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Undercoating - factory or aftermarket?

R

Reggie44

Member
Hello Fellow Turbo Trans Am Enthusiasts:

I had a question regarding undercoating, yes that nasty black tar like substance the dealer or aftermarket shops like Ziebart would spray on... when a 1989 Pontiac Turbo Trans Am was purchased new at your local dealer did it come from the FACTORY with black undercoating sprayed all over the white floor pans, differential, fuel tank ,etc. I do realize of course a customer could purchase 'aftermarket' or dealer sprayed undercoating that the business manager or salesperson would try and sell them but I am hoping that any owners of LOW mileage (under 2500 miles) or original owners may be able to chime in and possibly even provide some detailed photographs they can offer of the undercarriage of their cars. Thank you in advance for any information or photographs of low mileage cars you can provide. :thumbup:

Regards,
Jason
 
The undercoating sprayed as you've described would not have come from the factory.

It was most likely applied after the car was delivered either by the dealer or like you said a company like Ziebart.
 
Reggie44 said:
Thanks for the esponss so far.

Anyne else? :blink:
Click to expand...

I know, from Jan's information (always right :cheers:), that the rear end, suspension pieces, and all the underside that is NOT white, has a thin film of black paint.

I was shocked that he said that because mine has held up very nicely. The only thing that was peeling was the rear end cover and that was quickly taken care of.

I have never heard of the undercoating with white paint, but I don't have any info on that. I know the body on every car is painted the color of the car and maybe that is what he is referring to. Not saying he is wrong, I just didn't know that.

Jason
 
I'll take this a step further.......The black type of coating is really considered "sound deadening".

From the factory sound deadening was sprayed in the wheel wells, but never on the entire bottomside of the car. In the photos I'm sharing you'll notice some overspray areas from that process.

"Undercoating" is a bee's wax like coating. It's yellowish in color, and tends to be sticky to the touch.

The pics below are from my 17,000 mile car that had the "bee's wax" undercoating applied by the dealership. You'll also notice some areas where it looks dirty, but that's the nature of the undercoating because it's sticky to the touch (even 21 yrs later) it collects dust/dirt. :disgust:

Anyways hope the pics help you a little more.


89TA567.jpg


89TA570.jpg


89TA565.jpg


89TA568.jpg


89TA566.jpg


89TA561.jpg
 
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WOW! Thank you 92conv for your great comments and excellent photographs of your beauty! She looks really clean underneath! I am hoping that some of the super low mileage owners (under 2000 miles) might chime in (hint, hint) and possibly take the time to post some photographs of the underneath of their cars if it has not had dealer or factory undercoating applied for reference.

On my low mileage, survivor 1987 Buick Turbo Regal Limited (thankfully) it never had any the nasty black goo 'aftermarket' undercoating applied so the underneath is basically the same color as the body with the eception that it is applied quite weak underneath the car and is mixed in with the odd trace of primer here and there. The differential, shock mounts, chocks, backnig plates are all painted a sort of semi gloss black.

Look forward to hearing many more responses and seeing more photographs! Thank you.
 
Here is a few from the last time my car was inspected. This is a car with 30K on it. :cheers:
 

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IMO buicks are ok with a black undercoating ... while TTA's look like $hit or your tying to hide something if u paint the underside black.
 
Holy Smokes Jim! :eeks: Wow, are you sure your beauty doesn't have only 3000 miles rather then 30,000 as you mentioned! Your car is immaculate underneath and looks incredible! You must spend a lot of time cleaning her on the hoist and be very meticulous. I have seen some supposed mint, almost new 1987 Buick GNX's with under 3000 original miles that were not as clean underneath as your car. They had rusty fittings and lines and yes, the dreaded after market black goo rust proofing where the kid at the local Pontiac Buick GMC dealership figured he would go to town and spray EVERYTHING and I mean everything underneath the car. Thanks for posting the photographs and look forward to seeing some more of those underchassis!

How about some photographs from those almost new cars? Anyone?
 
Reggie44 said:
Holy Smokes Jim! :eeks: Wow, are you sure your beauty doesn't have only 3000 miles rather then 30,000 as you mentioned! Your car is immaculate underneath and looks incredible! You must spend a lot of time cleaning her on the hoist and be very meticulous. I have seen some supposed mint, almost new 1987 Buick GNX's with under 3000 original miles that were not as clean underneath as your car. They had rusty fittings and lines and yes, the dreaded after market black goo rust proofing where the kid at the local Pontiac Buick GMC dealership figured he would go to town and spray EVERYTHING and I mean everything underneath the car. Thanks for posting the photographs and look forward to seeing some more of those underchassis!

How about some photographs from those almost new cars? Anyone?
Click to expand...

Thanks for the compliments! I got very lucky with my TTA. All 5 of the owners took very good care of it and it sat in climate controlled garages since new and still does. That really preserves a car over the years for sure! I've beaten GTA's and TTA's at car shows with much lower miles then mine. I also won at a show with 2 other TTA's there and one of them had under 2000 miles on it. Sometimes it's not about the miles on a car it's about how well it was taken care of over the years! :thumbup:
 
92conv said:
I'll take this a step further.......The black type of coating is really considered "sound deadening".

From the factory sound deadening was sprayed in the wheel wells, but never on the entire bottomside of the car. In the photos I'm sharing you'll notice some overspray areas from that process.

"Undercoating" is a bee's wax like coating. It's yellowish in color, and tends to be sticky to the touch.

The pics below are from my 17,000 mile car that had the "bee's wax" undercoating applied by the dealership. You'll also notice some areas where it looks dirty, but that's the nature of the undercoating because it's sticky to the touch (even 21 yrs later) it collects dust/dirt. :disgust:

Anyways hope the pics help you a little more.


89TA567.jpg


89TA570.jpg


89TA565.jpg


89TA568.jpg


89TA566.jpg


89TA561.jpg
Click to expand...



That is the way mine looks and it has approx 17,000 miles on it.:thumbup:
 
This is my 46k mile beater never been cleaned by me .... before I put the 9 inch an other stuff under it.

366.jpg


anyone have the paper tag off their 9 bolt ... this 1 was half way off so i put it in my tool box ?

365.jpg
 
I had that paper tag reproduced thanks to davage who sent me some good photos. Good news is the repro is made of long life vinyl so should last much longer!
 
I have undercoating in my rear wheelhouses too,I clean it off and it keeps reappearing and also on the lower part of my rear quarter panels.

It smells like burnt rubber too!

:burnrubber:
 
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