Have you ever noticed the sheet metal “lip” on the underside of the car, just behind the side-skirts? It’s pretty much hidden by the skirts, unless you happen to have your eyeballs down on the ground. That might seem silly; however there are times where your viewpoint and the car’s position allow for it to be easily seen.

Well, if you have a 10 year old car like me, it’s probably pretty rusty. I’m sure you’ve noticed it on other cars, as one of the first places exterior rust takes hold. And even if it’s not rusty, if you have a light-colored Maxima (like silver or white), you can’t help but think it’s breaking the lines of the car by having that misshapen lip underneath in the same color as the car.

It’s so easy to take care of. All you need is a wire-wheel on your drill to scrape off the rust, some Chassis Saver for the rust (or Por 15), some flat-black paint for a top-coat, and some disposable brushes.

I did this over the last few days, and wish I had done it years ago. Now I know this seems kind of simplistic, and maybe not even thread-worthy. But if it inspires someone else to look at this detail, then it’s all good.

Here are some before/after pictures.

And a couple more before/after pictures. The front of the lip was really bad on my car.

Of course, now I have to go do the other side of the car.

Anyway, here's the read-end side of the lip:

yeah im going to be doing rust proofing all around the underside of the car this summer...make sure its down to the bare metal or so it's shiny before ya paint otherwise it will just bubble soon and look like crap

Looks good Rochester. I like this idea even more for mine since I don't have the side skirts. I have noticed how shabby mine looks when siiting on a picnic table looking @ it parked 20' away.

Sand it down, sure. But Chassis Saver is great for rust like this.


Happy to oblige, Spock.

It's certainly not rocket science, and requires no skills nor finesse. It's just one of those little details that's been bugging me at the back of my mind for a while. And this time I decided to act on it.

That looks really good man. Nice pics and appreciate the post!

Cripes, those rusty pinch-welded thingies just disappear after you paint them... How come I never thought of doing that? Every time I wash my car, it's a nice reminder that it grew up in Ohio. Stupid winter!

Now I just have to find the ambition to lay on the garage floor for an afternoon to do it.

i was thinking more to pain my spare tire holder black...i thought about this one day too...looks good Roch

Stretch first. My neck was killing me the day after.

you old though

i painted everything under my car... put her on jackstands and went to town...rear beam..brakes...the whole under body.. front control arms etc...all black and sexy =)

You young bastards pess me off!

That looks really good, I'll be getting out the chassis saver soon on both of my vehicles I think to touch some things up.

OT: I noticed you're not lowered... all those mods and no springs? IIRC you're up in NY, Rochester to be exact.. Is it b/c the roads suck or another reason?

No, that's not it, the roads here are fine. It's because lowered rides look entirely ridiculous. I openly ridicule half-witted ricers who turn their beautiful rides into clown cars.

I know, man... not what you expected. Sorry 'bout that.

Getting a little crotchety there, eh Rochester.
But, I must admit that I completly agree with you on this one.

Now back on topic. Did you also wire brush & paint the inside of the lip as a preventative measure?

No, I won't be owning the car for the number of years it's going to take for it to matter. Although if I had the convenience of a lift (or bay), then yeah, I definitely would have done that. A lot of other underside stuff too, for that matter.

agree to disagree then.. my h&rs look great on the max!

Good tip and pics, thanks.

Nice work, glad your keeping busy!