# Beach Vehicles Undercoat?



## jagarcia10 (Mar 10, 2011)

Do yall have undercoating on your beach vehicles? If you have an older vehicle, did you clean the rust off your frame and put a layer of fresh paint 
or rust preventer? 

I'm going to do some work on my truck. Not sure if I should go with the undercoating rubber stuff or just some paint. Any suggestions?


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## JOHNNYREB (Apr 20, 2006)

All my beach vehicles have been late model vehicles and once a year i have to tend to em. What i do is knock the loose rust off with a drill/wirebrush. Paint everything with a decent rust prevent paint, usually let that dry for a week then i spray the whole under side with boiled linseed oil. Lasts about a year and even then its mostly touch up after the 1st application....been very happy with the results...but messier then hell! Hard to beat at around 40 bucks!


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## bigfost (Oct 11, 2004)

My truck is an '04, and is holding up pretty well without doing anything, except washing it regularly after my trips. I've got a bad area on the left end of my tailgate, where I always cut my bait. It stays wet while I'm fishing, and has rusted quite a bit, but I keep it coated with linseed oil. Otherwise, so far so good.


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## fishingcacher (Mar 29, 2008)

I noticed that some of the metal parts in the back of both SUV's have rust on them from leaving the tailgate open for fishing. These are older vehicles so it is no big deal. The ends of the pistons of the tailgates is rusted too. Just something to keep in mind for those that use new vehicles on the beach.


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## jagarcia10 (Mar 10, 2011)

This isn't the first time I've heard about spraying linseed oil but wont it collect more dirt and sand vs just spraying a good coat of paint?


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## bigfost (Oct 11, 2004)

The linseed oil dries to a hard, non-tacky coating.

If I had an airless sprayer, I would be tempted to do the underside of my truck, but it's more than I want to tackle with my pump sprayer.


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## SurfRunner (May 22, 2004)

The auto mechanics instructor at the college I used to work at told me that you don't need to coat it with anything because of the type of coatings they give it at the factory now days. 

I had a little Ford Ranger 4X4 that I fished out of for years and never undercoated it. I even drove it through a foot or 2 of saltwater once.....I never had any rusting or any other issues with it. 

One thing is for sure, it doesn't hurt to coat it anyway.


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## jagarcia10 (Mar 10, 2011)

bigfost said:


> The linseed oil dries to a hard, non-tacky coating.





bigfost said:


> If I had an airless sprayer, I would be tempted to do the underside of my truck, but it's more than I want to tackle with my pump sprayer.


I see...



SurfRunner said:


> The auto mechanics instructor at the college I used to work at told me that you don't need to coat it with anything because of the type of coatings they give it at the factory now days.
> 
> I had a little Ford Ranger 4X4 that I fished out of for years and never undercoated it. I even drove it through a foot or 2 of saltwater once.....I never had any rusting or any other issues with it.
> 
> One thing is for sure, it doesn't hurt to coat it anyway.


It does seem like the newer trucks have a nice layer of undercoat but my truck is a little older. It's a 98 Z71 and has some surface rust on the frame. This weekend seems like a good weekend to clean some of that stuff off and put a fresh coat of paint on it.


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## JFolm (Apr 22, 2012)

Check out the tractor paint at tractor supply co. 

I did a frame with it and it is a thick durable paint.


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## JOHNNYREB (Apr 20, 2006)

Linseed oil does need time to cure ( i usally let it sit for a couple weeks) but like BF said it will dry with a thick coating. You may get a few spots where sand sticks but its no big deal. My main concern is bolt threads, hard to rinse spots, gas lines,brake lines,etc. Also at some point things break/wear out and if not treated, replacing simple parts can be a torch in hand project. Also as far as paint goes, i have tried em all, and just using paint isnt going to last very long. Just my .02.


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## jagarcia10 (Mar 10, 2011)

Thanks for the tips. I'm going to at least try to get the surface rust off and a fresh coat of paint on this weekend.


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## kweber (Sep 20, 2005)

I like renting....


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## patfatdaddy (May 29, 2004)

The linseed oil thing would be great for my boat trailer. Just before I bought my boat the original owner put new springs on it that weren't galvanized. The only problem is letting it sit for 2 weeks.
Pat


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## bigfost (Oct 11, 2004)

patfatdaddy said:


> The linseed oil thing would be great for my boat trailer. Just before I bought my boat the original owner put new springs on it that weren't galvanized. The only problem is letting it sit for 2 weeks.
> Pat


Good luck with the trailer springs. In the decades of running power boats, I never found anything that protected the springs and axles. I guess nowadays you might can get a galvanized axle, but you can't galvanize the springs. I never knew about linseed oil back then, so I don't know how it might work.

I don't think I ever had a trailer I didn't have to rework every year or two. Fortunately, I was one of those weirdos who enjoyed working on my boats and trailers, so I never minded much.


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## surfguy (May 17, 2011)

You might consider getting a stainless steel muffler. That's the 1st thing that will rust out.


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## jagarcia10 (Mar 10, 2011)

surfguy said:


> You might consider getting a stainless steel muffler. That's the 1st thing that will rust out.


Yup, I've seen plenty of them rust out. Fortunatley for me I dont have any mufflers, just cut offs after the cats. It was like that when I bought so i just left it as is.


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