New car undercarriage treatment

[MR. MINI]

I am getting my new 04 MINI COOPER S this week and want to start things of on the right note. I have read some of the posts on undercarriage treatments ( I want to keep that new factory look) using Megs APC+ , Girots produts or Megs EK. I bascially just want to spray somthing on the "hopefully non dirty"undercarriage and wheel well areas before they get dirty.



I think I have a handle on how to treat the paint sufaces of a new car thru the great post on this site. But am a little lost on treating the Unseen? areas.



Thanks in advance.

[Accumulator]

MR. MINI- Welcome to Autopia. Once you clean it up, either the EK or the Griot`s Undercarriage Spray should work for you. They ARE rather different products, though, so give some thought to what YOU want. I`ve used the Griot`s, with good results. Watch what you get it on though, it`s VERY slimy until it dries (and even when it IS dry it`s still sorta slimy, IMO)- heavy silicon content. Heh heh, no, that is NOT a slam, I DO like the stuff. DON`T get it on your garage floor/driveway, it could cause an accident.



Another approach is to treat most of it (the parts you can get to) like the TOP of your car- sealants, etc. This is a LOT easier if you can get the car up in the air (at least up on jackstands).



BEST thing you can do is just keep it clean. That`s about all I do with a few of our vehicles and even without any special, Autopian-level treatment, they look pretty good when they`re up on a lift. I do SOME degree of undercarriage cleaning with EVERY wash. I like Griot`s boar`s hair brushes for this, and these days I do most of my undercarriage cleaning with diluted EF HI.

[Bill D]

I`ll second what Accumulator said. I think you`ll like the EK. I certainly am pleased with it my wheel wells now that I have the right sprayer for it. I like polishing my mufflers and exhaust pipes often, neighbors usually just see my feet sticking out from underneath the car :D Always be sure to use wheel chocks and put the emergency brake on.

[imported_CBX Carl]

Originally posted by Bill D

I`ll second what Accumulator said. I think you`ll like the EK. I certainly am pleased with it my wheel wells now that I have the right sprayer for it. I like polishing my mufflers and exhaust pipes often, neighbors usually just see my feet sticking out from underneath the car :D Always be sure to use wheel chocks and put the emergency brake on.





Ok Bill, What sprayer do you have ?

[Bill D]

The Meguiars high volume sprayer part #: TOL 110803-12

[vapore0n]

does Griot`s undercarriage wash help for winter?

[Accumulator]

Originally posted by vapore0n

does Griot`s undercarriage wash help for winter?



If you mean the Undercarriage Spray, it`s not really a WASH, just a silicon/oily spray that shines things up. It cleans a BIT, but *I* clean first, then spray it on.



It does help stuff rinse off better until it wears away (or gets washed off). Don`t confuse it with undercoating, though, it`s pretty MINOR protection, IMO. And it wouldn`t work too well as an undercarriage cleaner, you`d be better off using some strong soap and water.

[wash_me]

If you can help it don`t drive your car in the rain or snow, it will save you so much work.

[MR. MINI]

I can`t seem to find Meguiars spray bottle D-9943 or TOL 110803-12 (spray tip?) as recomended on this and other EK posts. I even tried the Meguiars web site and came up empty. Any sources of supply?

[imported_neoflex]

The Griots, Someone said it was slimy. When I hear this I think of Armor-All. If I were to use it in my wheel wells, Does it attract dust and dirt like Armor-All type products do? If so then what`s the sense? It will be dirty after taking it to the store one time? Just asking because I have heard people rave about-it, and I just ordered some last night as a matter of fact. I just don`t want to make matters worse by using it. Just kinda leery after hearing slimey to describe it. Also does it dry out plastics like some other products like Armor-All products? My wheel wells have alot of plastic in them and I just don`t want to make my plastics dry out so I am forced to use product on them all the time to keep them looking decent. I am new to Griots products so I have no prior experience with there stuff. I usually just use Simple Green to help the clean up process, but it tends to fade the painted surfaces so I am looking for something to keep everything pretty, not just clean. Thanks a bunch!!

[Accumulator]

neoflex- Maybe "slimy" wasn`t the best description I could`ve used, but that`s what came to mind. The Griot`s Undercarriage Spray dries to a not-so-slimy consistency, very slippery, as you might expect from silicon. It didn`t seem to really attract/hold dust for *ME*, it DID make things better instead of worse.



I don`t THINK it`s gonna have any adverse effect on your plastic, and I bet you`ll like it. Just watch what you get it on. DON`T accidentally get it on your waxed/sealed paint. It might not be "slimy", but it really CAN be messy. Example about messiness: use a rag to wipe it on some surfaces (instead of just spraying), it will NOT just launder out of the rag in the wash! You`ll have to soak the rag in Dawn to get the Undercarriage Spray out of it. I usually take my Undercarriage Spray rags to a laundromat, rather than pollute my washing machine with them!

[imported_neoflex]

Thanks for the added info. I usually put all my products on with a rag or old sponge. Ex. Tire Dressing, plastic enhancers etc. Keeps the product of my freshy detailed vehicle and it keeps it off the driveway so the landlord don`t get pissed. I will experiment when I get it but chances are I will only spray the hard o reach places and do it on the street rather than the driveway. Thanks again for all your info!!