C3 Wheel/Fender well paint ??

[Mark Heff]

Currently scraping off old undercoating (aargghh) from 70 C3 in the wheel well area. Question - is this area simply painted with what type of black paint, or is it undercoated ? I am guessing from the "Mill" it was not undercoated ? Was this done at the dealer ?
Trying to make it correct....for future judging.
Thanks !
Mark

[Tom R.]

Blackout!

Blackout in the early years...

[Kent K.]

Re: C3 Wheel/Fender well paint ??

Mark - wheelhousings were painted black and had varying coverages of undercoating depending upon who did it and how much in a hurry he/she was at the time. In the mid-years, the undercoating was a quick spritz in an arching motion to cover just a portion of the wheelhousing. Which one came first, paint or undercoating, I am unsure but someone else will jump in and help. Good luck with your restoration.
Kent #6201

[Charlie P.]

Re: C3 Wheel/Fender well paint ??

Some undercoating was applied in the wheelwells at the factory. My guess is that it was applied because it would stand up to chipping better than thin paint, so the black-out effect lasted longer(?) It sure wasn't to keep the fender liners from rusting.

[Kent K.]

Re: C3 Wheel/Fender well paint ??

Mark, Tom & Charlie - Someone else more familiar with the '70 MY may chime in to ammend this. In the '68-9 JM, it reads "Undercoating is applied after the body color and before black-out is done. Front wheel wells are undercoated in various degrees towards the rear portion, behind the front tire. Rear wheel wells are undercoated in the rear portion, behind the rear tire." I believe this would be very similar to what your '70 received during assembly.
Kent #6201

[Dick W.]

Re: C3 Wheel/Fender well paint ??

The undercoating applied at the factory was more for sound deadening than anything else (can you imagine more road noise than you already have? ). It was applied sparsley as Kent described. 3M has a product that works very good, #08881 Ruberized undercoating. Use sparingly as Kent sugested

[Mark Heff]

Re: C3 Wheel/Fender well paint ??

Thanks for the 3M # and how/where it's applied. I am guessing that I am scraping off original undercoating, but it looked real tired and I thought it would be better to get a better "blackout" look in that area.
Not a "Survivor" car, so I thought it was time for new black. Appreciate the info, as always.
Mark