Undercoating

Yes, the truck bed polyurethane coating is an excellent substitute for the original asphaltic tar used by the factory. Spray can undercoats tend to look flat and look nothing like the original. Since the bed liner material has many of the same characteristics of auto paint, it is far less apt to delaminate. This causes the material to fall off or worse, create pockets that hold water and create perfect environments for rust or corrosion. It is important to note that applying the material should be done using a body schutz gun to replicate the rough pebbly texture of the original material and application method. These tools are available at body shop supply houses and can even be found online at companies like Eastwood.com. For proper application, the surfaces should be absolutely clean and primed with a red lead colored primer to match the factory look. Just as Tim points out, the finished material not only looks authentic but it is also superior to the original for protection of inner fender surfaces, etc.

Hello all : Clayton Restorations is now using Raptor, U-pol. It is a spray on bed- liner type material. You add catalyst to the bottle, hook up to a spray gun and proceed. It makes a smooth, even surface. Being slightly rubberized, pebbles etc. bounce off.
Tim.

Hi,

Has anyone used Rhino Coating for this purpose? And, if so, with what results?

--Tom

Hi Gary: I agree with what Mark says. I restored my 36 Westchester some 20 years ago. I painstakingly removed all the old undercoating by using scrapers, a propane torch, and even lacquer thinner. I sent all the pieces, including the unibody to the sand blaster. When it came back to me, I again removed any leftover undercoat. Now you're down to bare metal and can weld and repair any cracks, holes, etc. that we're previously covered by the old undercoat.
Redo the bottom of the unibody before you add any pieces to it; such as fuel and brake lines, exhaust and muffler, radio antenna and it's supports, and gas tank.Hold up the rear fender to the body and check to see where the undercoat should cover the side.
I did not do the inside of the hood or the transmission cover.
You can also paint everything with primer before applying the undercoat.
Would be happy to hear your comments and questions.
CORDially, Tim.

Hello:

All great questions. Yes, the rear fenders and wheel houses were undercoated. The diagonally positioned footboard that is between the cowl and the flat drivers floor is also done. Other areas that are coated on the interior are the floor under the passengers seat as well as the vertical perimeter of the frame and driver seat cross member/toolbox and the entire interior of the toolbox. Inside the trunk, the side frame rails are done from the riveted section at the edge of the trunk floor and up the sidewalks of the inner wheel houses. In the engine compartment, the reverse side of the diagonally positioned footboard I pointed out above is undercoated. I hope that helps.

Mark

I realize undercoating was applied under the Cords but was it applied to the inside of the front and back fenders too. Mine is still in great shape in the inner body panels under the rear fenders but I had the fenders stripped years ago. Have forgotten if the fenders had it on them too. any other places it was applied. I might have some on the foot wells under the firewall but that could be road dirt and oil off the engine too. It does look kind of like undercoating but not sure just yet. Thanks for any answers.