I am thinking of putting my truck on the lift this week and rattle canning the undercarriage black. What paint should I use? I am not going to do any special prep work, I'll probably just take a wire brush to it. It's starting to look pretty sad under there. Any ideas or techniques for doing this?
UK

 

Flat black or semi gloss. I think wally-world sells some rubberized coating in a rattle can. I aint never used it.

 

get some rubberized undercoating, it covers well and will stick to just about anything, Ive used the "Bondo" and "duplicolor" brands with success

 

i would use something like por15 ... not to undercut what epic is saying, but i have used pretty much every kind of that spray rubber undercoating, and they all pretty much suck.....

 

Like I said I never used them . Did they not last very long? Or just plain awful.

 

they jsut didnt really stick well.... and i tried to prep the area too......i had my fenders in the rear all done with some of the duplicolr stuff.... well i went mudding... its all gone now.......

 

por15 is a great rust paint/inhibitor, but it is EXPENSIVE... a pint here costs $35. although, you do get good coverage, and a friend also told me that its UV reactive (so undercarriage is perfect application for it)

edit - as for the rubberized stuff, just promotes rust, say you get a cut in it from a rock, water would get trapped under it. im currently peeling some rubberized crap off my frame that the previous owner put on.. so much rust.

 

Sounds like that is a common problem with the ruberized

 

What about spray in bedliner stuff you can get in a rattle can. I used it to coat up my gravel guards last time I had them off doing my trans cooler and its held up well and the stuff sticks and dries quick. The only problem I see if you have rust all your doing is covering it up to eat away behind what you spray on it. There are a few other photos in the album if you poke around.
http://community.webshots.com/photo/...27131775jnkSBK
http://community.webshots.com/photo/...27131470iMRqJi
http://community.webshots.com/photo/...27131921hIsiIR
Oh just thought of something else, for cleaning it up just get a power washer and go to town under there to get all the loose stuff and cacked on stuff off and let it dry before you start to paint it up.

 

POR-15 is a good suggestion. A good more economical alternative is called "Chassis Black" by Eastwood Company. You can brush it on or rattle can it, and it is specifically designed for the underbody and frame. Correct color, high solids content......

www.eastwood.com

Curt

 

I painted a rusted 16"spare Toyota rim with Eastwood's Black Rust Encapsulator then Oringinal Chassis Black. It seemed a bit shinney when finished.When winter and salt are over I plan on spraying parts of my chassis with just Black Rust Encapsulator it had a black matte finish that was pretty close to Toyota's.

 

I like gloss myself. Spay the underside with degreasere and presure wash several times before you dive in. Don't forget the wheel whells.

 

Well I tried washing the undercarriage of my 89, but it was stained for life. For $3, I got 4 cans of the cheapest gloss black I could find and went to town with the entire chassis from front to back. Nice! Much better than it was, and it covered all those ugly stains. Easier to clean now, too. I would say I gained at least 10 horsepower...hehehe.

 

did you guys mask anything or did you just go to town and spray anything?

 

great question. i could probably benifit from that this coming up fall.

 

Na, I just lay a rag over my white shocks so they don't get blasted.

 

Ditto that or the Eastwood stuff. The Por15 needs rust to bond well. If you clean it up too good, just paint with some semi gloss black.

You have too much time on your hands.

 

I say use POR15. If you use their metal ready and marine clean it doesn't need rust. I am going to do this for my truck in the future.

 

you know, if i should do this..i would have to scrape offf so much rust i dont think you guys understand...haha...im gonna need a resporator and a ˟˟˟˟load of wire wheels and a few dremel batteries...oh well i guess it iwll be worth it and will look sweet afterwords

 

if you wheel, don't use POR-15. It acts a lot like powdercoating - if you get a scratch, then the moisture will get underneath, it will peal and rust. The only way to use it correctly is to spend TIME prepping it appropriately. And if you have that time, I'd still skip it for a good etching primer and epoxy top coat..