Guard my rig

My '99 is still perfect underneath, unblemished, shiny, even. With the occasional rock scrape, of course. The point of this is, I live in Milwaukee, so I know it won't last. I got lucky with the recent mild winter, but something must be done. What are my options for covering the underside with some type of nifty protective coating? I have nothing against those who low-buck it, but I will have this XJ for a long, long time, and I want it done right. No rattle can bedliner over all the lines or anything like that. I don't mind paying someone to remove the lines and such, so as to maintain all accessability. Clean is the word of the day, and durable. Any thoughts or direction as to who I can contact in the Milwaukee vicinity would be greatly appreciated. TIA
:next:

To be honest with you,undercoatings can due alot of harm by themselves.They can trap in as much moisture as they protect from.The best prevention is to keep it clean,I hose mine down after every trip.I make sure to wash the complete underside and flush the frame rails.

You definitely don't want "undercoating." POR-15 would be a good, durable coating. For a bit less money you can buy a rustproofing kit from JC Whitney. This is true rustproofing, not undercoating, which does indeed trap moisture between the coating and the body. JC Witless sells the applicator equipment (you need an air compressor) and the chemical coating. You can do it yourself and be as sloppy or as careful as you want, plus you'll have the equipment to be able to touch it up once a year, or any time you scrape it over a boulder.

An advantage to the rustproofing route is that the XJ unibody has a number of holes in it, which allow water, salt, and "stuff" to get in the frame and attack it from the inside. With the rustproofing kit and the long applicator wand, you can get pretty decent coverage of the insides of the frame rails for better longevity.

I remember herculiner threads that suggested it as an ofundercoating. If applied when clean and dry, i dont see how it could be any more harmful than a factory job. My 93 has seen its fair share of salty winters, and though the undercoating that came with the car is peeling off in chunks, it is no doing so because rust.
If there is away to get around the moisture trapping worries, I would definitely suggest herculiner. I have it on my rear bumper and it has taken several hits from trees, rocks, poles, and other cars and it looks practically perfect. There are those who apply it to exterior body panels, and I think one guy has even covered his ENTIRE XJ with bedliner (I think rhinoliner).

Additionally, it will drop interior noise a bit too.

move to california!

Just a thought!:bunny:

If I go the POR-15 route.............what am i looking at in terms of $'s. I look to the POR-15 because it comes from Eagle, and I know enough of this forum to heed his words. Hasta.
:next:

Scott, give me a call later today(beers in the garage tonight) and I'll set you up with my buddy at Line-X. He's costly, but they do awesum work. POR-15 is about $100/gallon, I'm unsure of how many sq ft you get per gallon, it really depends on how many coats and how heavy you put it on.

Cheers,
Gary
goldxj

My '88 takes care of itself. I have enough blowby to kill a good air filter every week or two so I removed the tube that went into the airbox and put a hose on it and it dumps down by the lower control arm. I switch sides for the hose about twice a year for complete coverage. Between that and all the other various places it leaks the underside is holding its own as far as the rust goes. No holes in the floor yet (that I can see underneath) and the spring perches etc are still solid. Messy......yet effective for this salt-lick state!!!

Two Different Needs

There are two seperate issues here. One is to coat inside the rocker panels, lower doors, etc. where salt and muck can build up. This avoids ending up with one of those 'nice-looking above half way' vehicles, which have the lower parts rusted away. The key here is having a NON-HARDENING product sprayed in with wands incerted through existing, and a few new, holes. The new holes get nice-fitting plastic caps. The spray stuff creeps into seams and coats everthing. Where I live (western Canada) the Chrysler dealer uses this system, so I had my 1990 done when new. It still looks good inside the doors. This is way more important than the outside bottom (second issue), which you can and should wash out. In the spring give it a real going over with serious water pressure, to get the mud and salt out- or it will rust all summer. Hidden body parts first, open bottom second in importance to my way of thinking.
4xBob
decent-looking 1990 XJ

Thats how aircraft are done!