I was wondering if anyone was Undercoating their truck. I know they are aluminum but am not sure if I should . Thanks

 

I undercoated my 2011 and have done this one too. Seems like a little less road noise and it can only help protect the underside. Just my 2 cents.

 

I had mine done professionally. They only did the frame. They said that doing the body would be a waste of money. I was happy as it reduced the price of the job by $200.

 

The floor of the truck could have steel components exposed to the elements underneath. I plan to crawl under my truck with a maganet to make my decision. No door cavities for me, but pondering undercoating the floor for noise and potential steel components.

 

I got the full undercoating. It may be aluminum, but when it gets hit with debris and exposes bare aluminum to road salt, that's not a good combo. And when you go down gravel roads it doesn't sound like a haul storm on the underside of your truck.

 

When i was a young man I used to spray this crap on at the GM dealer I worked for.
A few years later as a mechanic I was fascinated by the amounts of water it would trap next to the sheet metal and cause all kinds of rust problems. All it takes it one small hole and you have a rust factory.
With aluminum this may not be a concern, but there is no way I would ever get this slathered on my vehicles.

 

Ricohman - thanks for that perspective as there are always two sides to every story about how successful thepplication is in the long run..

 

After market fender flares are designed to protect the body from rocks and look cool. When I was at the place that coated my rocker planets I got to see a number of trucks having them removed for spraying. On three trucks roughly 5 years old the paint was completely gone from where the fender rubbed. A plastic fender..

Even the best plans can go wrong.

 

I have been contemplating the undercoating as well, but have reservations on spraying the Aluminum underbody.

The Krown (Fluid Film) system looks interesting, has anyone used the Krown system, if so what are your thoughts?

 

I bought a few cans, but haven't used it yet. I'm regularly crawling under the truck with flat black rustoleum spray paint. I figure I'll paint any areas that are starting to rust for a while. Once I spray the fluid film, paint won't stick.

 

This product (see link below) is great for covering up rust. It really works great, especially with snowplows ect. It turns rust into a black primer and does a very good job at stopping it. I've used it for over 20 years now. It does have a shelf life of about a year before it starts to separate, but that can be avoided if its shaken once in a while.

 

I have used fluid film on all my cars/trucks and 5th wheel.


I have also undercoated specific area around bed rails but mine is a steel body.


I think I would still using something for those high traffic areas on the newer ones as well though.

 

Yeah, this old theory doesn't apply to modern undercoating.

 

I am no expert but I do ask alot of questions. I spoke with a local rust protection / detailing shop. They pointed out that the vehicle is still mostly steel. That even aluminum rusts, just not the same way that steel does... it turns into like a powder. I "think" that normal road conditions do not deteriorate the aluminum as quickly as it does steel. Separately when I read up on the undercoating products, it is something you maintain... when the undercoating gets chipped or abraised, those exposed spots need to be re-protected by applying more of the coating. Supposedly the vehicle manufacturers publish what not to spray, since the undercoating would insulate and overheat some components that need to be exposed for cooling... and is a reason why not to apply the initial undercoating yourself unless you have that information of what not to spray. You could probably buy the cans of an equivalent product and keep up the maintenance yourself. Most detailing / rust protection shops will likely have a annual maintenance fee or package. There are different formulas for the various undercoating products, and it seems the reason for this (at least in part) is that the undercoating is doing double duty as a sound barrier.

 

Krown works.
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