On Thu, 2 Jun 1994, Curt Onstott wrote:
> My Midget arrived from Portland this morning. I started out by giving it
> Anyway, I removed the seats and carpet to check the floorpan. When I
> looked at the car the floorpan seemed fairly solid. Upon removing the
> carpet, I discovered that on both sides at the rear seat bolts closest to
> the doors the floor has rusted a little thin. The floor pans are still
> pretty solid. I weigh 200 pounds and can bounce up and down on the floor
> without it doing anything. So should I just sand the floorpans down and
> seal them? Is there a good rubberized coating that I can apply with a
> brush to prevent further damage?
>
> Thanks!
> Curt Onstott
If there are no actual holes, I would let well enough alone. I would
wire brush vigorously to remove all but tightly adhering rust, coat with
rustoleum rusty metal red primer or POR 50 (is 50 the right number? Can't
remember) and carry on. I don't think rubberized coating is very useful;
it might cut down noise a bit, but if it detaches from the metal it can
form pockets that hold water against the metal. Sort of the opposite of
what you want. Undercoating is likely to bond poorly, if at all, to rusty
metal.
I have used spray on and brush on rubberized 3M brand undercoat. The
brush on (which I used 20 years ago and never again) came loose, forming
big blisters, after 3 or 4 years. The aerosol spray on from 3M makes a
blobby coating with many pin holes (this was 2 years ago). A cheaper
brand of aerosol (don't remember the brand) made a more uniform,
attractive, continuous surface and accepted paint better. Based on my
limited experience, I cannot recommend 3M at all. I would only use
undercoating under wheel wells to prevent chipping. Elsewhere, I cannot
see the point.
Ray Gibbons Dept. of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics
Univ. of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT
gibbons@northpole.med.uvm.edu (802) 656-8910
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