New car undercarriage treatment

M

MR. MINI

New member
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
Bill D said:
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.
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Ok Bill, What sprayer do you have ?
 
vapore0n said:
does Griot's undercarriage wash help for winter?
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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.
 
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?
 
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!!
 
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!
 
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!!
 
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