firefightjason

so the time is upon most of us Canadians...winter! Im wondering what the best undercoating is that you guys have found. Most popular here is Rust Check, Oil Gard, Krown and maybe one or two others. Most coming with drip and no drip formulas. What what you guys recommend? I have rust already...but need to keep the road salt and new rust away!

octaneman

Hi firefightjason

Undercoating isn't an exact science, and there many arguments for it's application and also against it, in simple terms it's all a matter of preference. Here's why: The formulas used in undercoating are made by petroleum products, when it's sprayed on it goes into everything and everywhere. The end result is that some ( if not all) sensitive electronic components such as sensors, window motors, door jamb switches, wire harnesses, chassy and motor supports also get covered with it. Oil in itself destroys rubber and plastics, this causes bad wire connections in harnesses, it eats away at the rubber on motor and transmission mounts which makes them soft and accelerates the rubber's rate of failure. One other side effect of undercoating is that the smell of petroleum will permeate the car when the interior vents are opened, this will be very nauseating to anyone who has a sensitive sense of smell.

On the positive side, undercoating offers some limited form of protection against erosion from the elements. It also protects corners within the car body which are completely sealed and are susceptible to rust such as the rocker panels.

Note: Undercoating does not prevent rust from forming, it only decelerates it's formation and this depends on the level of professionalism on the part of the technician who applies it.

IMO check out the pros and cons before doing undercoating, if you are a DIY'r and fix things on your own car, you will find that it will be frustrating and mess to work with anything under the hood after it's done.

Good luck!