Hello everyone, I wanted to document my experience with this industrial anti corrosion coating called coal tar epoxy. I bought a JK 2dr two weeks ago, and then drove it to my warehouse and parked it. Then i spent a week underneath it applying this epoxy coating to the frame and up the rockers. This was the first vehicle i have owned that wasn't rusty enough to attempt a preservation. The JK came from down south so the frame looked great.
I thoroughly washed the frame and undercarriage with degreaser and then let it dry for two days. In the mean time i purchased a cheapo undercoating gun from amazon with the intention of ruining it completely, which i did. Now the coal tar epoxy is a relatively cheap coating that is the trashy cousin of rustoleum's 9100 series, which was a little out of my price range at $200 for two gallons, one activator and one base.
The coal tar epoxy i picked up from McMaster-Carr and it came in a kit with a gallon of base, and a quart of activator, which means it mixes at 4:1 ratio. I had to sign government release forms to purchase it. Also, it can be thinned with Xylene/Xylol as with all epoxies, which is some nasty stuff in and of itself. Coal Tar Epoxy is used for corrosion resistance on bridges and pipelines that are submerged in salt water, so the salt up here in OH shouldn't stand a chance. But this stuff is gross, it will ruin everything it touches so i got a tyvek suit and some gloves and goggles and went to town.
The mixing was straight forward with a half inch drill and mixing bit. The instructions only say to prep the area with degreaser and make sure it is dry. So i loaded the gun up and clogged it instantly, couldn't even get it to work by thinning the paste beyond recognition. With the gun idea shot, i got to work painting with a 2 inch brush, and over the course of 3 days i got every part i could reach.
The coating hardened into a monster, i can hit it with a hammer, but it was so thick that my hands were cramped and wouldnt work properly for a week, and it left brush marks in everywhere. So i took some rubberized undercoating and just put a quick coat everywhere underneath and over the epoxy. It took away the glossy look which was good because it looked like crap with the brush marks.
Then to cap it all off, i filled my frame with fluid film to keep it from rusting from within. All in all, it was gross, nasty, time consuming and tiring, but i'm glad i put all that work in because i hate rust with the fire of a thousand suns and i really hope this works.
I thoroughly washed the frame and undercarriage with degreaser and then let it dry for two days. In the mean time i purchased a cheapo undercoating gun from amazon with the intention of ruining it completely, which i did. Now the coal tar epoxy is a relatively cheap coating that is the trashy cousin of rustoleum's 9100 series, which was a little out of my price range at $200 for two gallons, one activator and one base.
The coal tar epoxy i picked up from McMaster-Carr and it came in a kit with a gallon of base, and a quart of activator, which means it mixes at 4:1 ratio. I had to sign government release forms to purchase it. Also, it can be thinned with Xylene/Xylol as with all epoxies, which is some nasty stuff in and of itself. Coal Tar Epoxy is used for corrosion resistance on bridges and pipelines that are submerged in salt water, so the salt up here in OH shouldn't stand a chance. But this stuff is gross, it will ruin everything it touches so i got a tyvek suit and some gloves and goggles and went to town.
The mixing was straight forward with a half inch drill and mixing bit. The instructions only say to prep the area with degreaser and make sure it is dry. So i loaded the gun up and clogged it instantly, couldn't even get it to work by thinning the paste beyond recognition. With the gun idea shot, i got to work painting with a 2 inch brush, and over the course of 3 days i got every part i could reach.
The coating hardened into a monster, i can hit it with a hammer, but it was so thick that my hands were cramped and wouldnt work properly for a week, and it left brush marks in everywhere. So i took some rubberized undercoating and just put a quick coat everywhere underneath and over the epoxy. It took away the glossy look which was good because it looked like crap with the brush marks.
Then to cap it all off, i filled my frame with fluid film to keep it from rusting from within. All in all, it was gross, nasty, time consuming and tiring, but i'm glad i put all that work in because i hate rust with the fire of a thousand suns and i really hope this works.
