For those of us that have to drive our babies in the rain and snow, this is an important issue. I'd like to start restoring my 87SC soon but, since she's my only ride right now, I want to protect her from rust damage until I can store her in the garage.

Obviously, there's no need to protect the body panels but what about the undercarriage? Has anyone here applied undercoating? Can it be done? SHOULD it be done? I'd like to keep the underside as nice as the topside:

TIA

[This message has been edited by Scott2M4 (edited 01-03-2000).]

I too would like to know about the underbody rust issue. We had several days with snow on the ground here, and even though my car was washed 2 times, I noticed the inner fender walls were still real dirty. Guess I'll have to get a brush or something. Then last night, while laying under the Fiero, hooking up my parking brake, I noticed thousands of those little salt crystals doing their thing to the all steel surfaces. Is there such a thing as an underbody car wash place? What about the undercarriage spray Scott mentioned? I'm not sure if the drive through car wash places spray the underside, but I really would prefer to keep their "brushes" off my cars paint.

Great picture Scott. That is even cleaner than when I saw it.

[This message has been edited by fiero56 (edited 01-03-2000).]

One of my friends mentioned to me that an important part of keeping rust at bay was to be sure your wheelwell liners were in good shape as they keep mud and salt from collecting in areas that are then prone to corrosion.

Always a good idea to be sure your wheelwell liners are present/in good shape with no cracks or holes and always hose out wheelwells when washing cars.

You'll probably have to wait till spring when it warms up to do what I did. I jacked'er up, crawled underneath and went to town. First with a wire brush on any semi-heavy spots, sprayed the whole under carriage with 3 cans of Extend Destroys Rust. This product forms a kind of fiberglass layer over already exsisting rust and stops it from getting worse, drys like a primer! I swear by it cause I've been using it for years on other items. Let dry 24 hours then 4 cans of rubberized undercoating. That'll do'er!!

You might check your local Texaco car wash. Here in central CA they've got a "touchless" system that will do everything including spray the underside of your car for $5.

Ohioans,

I having worked at a carwash and as a professional detailer know that most carwashes do in fact have some spray from the underside. Unfortunately since it is not an area that most people are overly concerned with the spray is rather weak and ineffective. It is better than nothing though. If you are taking it to a carwash, go during non-peak hours. If you can talk to the prep man often he will try to get areas that you specify. The pressure washers are rather effective at removing salt from any areas that they can be sprayed. Also we were specifically instructed to spray wheel wells, but most guys only focus on the wheels and the overspray takes care of the wells. Tip the prep-man. He is your friend and never sees a dime if you only tip the guys at the front and rear of the wash.

I have been planning on taking my set of ramps and a floor jack to the do-it-yourself carwash. I think that the extra 1-2" that they will provide will suffice.

William T. Thorn, III

Another thing to consider is whether the car wash uses fresh or "recycled" water...

Most all self-serve washes use fresh, but many automatic washes filter and re-use wash water, which means that while the dirt may have been filtered out, the salt often isn't...and this is something most car wash operators aren't very upfront about.

You have to ask, and hope the operator is telling the truth...

The recylced water thing is one reason I prefer not to go to drive throughs. I'll have to look around here for a touchless car wash place.
William, I'd hate to be the guy waiting in line behind you. I can see it now, "I'll be done in a minute." "What are those ramps for?" "I'm gonna wash underneath my car."