under coating?

[goat boy]

hey guys i just came from the garage , i just spent the last hour or so striping 46 year old under coating from the under side of my 61 b/a hood, the stuff was 1/4" thick and nasty looking. it must have worked, there is no rust anywhere. is that stuff common on these cars? this is first time i have had to deal with it on a car this old. it came right off when i warmed it up with. a propane torch. scotty t

[1958 delivery]

I believe my 61 Impala has fiberglass matts from the factory. Earlier cars like Tri-5's had sprayed on undercoating from the factory on the hood but I'm not so sure they did it in 61. I wouldn't replace it.
One thing I have noticed over the years is that cars with factory applied body under coating will have rust. Over the years the undercoating seperates from the steel and this leaves crevices that collect dirt and water, not a good thing for metal. The original Tri-5's without any undercoating are usually quite rust free, at least in Calif.

[goat boy]

I believe my 61 Impala has fiberglass matts from the factory. Earlier cars like Tri-5's had sprayed on undercoating from the factory on the hood but I'm not so sure they did it in 61. I wouldn't replace it.
One thing I have noticed over the years is that cars with factory applied body under coating will have rust. Over the years the undercoating seperates from the steel and this leaves crevices that collect dirt and water, not a good thing for metal. The original Tri-5's without any undercoating are usually quite rust free, at least in Calif.

this car had thick nasty under coating all over the bottom side, it stuck real good, where ever the stuff was there is no rust, where they missed, it rusted, the frame was not done, i had to replace it . maybe this stuff was dealer applied? my 55 had roofing tar on the bottom, that sucked to remove !!

[1958 delivery]

I'm thinking the difference from fiberglass pads (Impala) to spary on undercoating (Bel Air)may be due to a supposed enhanced insulation level for the Impala. It's lot's of fun removing that old sticky, grimy stuff, isn't it?

[bobs409]

I believe I heard that asbestos was used on some of the old cars undercoating so I'd be careful about working with that. (unless confirmed otherwise)


Bob

[ROYALOAK62]

My Dad had a new 61 Impala wagon that he had under coated by a company by the name of Ziebart rustproofing. The dealer also had the it, but at a higher cost. If I remember correctly there were 1 to 4 different deals that you could buy. One being just the frame. Another frame & inside the doors and so on. It was strayed over everything. They even gave you a little bottle of remover for any over stray.

Dave

[goat boy]

well the hood looks great! a couple of hours one propane bottle a gallon of mineral spirits and some scotchbrite pads is all it took