (hopefully to another sonic with a bigger motor or the next gen of camaro if its not an overweight POS like the current one) But i guess if you park your car in the grass constantly or would like it to be a little quieter than go for it.
Dragcamaro
New member
It's also for rust. Powertrain is 5/100, rust is 6/100. At least that's what it said in the back of the 2013 sonic brochure
