Under Coating

[sspade]

Hello everyone. New Camaro owner here in Michigan.

Have a 2015 Camaro V6 with 700 miles on it. I am planning on driving this car year round and want to make sure I am doing the right things to make it last.

Have already had a permanent wax like paint glaze applied to help keep the paint protected.

I am now considering having Ziebart fully undercoat the car, doors, etc. for $500.

Im hoping some of you could give your honest opinion on whether or not this is a good idea. At this time, I am planning on owning this car for a long time and again - want to take care of it and do my best to keep it looking good the entire time.

Is this a good idea or do I roll the dice and see what happens in five years?


Thanks.

[SSJ455]

As Ron Cadillac says, "Never get the undercoating."

[sspade]

Thanks for the reply. Im not quite sure if your serious or not because Ive never heard of Ron Cadillac (new to the forum)...

I would appreciate some other replies if anyone has an opinion or experience with this.

Im sure it wont make a difference for the first five years of ownership either way. Its after that where Im concerned...

[lbls1]

If you intend to use the car in winter, where the roads will be treated with salt, then IMO you should get the undercoating.

Undercoating works best on new car underbodies and/or car chassis' that are free from corrosion and dirt. I had once made it a practice to undercoat every new car that I owned. I skipped the undercoat for my ZL1, however, based on the recommendation of my undercoat installer (of all people!). My ZL gets put away during the winter, and the car never goes out in the rain or bad weather, so I felt secure in not getting undercoating for it.

Good luck.

[2015ZL1]

If you are keeping your car for more than 5 years, rust proofing will help preserve your car. It is messy but it does help. Most places do a two stage coating, a thinner oil for in the door panels, quarters and under the hood, and a thicker coating for the under carriage.

[Redgt03]

Fluid Film is a good option as well. Just spray it on before each winter.

[BRZN]

Ours originally came from Michigan. There's no undercoating on it. Wish there would have been. The undercoating would have been cheaper than the rust repair.





Rust was on the inner and outer fenders of the left rear quarter panel. Appears the seam sealer had come loose from the inner fender allowing water in between the panels where it laid trapped.

[StreetRage320]

subscribed to this thread. I live in the rust belt as well. We are seeing some cars/trucks in <10 years become nearly unsafe from rust damage to the frame. A lot of people around here are buying those undercarriage sprayers to remove the salt from the body. I keep my truck outdoors. I think pulling a vehicle covered in salt/ice into a warm garage causes more damage than just keeping it below freezing.

I am hearing all sorts of things on the under-coatings, some good, some not good. So I have opted to do nothing.

[xc_SS/RS]

Originally Posted by SSJ455

As Ron Cadillac says, "Never get the undercoating."

I was really hoping I would see this comment lol

The underside of my car isn’t bad, I haven’t noticed any major rust yet beyond the rear bumper bar. Pretty sure mine needs to be replaced because of the rust (and a small rear end hit). We haven’t had much salt or brine put down this year, but whenever they do put either one down I always try to run the car through a touchless wash with an undercarriage sprayer after the snow melts. Seems to help a lot. I keep my car outside as well

[SIM GhostrdrZ]

My $.02
If you undercoat, do it on a completely clean surface and check it annually for undercoating peeling away. Repair as needed.
If not undercoating, spray a film of oil or like, before each winter and after winter thoroughly clean, inspected and touch up areas with paint in the summer.

The bringing cars in the garage and having them rust worse inside is true but is caused by mainly one thing(salt will corrode no matter what temperature). High trapped humidity inside garages. Same reason your tools rust out when you put them in the garage. I never had this issue living in the dry west and moving the the NE and high humidity areas. I run dehumidifiers in my garage and basement year round to protect my expensive tools and cars from rusting. I learned this the hard way and wondered why folks don’t control humidity this way. It costs $$ to run dehumidifiers and some folks just don’t understand humidity, rust and mold. It’s all science and in order to try to prevent rust on cars it takes a lot of effort.

[xstuntman]

Cars rusted to pieces by now.

[SIM GhostrdrZ]

Originally Posted by xstuntman

Cars rusted to pieces by now.

Not as bad as you think if you just take care of them. But driving in salt covered roads and not washing it off. Lasts a few years at best. Many German makes actually “dip” their bare bodies before assembly and they last a decade or more without rust/corrosion.
But digging up an old thread means nothing if the Chevrolet is sitting in a junkyard already.

[lbls1]

I participated years ago in this thread, but it makes sense in saying again. If you have a new car and you are facing harsh road conditions that will include salt, then you will be doing yourself a favor by getting a good undercoating process. Salt is a known catalyst for rust and corrosion, and in a few years you would be surprised in seeing how much damage that salt treated roads can do to your car, despite the factory galvanizing and corrosion proof measures.

[myold88]

Originally Posted by BRZN

Ours originally came from Michigan. There's no undercoating on it. Wish there would have been. The undercoating would have been cheaper than the rust repair.





Rust was on the inner and outer fenders of the left rear quarter panel. Appears the seam sealer had come loose from the inner fender allowing water in between the panels where it laid trapped.

Undercoating would not have prevented rust in this trunk area. My almost 11 year old SS is still rust free even though
I drove it in New England winters for 8 years. These cars are not the same as cars built in the 50's & 60's. They are
not rust prone. You will see very little here on camaro5 about their 5th gen Camaros developing rust issues.