I have a weird coating in the wheel wells and underneath my TSX. The previous owner lived in Michigan, so I know this is some sort of rust prevention coating. Did Acura apply this coating? How can I tell if it was for prevention or to cover up something existing? Thanks for any input.

 

What does it look like? Anything like this?

 

Ya it does. I also emailed the dealership I bought the car from. They said it was applied to it from the factory or from the dealer in Michigan. I have never seen that before.

 

does it look like short plastic hair? if so its factory. i had it stock in the wheel wells on my 08 TL, its to make it quiet when going through water puddles.

 

It does look like that, that is a preventive coating im assuming?

 

Yes, some of these sprays also supposedly reduce road noise as well.

 

I took a screwdriver to the coating and was able to scrape some off. I picked three random spots and saw no rust. I just want to make sure this coating is not to cover up existing rust.

 

I just checked the Carfax and when the dealership in Michigan bought it originally it had paint sealant/fabric guard installed. That must be the coating that is underneath my car, correct?

 

^ yeah.

 

Well, "paint sealant" is a wax on the paint, and "fabric guard" is scotchguard on the seats. (Maybe in the case of leather, they apply a leather conditioner). Basically verpriced items to boost dealer profits.

The black thick stuff you have is probably the factory sprayed undercoating. I have it on my car.

When I put my car on a lift to inspect the underneath and to to my own rustproofing, I noticed that the factory had already sprayed it, but it was a rough spray, even some plastic parts were covered (including overspray on the oil filter!)

(My own rustproofing includes buying a few cans of "rubberized undercoating", removing protective plastics etc from under the car and spraying as much metal as possible. I used 3 cans at 10$ a can, so quite cheap. But you need access to a lift!)