Me underbelly

[V8 Vum]

Just a thought chaps!

How have you guys who have a beast on the road faired in the underbelly department?

As we know its Ally sheet (soft and tearable) at the front and a steel bit for the seat-pan area.

.. and despite some I presume having tried to paint/ underseal it, ally don't like coatings much and will peel if half the chance!

...because the car is so low the 'skin' is quite vunerable I would have thought especially when encountering sundry bits and bobs strewn in the road.

I wouldnt be surprised if several of you have encountered the odd scar or two? ....or daren't you look?

Any one done a full rubber job on the underneath?

cheers

Keef

[Chewy]

Not done anything to the underbelly as far as protection goes. The only part ever to get caught on the underside of my car is the lowered floorpan. I have done about 15,000 road miles including a couple of sabaticals to LeMans. However the biggest concern has to be for the front clip as that is the most likely bit to catch due to the overhang.

[LuckyP]

Same as Chewy,

Under edge of front clip used to scrape up my drive, but the harder-to-compress uprated springs have cured that.

Also I used to have the nut end of the seat bolts under the car, now I have the nylocks in the rails and the head of a pan head Allen key underneath. Old 10mm lots of scrapes, new, 5mm, only one scrape (back from the FOD with a bit of single track raised centre off-roading).

[Steve_D]

I sprayed the whole underside of mine with Stonechip Paint.

Had a look under the other week when it was on the MOT ramp and it all looks better than I had hoped so didn't think I needed to do any remedial work on it.

Steve

[GTWayne]

Watcha Keith, I had all of my ali panels BLACK anodized and they still look like new! This may change when I have actually USED the damn thing a bit more

[V8 Vum]

GTWayne said:

Watcha Keith, I had all of my ali panels BLACK anodized and they still look like new! This may change when I have actually USED the damn thing a bit more

Ahhh but we ALL KNOW that the 'Dark Wayngel' has powers not of this world, and floats in mysterious ways over any obsticle that should dare to be in his way!

You say it is adonised black... this is an obvious attempt to mask us mere mortals from the fact that you have applied a thin layer of ethereal ectoplasmic forces that any student of the occult knows does not reflect light!



I am so sorry Wayne, that I have dared to have finally OUTed you!


Keith

[V8 Vum]

Fairly encouraging stuff chaps...I did wonder since the alli was so exposed down there!

Steve...
So you managed to make the paint 'stick' successfully then even in that difficult environment!

I have had very mixed results with 'so-called' etching primer and paint!

I believe I came across a 'special' rubber coating company a while back (they do it for you), but it was very expensive, and I do wonder what would happen when the inevitable water finds its way through pin-holes etc, however I understand they use it for truck-beds and the like, so obviously designed for the ruff-stuff!

I will look it up again...

cheers

keith

Edited by V8 Vum on Friday 8th August 08:45

[Steve_D]

V8 Vum said:

...So you managed to make the paint 'stick' successfully then even in that difficult environment!.....

Did it when it was upside down after riveting the bottom panels on. Nothing special just wiped it down with brake cleaner and and sprayed it. No etch primer. Used Hammerite Stone Chip Paint.

Steve

[738 driver]

If you are only concerned with the ally becoming tarnished then alloy wheel lacquer is self etching and works well on ally sheet, even a polished finish.
But for protection purposes, probably the most permanent method would be to etch prime with ally etch primer then a coat of stonechip underbody (several colours available) all this is available from your local motor paint factor. Most of them will also put their paint/primer products into an aerosol for easy application.