Washing the underbelly

I have a new Mustang with 61 miles on it. I want to wash the underbelly and keep the road muck from building up. How would I get some detergent under there and rinse it off?

Someone suggested I drive over some lawn spinklers:lol:

I cant suggest anything besides raising the car up on jack stands or doing it at the pit.

I dont think thats such a good idea anyway. I believe that would speed up the rusting process of the unprotected/unpainted surfaces. I guess if would be ok if you live in an area where it doesnt rain much and its not humid.

like alkemist said, it will probably speed up the rust process. but if you must do it then i would suggest drying it off best you can afterwards. now as far as going about washing under there, i also agree with alkemist on using jackstands. never thought about driving over lawn sprinklers though lol

Yup, it's a interesting question. Just what is the good vs. the bad of washing underneath. Maybe place a fan in the back of the car after I wash it?

What I hoped to find was some kind of liquid that could be sprayed up under the car to loosen the dirt and then follow with a water spray and a fan.

Sounds like I'm being obsessive, but it's just kind of a fun challenge to see what kind of wacky contraption I can come up with.

yeah i hear ya man. i had a friend that used to go under his car and dry it with towels everytime he drove in the rain. now that my friend is being obsessive lol needless to say if i was going to buy a car from someone he would be a good canidate. but anyway you are looking for some kind of cleaner for underneath your car? i'll look around and see if i could come up with anything. placing a fan behind the car after washing it will dry it somewhat im sure.

Would it still speed up the rusting process if an undercoating was applied after it was cleaned. I thought that undercoatings were supposed to protect. If I had the time that soviautos.com (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/member.php?u=466101) seems to have, I'd probably clean under mine.

What? You mean you're busy between 3 and 4 in the morning? Sleeping's for babies! Anyway, there is a product called Boeshield T-9 that you can spray under your car that will act as a water barrier and slow down any rust. It's from Boeing for aircraft but it works good on any machinery. It's different than WD40 and the like. It's a type of wax that has to dry overnight, but I've heard its great stuff.

thanks for the advice soviautos.com (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/member.php?u=466101). By the way, do you work?, I'd be up between 3 and 4a.m if I didn't work two jobs :)

Another option you have is clean it one good time and let it dry good and then jack it up and cover the entire underside in either underbody protectant or the spray on bedliner stuff.

I have a 67 Mustang Coupe that I'm doing a restomod on and I need to clean the under belly then going to coat it to stop rust, but because I live in California I can't use a great cleaner that would take all the gunk off. I've tried 4 or 5 different "California watered downed free to be you and me hug a tree versions" but NONE of them work. One that I wish I could get my hands on before the tree huggers came to town was I think named 'purple power' or something like that, comes in a spray bottle that has a purple label. If anybody lives in Cali and knows one that I can use that will REALLY take the gunk off, please message me!

Turns out that the stuff called "Boeshield" (made by Boeing, no less) is the stuff that should be sprayed and let dry on the undercarriage. I'm looking into it and will buy a can to test it. I'll let ya all know.

Theres actually underbody washes you can get through touchless carwashes. I bought a 2000 SVT Contour a few months ago and the previous owner used to take it through an underbody wash everytime he got the car washed. For being 6 years old, the underbody is flawless. Looks brand new and no rust.

Another option you have is clean it one good time and let it dry good and then jack it up and cover the entire underside in either underbody protectant or the spray on bedliner stuff. Isn't the bedliner stuff permanent:eek: ? I can see how that'd be a good thing, but I'll just stick with an underbody protectant for now.

Yah it's permanent that's why if you were going to do something like that get it up in the air and get all the old stuff off and spray a good layer of it on. Not only will it protect from rust but it makes it alot easier to clean as all you need to do is just spray it off with water. When I get the money for it I'm gonna do that to the undercarriage of my jeep when I lift it.

Sounds interesting. Seems like it'd be a great idea for off-road vehicles, or those which see harsher environments.

Sorry, I guess everybody is mis-understanding my response/question, I need to CLEAN the underbody first then COAT. I am not worried about the COAT part. Only the CLEAN part. I need something that will take the gunk off.

I've tried:

Gunk
oven cleaner
other generice degreasers/cleaners

Sorry, I guess everybody is mis-understanding my response/question, I need to CLEAN the underbody first then COAT. I am not worried about the COAT part. Only the CLEAN part. I need something that will take the gunk off.

I've tried:

Gunk
oven cleaner
other generice degreasers/cleaners

THis may be a stupid response but...what about lifting the car (if you have access to a lift) and using a pressure washer on it. I'd probably do a little bit of research before actually attempting this because I'm not sure of what this could harm, but it's just a thought:lol:...after all you wouldn't want to do more harm than good.

THis may be a stupid response but...what about lifting the car (if you have access to a lift) and using a pressure washer on it. I'd probably do a little bit of research before actually attempting this because I'm not sure of what this could harm, but it's just a thought:lol:...after all you wouldn't want to do more harm than good.

I don't have access to a lift. And since I live in Cali. I don't think I'll get away with it. All the "Free to be you and mee hug a tree folks" out here will get me strung up for sure.

How will putting the car on a lift and using a pressure washer that sprays out water only tick off the tree huggers? Since you don't have access to a lift how about a pair of ramps you could drive it up on and then crawl under it with a good strong degreaser and water hose and then turn the car around and back it up on the ramp and get the back half? Use a water hose with spray nozzle, strongest degreaser you can find, and a scrub brush that would be used to brush wheels.

How will putting the car on a lift and using a pressure washer that sprays out water only tick off the tree huggers? Since you don't have access to a lift how about a pair of ramps you could drive it up on and then crawl under it with a good strong degreaser and water hose and then turn the car around and back it up on the ramp and get the back half? Use a water hose with spray nozzle, strongest degreaser you can find, and a scrub brush that would be used to brush wheels.

Well, I did forget to mention 1 thing. The car has been gutted. No motor, tranny, interior, seats, etc. Sorry forgot to mention that! I'm trying to do this at my house. Or I just came up with an idea, maybe I could put the wheels back on, put the car on a trailer. then take it over to the sprayer. I have a pressure sprayer myself. I could just roll it out of the garage into the drive way and try it that way.

I would think a pressure washer would remove whatever contaminants you need to remove. Again, be careful not to get water where you wouldn't want it.

I would think a pressure washer would remove whatever contaminants you need to remove. Again, be careful not to get water where you wouldn't want it.

Yeh, nothings in the car, so I think what I'll do is just spray the hell out of it with some kind of cleaner, let it sit for an hour or so, then user my pressure sprayer to clean it. I'll post back after I try it. Gotta get it clean Before I put my new front suspension on.