Tidying up the underside

[Glenn_Adam_Doble]

Getting really pissed off with the look of the car underneath, surface rust starting to develop on subframe, rear beam ect

Any one done a full underside restore (strip down and paint), will end up taking all bushes out too and replacing with power flex, will also be doing calipers as they are starting to look tatty

Any areas that will need particular attention, possibly replacing ?

Also what have people used on the shitty plastics underneath hate the way they look faded and just generally battered, want a more permanent fix than just using trim restorer

Little example of the rear beam

 

[Pav]

big job to do..i would like to do mine but the work involved is just crazy..think a second car would be good while all this is being done..

 

[Glenn_Adam_Doble]

big job to do..i would like to do mine but the work involved is just crazy..think a second car would be good while all this is being done..

Yeah I’m going to be taking the car off the road to do it, spend a few weeks on it getting it perfect again

Have got the s4 for a daily and will be getting another Clio in the next few weeks for commuting ect

 

[Marsch]

Surely worth to do it in the long run especially with your car but the work, time and money involved has to be horrendous.

Good luck with this project!

 

[Chris]

@Antti O is doing a bit of this sort of thing.

 

[JMR]

I did my Honda CR-Z to a reasonable extent.

The rear beams etc were similar to your pic above.
I used a wire brush, cup brush on the drill, and a dremel to clean up loose flaky rust etc
I didn't grind back completely to bare metal, as this wasn't really required.

I used Bilt Hamber Hydrate 80, painted 2 coats onto the steelwork.
Then used 2 coats of Hammerite Smooth Black.

Then to protect, I used 2 coats of Bilt Hamber Dynax UC, clear wax sealant.
I didn't go to town on the brakes, but I cleaned up the disc centres with Hydrate 80 which stops rust and protects them quite nicely with little effort.

I'll try and dig some pics out.

 

[JMR]

Before pic



And after pics, but before painting the rear callipers

 

[Foxspeed]

excellent

 

[JMR]

Car was 5 years old at this stage ^^^

.. for the plastics, a thorough clean with degreaser/all purpose cleaner, moderate strength, I use 1:4 water: product. Then you can either dress with something or seal with the clear underseal like Dynax UC.

I used Chemical Guys Barebones for my front arches, but just beware using solvent based dressings that drip cos it made a mess on my drive.
Next time I did it, I sprayed onto a cloth and wiped all over, instead of spraying directly onto the arch liner

 

[Glenn_Adam_Doble]

Surely worth to do it in the long run especially with your car but the work, time and money involved has to be horrendous.

Good luck with this project!

Yeah I thought it’s worth doing to keep the car in its best condition and future proof it

I have no intention of getting rid of the car, so the time aspect really doesn’t bother me, as for work, I will find that more enjoyable knowing that every thing is fresh and looked over, and the money aspect I can’t imagine it will cost that much

 

[Glenn_Adam_Doble]

Car was 5 years old at this stage ^^^

.. for the plastics, a thorough clean with degreaser/all purpose cleaner, moderate strength, I use 1:4 water: product. Then you can either dress with something or seal with the clear underseal like Dynax UC.

I used Chemical Guys Barebones for my front arches, but just beware using solvent based dressings that drip cos it made a mess on my drive.
Next time I did it, I sprayed onto a cloth and wiped all over, instead of spraying directly onto the arch liner

Legend, thanks for sharing just the info I was looking for, your results look sweet,

Did you do a strip down to do your or do it in situ ?

I’ll be going for the strip down as I will be doing bushes

 

[JMR]

Legend, thanks for sharing just the info I was looking for, your results look sweet,

Did you do a strip down to do your or do it in situ ?

I’ll be going for the strip down as I will be doing bushes

Just did it in situ mate