How do members stand on dealer installed undercoating?

[nuch_ss396]

Hi all !

Originally, our 1st generation Camaro's came from the factory without undercoating.  My particular 69 Camaro has dealer installed undercoating and I have been
toiling with what to do about that.  Should I leave in on ( it would need to be frenhened-up a bit ) or strip it?  Recently, I was encouraged to see a post here
featuring a members car that appeared to have undercoating.  I believe it was JohnZ's 69 Z/28 that had dealer installed undercoating still intact.
 
From a purist's point of view, the undercoating should go.  But, as a survivor, should I leave the undercoating intact?  What do you all think about this?

Steve

[lakeholme]

Stripping it is no fun!  
If it is dealer installed, leave it... 

[hotrod68]

Phil is dead-on--stripping it off is a royal pain. I spent a month under my '68 scraping it off. But if the car left the dealer with it, I vote leave it or replicate it if you do have to take it off, especially on a numbers-matching car. They're only original once, and if I had a documented car instead of a bastard, there's no way I'd not put it back as close to factory as possible. My 2 cents and good luck!

[jeff68]

Steve-
I say leave the undercoating if it is in good shape.  Ensure that it is not peeling or bubbling.  If it is, moisture can get under it and cause problems that you won't see. 
My father had the dealer undercoating applied to our 68 convertible when new, and it was in perfect condition even after 160,000 miles of Connecticut driving.  I freshened it up with a light coat of 3M Undercoating as part of the ongoing restoration.

[rich69rs]

I left mine - it has been on the car for 37 years and I don't have any rust issues, granted when I bought the car in 1991 it only had 25,000 miles and now a little ovr 41,000. 

It was a part of the way the car was originally delivered to the original owner.

[Steve Shauger]

I prefer to have the undercoating on my survivor car removed (carefully). Underneath is a pristine underside with a lot good information such as markings, plating and over spray patterns. I have seen a car heavily undercoated, and then with it removed....wow, what a difference. Again you must take precautions when removing the undercoating, but the results will be well worth the effort. One of my goals is to remove it from the underside of my car.
JMHO.

Steve

Vintage Camaro

Hi all !

Originally, our 1st generation Camaro's came from the factory without undercoating.  My particular 69 Camaro has dealer installed undercoating and I have been
toiling with what to do about that.  Should I leave in on ( it would need to be frenhened-up a bit ) or strip it?  Recently, I was encouraged to see a post here
featuring a members car that appeared to have undercoating.  I believe it was JohnZ's 69 Z/28 that had dealer installed undercoating still intact.
 
From a purist's point of view, the undercoating should go.  But, as a survivor, should I leave the undercoating intact?  What do you all think about this?

Steve

[lakeholme]

I prefer to have the undercoating on my survivor car removed (carefully). Underneath is a pristine underside with a lot good information such as markings, plating and over spray patterns. I have seen a car heavily undercoated, and then with it removed....wow, what a difference. Again you must take precautions when removing the undercoating, but the results will be well worth the effort. One of my goals is to remove it from the underside of my car.
JMHO.

Steve

Vintage Camaro

What process did you use --even carefully-- and still find markings?   

[Steve Shauger]

I have seen a couple of cars that were high pressure steam cleaned, and inspection markings were still present. I know someone who soaked the underside in kerosene and manually (plastic scrapers and rags) cleaned the underside, and again it came out beautiful. My car was undercoated at the dealer and at some point want to remove the undercoating. Obviously it is easier to leave it alone, but that clean factory look is what I am after.

[firstgenaddict]

Plastic scrapers or wooden paint stir sticks and kerosene is the best method I have heard of...
It will be alot of hours... I have heard close to 100 or more...

[Ron C.]

It took me 2 1/2 weeks to get it off my 69 but when you look underneath and see that clean look its worth it.If your car was dealer prepped and you have documentation to prove it was undercoated well I would leave it.If your driveing it and not worried about the rain issue leave it on.Its really up to you!

[hotrod68]

I used Auto Zone carburetor cleaner with a putty knife and Scotchbrite to take off the undercoating on my car. It was a long, tedious and arduous task, but well worth it for me. The carburetor cleaner evaporated faster than kerosene, melted the asphalt, and was nowhere near as messy or smelly. Hope this helps someone who has dealt with kerosene!

[KurtS]

Originally, our 1st generation Camaro's came from the factory without undercoating. 

That's not true. Undercoating was sprayed in the rear wheelwells by the factory.

[JohnZ]

It was also sprayed in the front wheel wells. 

[nuch_ss396]

It was also sprayed in the front wheel wells.

John!

I was wondering when you'd chime in.  Since your '69 Z has undercoating on it, how do you stand on this issue?

Steve

[JohnZ]

John!

I was wondering when you'd chime in. Since your '69 Z has undercoating on it, how do you stand on this issue?

Steve

Dealer-installed undercoating was very common on Canadian-delivered cars like mine; my car is completely original as-delivered except for an exhaust system replacement and some minor underhood detailing, and it's staying that way. They're only original once.