Hi all,

I did a quick search for "bed liners" but did not really find an answer. Of course, it is still early and the coffee has not kicked in yet.

I have begun pulling panels off of my '71 and stripping them to bare metal.

As I have removed panels, I of course am seeing sections of the car that have not seen the light of day in 41 years. Supports for the panels, the frame, etc. Overall what I am seeing is in pretty darn good shape - just some powdery surface rust. I applied rust converter to a section to test the results, and am now wondering: What can I cover all surfaces with to protect them? I have read about chassis black, undercoating, truck bed liner, and plain old satin black Rustoleum.

What are the pros and cons of each, and what would you folks recommend for this?

If you have the $ (actually, it's really not THAT expensive) I'd put POR-15 on it. Stuff is amazing!

another expensive but very durable is epoxy primer. you need the equipment.

POR15 is awesome!



http://forum.fiatspider.com/f08/viewtop ... ilit=por15

You can't beat POR. Very thin, a little goes a long way. Wear gloves and don't get it on you, you can't get it off.

Not sure what "panels" you are referring to. If its the floor there are plenty of threads. Here's one with my Spider.

http://www.fiatspider.com/f08/viewtopic ... 30&t=18105

Well, so far all I have removed entirely from the car is the small rear quarter panel, where the right split bumper attaches to the frame. The panel has been sanded to bare metal, the underside has been sanded, coated with rust converter, and undercoated. I am currently filling in 3 tiny dents with filler and trying to get it smoothed out. I hope Bondo sanding gets easier with experience.

The bed liner makes great undercoating. The 2 parts epoxy stuff is the best (SEM, etc), Herculiner is the worst.

I used Duraback (textured) over my primer coat on the underside, in the body tub, under the hood and in the trunk, after the entire thing had been dunk tanked; it was the worst possible choice - it gathers road grime like a magnet, it scratches easily and it peels everywhere there is any body flex (where panels or body members meet). Duraback is roll-on or spray; I sprayed it on using an undercoating gun, put on 3 coats, used a total of just shy of 2 gallons. It looked pretty good when I first put it on (you can see some pix at http://s1223.beta.photobucket.com/user/ ... 50/library if you are interested) but I would never do it again.

Was it a single component liner? The 2 part ones usually dry hard and durable. My Dad painted his whole Jeep with SEM and it still looks good 4 years later.