Ugly Wheel Wells, What would you do??

[Super_Dave_D]

My wheel wells are really looking bad and its driving me crazy, first of all I don’t know if the under coating that is on this is even factory but its peeling off and there is nice red paint underneath. Under the red, is the factory stone guard so I am starting to think the black was applied by the PO.

What would you do to freshen up the wells? I power washed and tried to knock off the black and I got off all of the loose stuff and tons of dirt!! How can I get the black undercoating off without destroying the paint and stone guard. The picture shows where I am now. You can see where I got a little overzealous and took off some paint.

I have Wurth beige stone guard / Guards paint and the gun but I really don’t want to go that far. I also have some black Wurth undercoating and im tempted just to re-shoot it.

What would you do or have you done? Is this factory applied?

[al lkosmal]

i'd undercoat with Wurth high build undercoating.

regards,

Al

[911st]

Looks like dirt, just clean it up. More original that way.

[sc_rufctr]

The black stuff is factory applied. It's a sound deadening and protection coating.
Some RS and RSR models didn't have this applied to save weight...

How to make it look better?

Option 1. Strip it all off for that clean under body look... (lots of hard work)

Option 2. Touch up the bare areas with POR15 or similar and then cover same areas with body colour (using a mini foam roller) ... When these coats are dry reapply the sound deadening and protection coating.

Does anybody know what the factory stuff is called? Can you still get it? What's a suitable replacement?

I think it was called "Preolin" or something similar.

[Super_Dave_D]

Originally Posted by 911st

Looks like dirt, just clean it up. More original that way.

no its not dirt

[89911]

No need for anything but some work. Take the wheels off and start off with some heavy duty degreaser and a brush. Let that work to get the major crud off. Simple green works if you want to go with something gentler. Follow up with some solvent of choice (Kerosene, paint thinner, etc) to get the more stubborn stuff off. After your down, you will find the wheel wells are finished very nice. Mine looked similar to yours prior to cleaning. It was some sort of waxy, tar caoting that was on pretty good but came off with solvents. Try those first incase it isn't paint.

[911st]

Originally Posted by 911st

Looks like dirt, just clean it up. More original that way.

One man's sealer / over-spray and grease is another man's dirt.

Test your cleaners. On one car I used something like simple green or an orange product and got some discoloration.

If it is the tar that is around the strut plate, a heat gun works well on it.

[w21055]

Originally Posted by al lkosmal

i'd undercoat with Wurth high build undercoating.

regards,

Al

+1 on Al's suggestion.
Heres mine.

[Dixie]

The black stuff is factory applied. It's a sound deadening and protection coating.

The black stuff is not factory applied. The wheel wells on 911s were shot with Stoneguard and then painted the same color as the body. The black is a common detailer's "touch".

I bet a bit of soap, a bristle brush, and a little elbow grease will take the black right off.

[sc_rufctr]

Originally Posted by Capt. Carrera

The black stuff is not factory applied. The wheel wells on 911s were shot with Stoneguard and then painted the same color as the body. The black is a common detailer's "touch".

I bet a bit of soap, a bristle brush, and a little elbow grease will take the black right off.

Are you sure? I always thought it was applied at the factory. I had to use turpentine to get it off when I needed to. (Front Weimeister anti roll bar install)

[maxnine11]

I am going to guess it is a combination of brake dust/rubber/road grim embedded in the original cosmoline.
It was on my 993; can't remember what the SC looked like.

[JFairman]

Seems like a good pressure cleaner would get that stuff off. Steam and pressure would be even better. It could be old cosmoline which is like a sticky wax.

You'll have to get under there and take some time spraying, wear safty goggles, you'll be wearing alot of the crap when you're done.

Or just go over it with new puff cans of black undercoating spray. If you do that, buy name brand stuff like 3M or Wurth so it goes on nice and lasts.

If you do it in your driveway, drive the car onto a tarp to collect the overspray first.

[rgdtoo]

Two words, "Simple Green". Spray it on and watch the oil/dirt crud melt off. Don't dilute it, use full strength. It works miracles!

It's true, it's true...

Oh, don't forget a brush.

Rinse/wash with hot water when finished.

Yea that's it.

[Red Clubbie]

I also had similar dirt and gunk on mine when I got it.

All the pictures I have seen of wheel wells are the car colour, so I also don't think the underbody deadener is factory applied.



I started using degreaser but found the best method was to use straight kero on rags and plenty of elbow grease. Use plenty of different sized brushes too to get into the tight spots.

I continued onto the underbody and used the same method.



It's time consuming and dirty work, but the results are worth it I think.

Cheers,

Geoff.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by Capt. Carrera

The black stuff is not factory applied. The wheel wells on 911s were shot with Stoneguard and then painted the same color as the body. The black is a common detailer's "touch".

I bet a bit of soap, a bristle brush, and a little elbow grease will take the black right off.

I agree. I've seen the undercoating on some cars and I suspect the reason it doesn't stick in places is because of what the factory DID put on under there after the car was painted and assembled.