What is the best undercoating to use?

What is the best undercoating to use in 2021?

The one question that everyone is in search of always seems to be what is the best undercoating to use on my new vehicle? Here we are in 2021 and this question will always be relevant when it comes to the best undercoating to use on your new investment. While we are in the industry of protecting your vehicle here at Scorpion Coating Plus, we are also just as interested as you are in what is the best undercoating to use in 2021.

Some of you may recall we did a similar test a couple years ago with some of the top undercoating and rustproofing products that are out on the market today, including the one that we have been using here for the better part of 4 years. SInce we didn’t save our test piece to re-use from last year we decided to make another sample, but this time get as close real world test with the 6 different undercoating and rustproofing applications.

This piece will be saved for future tests, since some companies claim you only need to apply an undercoating once and your set to go. That is just a selling point, and shouldn’t not be taken seriously with any undercoating or rustproofing, especially if you live in the Northern Adirondacks where the elements are brutally harsh on vehicles let alone the municipalities use of salt on the roads during the Winter months.

What Undercoating do we use?

As mentioned earlier, we have been using the same family owned and operated undercoating since 2017, Armour-Seal. Stumbling upon this gem after a few hours of searching the interwebs for a good quality undercoating, brings us to present day. LIke with anything there was a learning curve, when and where to apply along with the how and what to do on older vehicles whose frame has seen better days, but is still holding strong and they want the preservation like a new vehicle.

Slapping on some undercoating is not just all that we do. Having an array of different products that work well together to help fight and protect your vehicle for years to come is our end game. If you know me, and here me talk about undercoating then you know that having Black Max ( rust inhibitor also created by the same company of Armour-Seal) just go together like PB&J. Black Max will not only convert the rust but also helps to block the oxygen from spreading the rust, and best of all it can be professionally painted if you are going for a full restoration.

Carwell CP-90

In 2021 we added yet another product to our list of undercoating and rustproofing protection, CP-90 from Carwell. Carwell is a large outfit based in Rochester, NY that provides rustproofing services to many US Government vehicles, municipalities and School districts. It only makes sense to utilize one of their products as they know exactly what its like to own a vehicle and try to protect it in New York.

While we will never use an oil or wax based undercoating or rust proofing on your frame and chassis, we do use this oil like rustproofing (CP-90) only inside the door cavities and inside the frame (if its not a C-channel frame) since it can creep into hard to reach areas without blocking drain holes for water and debris to escape. This is only an addition to our Armour-Seal making use of both of these products to get the most life out of your investment.

Undercoating vs Rustproofing: What’s the difference?

While this is a planned article to write about at a later time, a quick difference between the two are quite different and

What undercoating held up the best in 2020/2021?

Before we get into the results of this latest test, if you haven’t checked out how close to a real world test we are doing, take a moment to check it out here. If you are just looking to see some results, then keep scrolling down to see what is the best undercoating to use on our vehicle.

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The Results

From left to right

Fluid Film, Krown, NHOU, Paint, Rustoleum, Armour-Seal, POR 15

As you can see, the clear wax/oil based undercoatings don’t seem to hold up as well as the other 3 undercoatings. With that being said, there is not one single undercoating or rustproofing product on the market today that will withstand the elements without continuous maintenance and care. It just isn’t going to happen. There are many many different factors that play into preserving a vehicle and a lot of it comes down to the care and maintenance put into that by the owner themselves.

LIke with any test that is ran that we do, we always think of things during the test or after that could affect the results. What if all these samples weren’t bare metal first and were painted or vice versa. What if with all of the oil undercoatings, we caked dirt on them like we did with the NHOU one? All of these go into play on future tests trying to get as close to real scenarios as possible.

Take this sample piece of undercoatings for example. The truck that these were attached to, never went through a single car-wash this Winter. Now, if you live in Northern NY, or any snow belt state, you know that when its 30 degrees plus outside, the car washes are lined up and running non stop. A simple garden hose cleared off any of those clear fluid / wax type undercoatings, so just imagine what ahigh pressure car wash will do them, and that goes for the other three undercoatings as well, a high pressure car wash could have pentrated those undercotings leaving metal exposed.

Our suggestion and recommendation

Of course we want you to contact us and book your appointment to further protect and maintain your vehicle from the elements today. We also want to share knowledge with you about this service. We don’t want to simply say we have the best undercoating or undercoating process without information to back it up.

We spend quite a bit of time researching and trying out different test to see how well these undercoating products hold up in real life situations. The gears are already turning for next years test to take our daily driven truck, and apply these undercoatings on section directly on to the frame, to give the flex, debris, ice more of a direct contact. Maybe the results will differ, maybe they will stay the same. Time will tell.