In an earlier post, I mentioned I was going to undercoat my truck and spray in a bedliner. Someone questioned the value of undercoating. I've made the decision on mine (it goes in tomorrow) but I was curious how others felt. To me, It wouldn't make sense in an arrid environment, or for someone like a fisherman who drives in salt water frequently, but for occasional incidental exposure its worked in the past for me. What do you think. Does anyone out there have any real facts on the subject.
I debated that same thought a little when buying my truck and opted not to have it done. A friend of mine who's a mechanic said that it was'nt as necessary on today's vehicles and he felt it was a waste of money. I really did'nt do as much research on this subject as I should have. I was thinking I can always do it in the future if I feel it is a good idea, but really have'nt thought too much about it.
This is a good subject for opinions, what do others think of undercoating??
Undercoating is always a good investment with your Cowboy Cadillac. The problem is going to be finding an individual/business that can/will do a proper undercoating job! Most people in today's undercoating business will spray a very thin coat of something that resembles paint on your underside, which will flake or peel off in less than a year - sooner if you go through a car wash and have the underside power washed! If you can find a quality undercoating business, it's definitely the right way to treat your vehicle, especially the Tundra, with its thin metal.
I would never undercoat a modern new vehicle. The materials they use today have to stand up to rust through warranty standards from the factory. I feel it is a waste of time and money, IMHO.
Bert
Having just spent 4 hours from start to finish undercoating my new Tundra, I would have to agree with Joe. To be effective, it has to be done right. I spent a lot of time getting the undercoating into every nook and cranny, but payed the most attention to places where moisture would collect. While I was out there under the truck, I spent a lot of time thinking if I don't undercoat it might rust, then I would wish I had undercoated. It was reason enough for me to do a very thorough job. I used 1.5 gallons of Rusfre asphalt based undercoating. I thinned it down just a little to help it run/soak into the seams. When they undercoat at the port of entry, they probably use less than 2 quarts of material. At least now I know I've helped keep the rust devils at bay a little longer.
One of the things Corpus Christi is famous for is incredibly good windsurfing. I go out windsurfing at least twice a week and although I almost never drive thru salt water, the truck does get exposed to salt spray in the air, and dripping salt water on the equipment I use. I rinse it religiously, but......If I didn't windsurf, the undercoating wouldn't be necessary.
Line X would be real expensive to install as undercoating plus it would be major overkill unless it was for show. It would be a nuisance to get in all the nooks and crannies, under heatshields, etc. ,
After reading these posts , I will certainly buy my next toyota out of state/mail order. Down here in the south east, they make it hard to buy a Toyota without undercoating, paint sealent and window glass etching all for an extra $680.00 added on to the price of the truck!
Originally posted by fletch After reading these posts , I will certainly buy my next toyota out of state/mail order. Down here in the south east, they make it hard to buy a Toyota without undercoating, paint sealent and window glass etching all for an extra $680.00 added on to the price of the truck!
Actually, those are high markup items, I'm sure so they love to pad the profits and since that's owned by the same group, you'd be hard to escape the practice unless you bought out of the area.
Except for the paint sealant, I think the other two are worthwhile. The glass etching (body etching, I hope!!!!) is anti-theft and I think that thief would think twice.
The undercoating is best for sound proofing rather than rust prevention. But you have to have used enough material for it to work well enough.
If they are doing a thorough job, this could be a good deal. But if it's "just enough" to say "they did it", then it's not worth the time or the money.....
I've had several vehicles undercoated in the past and I'll never have it done again. The last was an '89 Toyota truck done at Ziebart. Remember Ziebart? They did a friend's Mazda pickup by drilling holes in various places and squirting "stuff" in them, thereby soaking his seat belts in their recessed retractors. Never again.
They spray the stuff on and then "guarantee" it for five years PROVIDED you get their annual "inspection", which they CHARGE you for. What is the inspection? They pressure wash the underside and then spray more stuff on anything that looks like rust. Think about it -- they put water on the rust and then seal the water on the rust with more stuff. Their goal is to HIDE any rust so they get past the warranty period.
So, my '00 Tundra and '01 Sequoia are as the factory made them, and they show no sign of rust anywhere.
Originally posted by DJ I've had several vehicles undercoated in the past and I'll never have it done again. The last was an '89 Toyota truck done at Ziebart. Remember Ziebart? They did a friend's Mazda pickup by drilling holes in various places and squirting "stuff" in them, thereby soaking his seat belts in their recessed retractors. Never again.
They spray the stuff on and then "guarantee" it for five years PROVIDED you get their annual "inspection", which they CHARGE you for. What is the inspection? They pressure wash the underside and then spray more stuff on anything that looks like rust. Think about it -- they put water on the rust and then seal the water on the rust with more stuff. Their goal is to HIDE any rust so they get past the warranty period.
So, my '00 Tundra and '01 Sequoia are as the factory made them, and they show no sign of rust anywhere.
Honestly, I would hope that a reputable dealer would not just do a simple rust proofing. I can't say for dealers other than the ones I go to (which, admittedly, are GREAT) but for the most part any of the accessorial services that I've had done through my dealers are first class. "Toyota Quality".
If you are paying for port installed add-on, I would hope that they would have some kind of quality control to make sure that their customers stay happy.
With modern materials, unless you're in Hawaii (a lost cause) you shouldn't have an issue with rust. However, I think that getting the undercoating would be worthwhile for a little bit of sound deadening vs rust protection.
Hopefully no one would be dealing the DJ's nightmares. A chain "name" does not guarantee good service though. I bought a pathfinder with a muffler put in by Midas. What a screwup job that was. I can weld better than the guy who put that in!!!!
The quality of any job is really dependent on the person doing it. Usually, you get what you pay for, but that's certainly not 100% true, of course.
That's part of the reason I do a lot of my own work or visually inspect something someone else has done.
If you REALLY want a good sound proofing with rust protection get a couple of cans of dynamat and spray that underneath.
THAT will deaden the sound much better than rust protection. But it takes some personal effort.....
Well in my area, its not the dealer, but the distrubutor that puts on the near mandatory undercoating/paint sealent/pinstripping etc. I found out that the paint sealent is some sort of silcon. For the first few days I owned the truck I kept hearing a thumping noise. I found an extra bottle of it in the rear seat compartment. You are supposed to put in on every 3 months to keep the "warrenty" in affect. As far as the under coating goes, I wish I could see the underside of a stock tundra so I could compare. Anyone have pics like this?
Thanks, Fletch
Originally posted by fletch Well in my area, its not the dealer, but the distrubutor that puts on the near mandatory undercoating/paint sealent/pinstripping etc. I found out that the paint sealent is some sort of silcon.
Thanks, Fletch
Makes sense that the distributor is doing it. I think the SE region is all under one distributor with the Gulf states being another.
Well, used to live up in the Northeast , where the states are notorious for "salting" the roads during the winter time. The undercoating that they used to sell would actually hide the rusting going on. Friend of my said the best undercoating was kerosene. He would spray the kerosene with a compressor, on a cooled vehicle of course, once a year. The kerosense once dried would leave the oily residue that prevented rusting. I'm in Dallas, so I don't worry about rust, so I don't do it.
To Undercoat or Not
To undercoat or not
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