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Stripping Undercoating from Bottom Of 69 Camaro

23K views 61 replies 25 participants last post by  69z28freak 
#1 · (Edited)
Does anyone have any suggestions for stripping the undercoating from the bottom of my 69 Camaro

So far I have started by Dropping the tank, to start the task of stripping all the undercoating from the bottom of the car.



Here our fabulous hand model demonstrates proper blocking methods. Check out how thick the undercoating is on the tank.



Here is the tank post extraction. It is very clean and rust free on top. It looks like no moisture made its way between the trunk floor and the top of the tank.



After removing the tank I was quite pleased to see such pristine metal lurking beneath. It looks like the metal under the tank was painted silver, but I think it is the dry overspray of the white body colour.



Hopefully once I remove the undercoating the metal will be as nice as under the tank. Factory spot welds are interesting. Not very many at all. I was expecting more spot welds.



The undercoating appears to have been really globbed on pretty thick. I wonder what they used for product and what kind of application was used. Its very messy, but so far it appears to work very well.



Overall I was surprised at how quickly the tank can be removed. Only 2 nuts and 1 wire to remove. I have a new quanta tank, but I may see how the undercoating comes off of the original first. Perhaps I will use the original tank and sell the Quanta tank.

Thanks to our fabulous hand model for lending a helping hand.



Here is what I am up against.

 
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#41 ·
Great reference pictures Fred. Thanks for posting. Now I know what my car should have looked like. I am not sure if the original owner of my car asked for a double coat of undercoat, but it is .25 of an inch in some places. However, It sure does do it's job, but by the same token, to do it's job it has to really stick and not want to come off. Obviously it was not intended to be stripped from the car. Anyway soon I will have it all stripped and repainted. Your car has the same white overspray mine does underneath. What color is your car. So far I have not come across any oxide primer. Only black paint and the white overspray.

Merry Christmas
 
#42 ·
Ah, yes. A real character builder :) My 67 Belair has the underside cleaned and painted. I told the guy I bought it from that I REALLY understood and appreciated what that meant. Now you get the secret handshake!
 
#56 ·
As I inch my way towards the front of the car. The routine is: Use the heat gun and scrapper, followed by a wipe down with lacquer thinner, then use various drill bits and or Dremel bits to get to rust areas I can't reach with the scrapper or thinner.



Original underside paint. It appears that the entire underside was painted a semi-gloss black.



What I thought was grey primer is actually white overspray on top of the black base coat. Does this mean the entire car was painted black? Was it primer, or was only the underside painted black?



Frame Rails are in good shape as is everywhere under the under-coating. However there were some places that the under-coat missed, and those places have surface rust.



This area has the worst of the rust I have discovered so far. The rust comes off with the trusty Dremel tool and a stone bit.



This area also has surface rust. Notice the flap hole on the rocker panel. I had never noticed this before.



Not quite at the half way point yet. Here are all three stages, stripped to bare metal, original black paint, dealer installed undercoating. Hopefully moving forward I will be able to remove the undercoating with the heat gun and lacquer thinner only, and use less of the power tools. The grinding is the messiest part of the job and the most time consuming. As I move forward the surfaces are larger and flatter. I hope this will be reflected in the progress.

 
#61 ·
As I inch my way towards the front of the car. The routine is: Use the heat gun and scrapper, followed by a wipe down with lacquer thinner, then use various drill bits and or Dremel bits to get to rust areas I can't reach with the scrapper or thinner.



Original underside paint. It appears that the entire underside was painted a semi-gloss black.



What I thought was grey primer is actually white overspray on top of the black base coat. Does this mean the entire car was painted black? Was it primer, or was only the underside painted black?



Frame Rails are in good shape as is everywhere under the under-coating. However there were some places that the under-coat missed, and those places have surface rust.


This area has the worst of the rust I have discovered so far. The rust comes off with the trusty Dremel tool and a stone bit.


This area also has surface rust. Notice the flap hole on the rocker panel. I had never noticed this before.


Not quite at the half way point yet. Here are all three stages, stripped to bare metal, original black paint, dealer installed undercoating. Hopefully moving forward I will be able to remove the undercoating with the heat gun and lacquer thinner only, and use less of the power tools. The grinding is the messiest part of the job and the most time consuming. As I move forward the surfaces are larger and flatter. I hope this will be reflected in the progress.
Looking good Mike, solid progress...that explains all the noise and moaning at the back of the shop. The underbody is in better condition than the photos indicate and should turn out nice when its finally painted. Almost time to to turn the car around and get the front done...can I have my jack stands back?...:beers:
 
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