Is undercoating your vehicle a good investment?

By Gloria Austin
Staff Writer
    As winter approaches, so does the spread of salt, sand and calcium, which often winds up on vehicles. But, Robert Kitchen and Sons Garage on the Bangor Street in Houlton may just have the solution to the continuing problem.
    Kitchen’s Garage is offering an undercoating for vehicles that helps keep grime on the road and paint on your automobile.
    Fluid Film® creates a barrier that will prevent road chemicals from penetrating the metals on a vehicle by creating a film over areas sprayed to keep rust from forming.
Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Gloria Austin
SPRAY IT ON — Mike Kitchen demonstrates how to apply an undercoating to a vehicle. Undercoating can help preserve the life of your automobile.
    “We do the whole undercarriage,” said Mike Kitchen. “We don’t get in and drill holes in the doors, but we spray the complete underneath, bumper to bumper.”
    The sales distributor of Fluid Film® recommended having a vehicle re-sprayed every other year, but Bob Kitchen noted, “If it is your vehicle and you are going to keep it, I would do it every year for the price.”
    The price is $160.
    Without applying Fluid Film®, cars or trucks that travel day-in and day-out on Maine roadways in the winter will without a doubt suffer rusting damage that gets into the underside of a vehicle and within a few years, owners are looking to replace brake lines, rocker panels or the frame.
    When the salesman started talking about it being a penetrating oil plus an undercoating, which lasts longer than WD-40 and other equivalent products, and that Kitchen’s Garage would be the exclusive dealer in Houlton, that’s when their interest was piqued even more.
    Fluid Film® provides a film, which stays wet and is moisture resistant and will not freeze. Its unique solvent-free, lanolin and wools wax formulation supply long-lasting corrosion protection without evaporating from the surface.
    “It’s like peroxide to a cut,” said Mike. “It bubbles up, lays down and leaves an oily film.”
    Kitchens put the vehicle, ideally, the night before on the lift and it sets overnight, getting warm and dry. In the morning, the car is prepped.
    “The tires are pulled off and we clean off what dirt and rust we can,” said Bob. “Then, it’s sprayed.”
    The Fluid Film® comes in a five-gallon drum and is applied with a special spray-painting gun. The entire process from start to finish takes about an hour-and-a-half.
    Even though Fluid Film® comes in aerosol cans, Kitchens caution to be careful where it is sprayed.
    “Just don’t get it on your brakes,” said Bob.
    Mike injected, “If your car doesn’t have coated brake lines, the spray can cause a problem. Don’t get it on the brake rotators or brake pads because you won’t have any brakes because it is going to be slippery.”      
    After all, it is a lubricant. It keeps moving parts clear of hitches, while not harming plastic or rubber. It is water resistant, inhibiting build up of snow and ice. Economical and easy to apply, Fluid Film® has many uses from marine applications to landscaping equipment.
    The Kitchens had an old rusty stuck adjustable wrench. Bob applied Fluid Film® to the wrench overnight, which had been rusted closed for awhile.
    “We could not move that wrench,” said Mike. “But after Dad sprayed it, the next morning you could grab a hold of it and turn it. It ate away the rust.”
    Fluid Film® can be applied to any make or model of car or truck; and it is non-toxic.
    “If you are going to keep a car, with this calcium, you try to do whatever you can to keep it from rusting,” Mike said. “New vehicles can cost between $25,000-$35,000, so you want them to last a little bit.”
    Kitchens have undercoated about 30 vehicles. Some customers, after seeing the results, are looking at a Fluid Film® maintenance program.
    As with most things, Kitchens caution not all vehicles qualify for the application of Fluid Film®.
    “If a car is so rusted to the point where in a year it won’t be inspected anyway, it’s a waste of your money,” Mike said. “That would be the only reason I would not do it.”
    To learn more about Fluid Film®, call Kitchen’s Garage at 532-2109 or stop in and get a handout on the product. The product is also good for spring and summer, as it stops corrosion from fertilizers.
    For more on Fluid Film® visit www.undercoatmycar.com or call 356-2588.