The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Undercoat Fenders?

Just curious. What is the opinion of undercoating the fenders on my '41 which is currently under restoration? It will be a daily driver in Florida and hopefully points beyond. Any comments on this would be greatly appreciatied.

Thanks,

I am thinking I will be doing that on my 50 when it gets to that point. For everyday use, as long as it is apart already, I think it is a good idea to do it now to avoid stones flying up and making stars in the paint from the backside. It seems like a logical way to save a nice paint job. Plus, its a little bit of extra rust protection. Thats just my $.02

I was just speaking with a Line-X dealer and he said that his product would yield the same uniform texture and finish on the inside of the fenders as it does as a bedliner. Certainly a bit more expensive but....

Any comments regarding this tack?

Depends on a mans pocketbook AND the product you use. A local restoration shop does this to all of the cars he does. They even use some spray cans at times but it is NOT the $1.98 a can type stuff. If you do it use the good stuff. I recommend it even though I did not do it on my 37....but I certainly will on my panel....now that I can afford it!!!

My thoughts exactly when my truck is finished is to have it Line-X'd. Probably do the insides of all 4 fenders and possibly even the inside of the box, and I may do a corrugated metal floor in it....not 100% sure on that yet though. Interesting that you would have that same idea Down2Sea.

I think it looks like excretion on a restored vehicle. I like to paint it with semi-flat black paint.

Wrenchbender,

I kind of fiqured that I would get a response as to the excretionary look of this type of treatment, and I have to agree with you that if it was only for cosmetic reasons that I was considering it I would not do it.

My thoughts were that after all of the work put into getting a beautiful paint job it just seems a waste not to protect it from the flotsam and jetsam that is sure to be flung up by the tires. Those stars and dings that are sure to materialize may appear worse than excrement.

If I was just going to hanger this truck and trailer it to shows I would not even consider the undercoating idea.

My 65 came with factory undercoat on the inside of the fenders. It was a bear to get off but actually saved the old farm truck from rusting away. Areas that didn't get it were rusted out. I repainted it all with Rustoleum Satin Black. Looks better smooth. I tried the Duplicolor Roll-on bedliner for the floor in the cab of my Redneck Hummer (1988 Chopped and lifted Suburban). I wasn't real impressed with that. Might as well have painted it with Rustoleum paint.

I would say it's a must to under coat your fenders. if you don't do it you will get stars in your paint from the tires kicking up stones.

Don't know about the '41, but the AD assembly manual shows the trucks were undercoated at the factory. I have heard folks say that if not applied properly it can trap and hold water causing its own damage. I do know that certain parts of my '50 still had undercoating on them and in those spots was factory paint underneath it, where it had fallen off or been removed, it was rust and pitting.

On my '53, the inner fenders are just painted endura gloss black. The inside of the actual fenders will also be painted with endura, but boxliner over that to prevent the 'stars'. You won't be able to see much of the fenders unless you get down and look real hard so cosmetically it's not an issue.

Good Luck.

I was thinking about doing something similar in the fenders of my 61 when I paint it this summer. I won't be able to afford line-x or anything but I am gonna figure something out.

The inner fenders on my '54 Buick are undercoated from the factory...where it's fallen off, you see the most perfectly preserved semi-gloss black paint.
The inner fenders on my '62 Suburban were also undercoated, and the California Forrestry Green is visible through it.

I have a set of clean, rust-free inner fenders for the truck, and am going to bead blast them and take them to the LineX dealer and see what it will cost to coat them when he does someone else's bed. My thinking on this is two-fold: it will protect the paint on the engine-bay side of the fenders, and it will act as very nice sound deadener, absorbing vibrations. When the truck is done, I'll probably have sound deadener/under coating on the full floors and inside the rear fenders as well.

Brad

My truck got semi-gloss black under the fenders
then sprayed with a full coat of 3-M rubberized
undercoating.(lg. spray can) Then in 30 days I give
it another heavier coat...The cab got undercoating that comes in a 5 gal. pail, brushed on using a
6 inch brush...Not only does it protect the fenders
from pecks, it offers much sound-proofing...BB

I say fight the rust any chance you get, do what your pocket book will let ya,
-Bill bevins, was that 5 gal. pail 3m product too? easy to find?

When I spoke to the Line-X guy today he said that the charges are normally figured by the square foot coverage. Since that might be somewhat difficult to figure he said that his applicator has a "clicker" on it that acts as a meter (so to speak). His ball park estimate was less than $100 per fender - Ouch! It is expensive but I've got this stuff in the back of my F-250 SD and its great. I would expect that it would last the second lifetime of the '41.

He said the the fenders should be fully painted prior to applying the Line-X and that the insides should be etched primed.

Thanks and keep the ideas and comments coming.

Truckstein, I don't think it was a 3-M product.
I got it at the local hardware, but 3-M did make a
brush on U/C because I always had it on hand at the
body shop... Bill B.

Thanks Bill, my refrigeration instructor at the local tech school was Jim Bevins, probably not related though huh, he drove a classic f**D something or other. I am going to get my hands on 3-m stuff if i can find/afford it when time comes.
How I hate Rust :mad:

Okay guys, I told my bodyshop guy today to complete the fenders except just leave the underparts etched primed. I'm going with Line-X. I'll take pictures and let you know how it all works out.

Don

Down2sea the pictures of your truck looks great. Keep up the good work and keep us posted.