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Painted Undercarriage (8.8" Axle & Springs)

I wish I would of painted all the suspension and undercarriage parts before I installed the lift kit; but I was too excited to get the kit on and make sure those 34's were going to fit.

Well, now I finally got the time to do it, and well I wanted to show you all as well. I've seen a few post about "what to paint my underbody with" or something of that nature. Here's another write up by me: :p


What Is Exactly Needed:

I used a truck bed coating for the painting, but you can use anything such as just black spray paint, rustoleum, undercoating, POR15, or you can expensive and get it powdercoated :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
You will also need something to tape up such things as your differential cover (unless you are painting your steel cover) or shocks. I covered up my sway-bar links, shocks and diff cover. Everything got painted except those stated, and the dust shields on the rear brakes (you'll see).

What Parts Exactly:

- Dupli-Color Truck Bed Coating
- A Can Of Black Paint Or Similar
- Masking Tape
- Newspaper Or Similar

NOTE: I used ramps to drive the rear wheels on so I could get underneath the vehicle as well. I would also recommend a roll-a-round creeper so you can move easily.


Let Us Get Started:

You will basically just need to spray down and scrub dirt, dust, debris, whatever can be removed before painting off of the surface. I would recommend a powerwasher if accessable. I have one at work, but I just sprayed it off with the hose and took a few rags and brushes to get rid of most of the stuff. Some I didn't even bother about -- it doesn't have to be perfect -- remember, you are saving tons by doing it yourself and not getting it powdercoated. So do not look for a professional job once you are finished.

Ok, after everything is somewhat clean and dry, tape up everything you need to cover up. Having enough protection should NOT be a problem. For example, your differential cover, use tape for the edges so you know paint won't get through that, and then just cover the other exposed areas with a few sheets of newspaper. The edges are what you need to watch for because that is where most of your aim will be at and the more chance of a "spray-on" will be. The newspaper will probably just take overspray or just a light load of paint.

Before you start going spray happy, check everything again to make sure you didn't miss anything. Once you got it all good and ready to go -- start painting with the black spray paint or similar to get a type of base coat. Then, when you are happy with that and have let that dry a little, pick up the good stuff and paint over that.

Let dry and then take another look to see if you missed anything. If you missed something, no big deal - shake the can up and go finish it. This project is very easy and I think anyone with a steady hand could do this. Good luck.


-Drew
 

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You would learn a lot by going through the Eastwood website about their rust related products. Basically unless the rust is trivial very light surface rust, you need to use two and more different products. Those one step things only work for trivial rust.

What I used first is a liquid, just like water, and it seeps up into seams to reach rust that almost nothing else will. After a short while(longer the better), the next layer of a conversion product is used. Read the details, because in some cases you want to add body filler or seam sealer, or a paint epoxy primer etc. Follow the instructions, and the best products do seem to work as promised.
 






thanks that was a big help. thats kinda how i figured it work i guess i just needed it spelled out. i guess the only other question i have is how do i how if its too far gone and cant be saved?
Thanks again
Danny
 






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