Factory undercoated DeLoreans

[john 05141]

Now this is interesting. I have that too. I was never able to figure out why this was. I always assumed a previous owner did this as an extra protantant, but I found pictures where he has sanded that away under the tank plate to re-coat. My car came from a deamer in california but drove in Florida for 20 years. I admit it does look a bit dirty but that does look better than gray with rust. It did help to protect my frame becasue for as far I can see there is no rust at all, and I check the frame every year in detail, and Belgium has a wet climate.

A frame off is not necessary for me yet (A new roof cage may be better in my case) but if I had to remove and renovate the frame I would have it coated in dark gray, not light gray.
John

[82DMC12]

I like the black color too. I think I'm going to powdercoated my frame black just as a tribute to its history.

[Sidaries]

Can someone post a picture about the black frame? I never heard of it.

[David T]

One way a Delorean got undercoated was the selling dealer. It was very popular for the dealers to offer undercoating as a service on new cars. They made a lot of money doing it. Takes about 15 minutes and uses around $15 worth of materiel. They could charge as much as $150 for it. New owners also did it too. You could take the car to a shop and have it done before you drove the car much and got it all dirty. One of the more popular ones was wax based. They would drill holes all over the car and shoot it into the doors, the rockers, the inner quarter panels, etc. Really of no value on the Delorean with the fiberglass underbody, epoxy coated frame and S/S panels. It was mainly done for cosmetic purposes, to cover any surface rust. Many believe it was done at the QAC centers for that purpose and seems to be very common on the late '82's and all of the '83's. It is very messy to remove and by now is just a hard, caked on mess. Moisture would get behind it (just like the epoxy) and rot the metal underneath. Best way to remove it is by mechanical means. Snap-On makes a pneumatic tool that chops it right off in tiny chunks but it is still a messy job.
David Teitelbaum

[Dangermouse]

Waxoyl I think it was called iirc

[john 05141]

Here are some picutures. I cannot find pictures I took once when the D was on the bridge, but you can clearly see the black coating on the frame, it is like that everywhere. But the frame appears to be in excellent condition. Only I can not tell if this is because of this coating or not. It may be hiding rust underneath, I should scrape away some to see what it looks like under the coating. But it was not done in the smallest corner. You can see that on thr second picture. But where the original grey color is visible, I can not see any rust either, so I guess I'm fine.

John

[DMCVegas]

One way a Delorean got undercoated was the selling dealer. It was very popular for the dealers to offer undercoating as a service on new cars. They made a lot of money doing it. Takes about 15 minutes and uses around $15 worth of materiel. They could charge as much as $150 for it. New owners also did it too. You could take the car to a shop and have it done before you drove the car much and got it all dirty. One of the more popular ones was wax based. They would drill holes all over the car and shoot it into the doors, the rockers, the inner quarter panels, etc. Really of no value on the Delorean with the fiberglass underbody, epoxy coated frame and S/S panels. It was mainly done for cosmetic purposes, to cover any surface rust. Many believe it was done at the QAC centers for that purpose and seems to be very common on the late '82's and all of the '83's. It is very messy to remove and by now is just a hard, caked on mess. Moisture would get behind it (just like the epoxy) and rot the metal underneath. Best way to remove it is by mechanical means. Snap-On makes a pneumatic tool that chops it right off in tiny chunks but it is still a messy job.
David Teitelbaum

Every time someone mentions undercoating, all I can think about is this guy:



I too thought that I had read somewhere that the New Jersey QAC had commissioned batches of '82 & '83 cars to have the undercoating sprayed on because of cars that had sat on the docks in salt air from the ocean for a prolonged period of time and caused rust. They were either trying to cover up some rust, or were preventing it from happening again after a batch of cars had the problem.

[Bitsyncmaster]

What I see on my undercoated car is the sharp edges on the frame have a little rust but nothing on flat surfaces. I guess the undercoating got thin on edges and after the epoxy cracked it rusted. I like the black color looking at the back end of the car. It keeps your eyes looking at the car and not a gray frame under it. Any solvent will strip it off but what a messy job to do.

[skipwater]

Has anyone used Waxoyl Exterior Protection Hardwax for touch up of their under coating? I have a few sections that I need to apply the coating to. And was wondering how close of a match it would be?
It sounds like the same material that in on the car.
"A wax based underbody sealant for all types of vehicles and metal structures that forms a tough flexible barrier against corrosion causing elements. Combines the strongest chemical protection with a protective wax layer that will not crack, chip, drip, or dry out."
After 30 years it still has not failed.

Skip

[Jonathan]

What I see on my undercoated car is the sharp edges on the frame have a little rust but nothing on flat surfaces.

Mine would also be described in much the same way.