Lanolin Is Local Pick for Annual Car Undercoating - The White River Valley Herald

Oct 15, 2024

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Seayra Gilman, co-owner of Matt’s Garage on Randolph’s School Street, wraps up an undercoating project, using a non-toxic, lanolin-based product to coat every metal surface. (Herald / Sandy Vondrasek)

Should you undercoat your car or truck, to protect if from the months of salt spray ahead?

Although Consumer Reports now advises against shelling out hundreds of dollars to have a dealer put an extra undercoat on your brand new car, most sources and local garages recommend annual undercoating to protect the underbelly of cars and trucks, to prevent rust, and even to slow or stop the spread of existing rust.

Rust occurs when iron, which is in steel, and oxygen mix with or water or air moisture—especially when the moist stuff has a lot of salt in it.

Most manufacturers now use a process call zinc electroplating on the entire chassis of new vehicles. As long as that zinc coating is intact, the vehicle is protected from the corrosive action of salt.

But even a very new car will be vulnerable to rust, if an accident or flying road debris road causes untreated steel to be exposed.

And, especially in older cars, corrosion can occur anywhere moisture or dirt accumulate. So, yes, frequently wash your car in the winter to flush away the accumulated crud—but also consider having it undercoated, and soon, before a new round of salty assault begins.

The Herald caught up this week with three area garages that do lanolin based undercoating—Fred’s Auto and Matt’s Garage in Randolph, and the service department at Ted Green Ford in Stockbridge.

Fred Pedersen of Fred’s Auto noted that highway crews are now applying calcium chloride to road surfaces, sometimes as a pre-treatment sprayed on highways before a storm arrives.

Calcium chloride has its benefits, he noted: “It keeps the dust down in the summer time, but keeps the ice melted in extreme cold.”

However, Pedersen added, “This stuff is very corrosive and gets into every nook and cranny—on everything.”

A ‘Woolwax’ Barrier

According to the information sheet that the Ted Green’s service department hands out to customers, the undercoating product that it uses—called Fluid Film— “combines unrefined woolwax with selective polar agents and corrosion inhibitors, creating a unique, lanolin-based formulation that stops existing rust on contact.”

This non-drying substance, the folks at Ted Green say, creates a barrier that will not chip or crack and that moisture cannot penetrate.

The auto tech at Ted Green’s who specializes in these applications not only sprays the underbody, but also injects the lanolin product into “carefully drilled holes for added protection.” The Stockbridge dealership recommends having the treatment done “at least once a year.”

Fluid Film is the same product that Matt’s Garage and Fred’s Auto use to do undercoatings.

Matt Gilman, owner of Matt’s Garage, along with his wife Seayra, noted that not only is the lanolin-based product excellent underbody protection, it is also—unlike petroleum based products—non-toxic and environmentally friendly.

Shipped in five-gallon buckets, the stuff even looks pretty good: “It looks like caramel,” Matt commented.

When The Herald stopped by the Gilman’s shop this week, Seayra— flashlight and spray gun in hand— was undercoating an older Subaru hoisted up on a lift. This car would have benefited from getting undercoatings earlier in its life, but even now, the treatment can slow the progression of the rust, the Gilmans said.

The Gilmans don’t do any drilling when they do spray treatments, but Seayra pointed out that she takes time to get the spray onto every metal surface she can, including subframes, struts, brake lines, brake backing plates, fuel lines, and any existing holes she finds.

Both the Gilmans and Fred Pedersen noted the need to get the underneath of the car clean and dry before the treatment.

Pedersen said he takes in the vehicle the night before, washes it, lets it dry, and then uses an air hose to blast off any residual dust.

Like Ted Green’s shop, Pedersen drills holes to make sure the Fluid Film gets into places such as doors and rockers, and uses a three-foot wand made by Fluid Film to do this tight-spaces work.

When weather permits, Pedersen said, he also gives the vehicle a post-treatment wash, to get off any overspray.

Other Roads Less Taken

You can, of course, do the job yourself—if you have access to a lift. It’s not hard to find how-to information online—including youtube videos that can walk you through the process. The pre-cleaning is a big part of the job.

There are also sites that evaluate the various sprays available for the DIY crowd.