Captiva

Anti-Corrosion Treatment and Repair

Warning : When applying sound deadeners, or anti-corrosion materials due care and preventative measures must be exercised to prevent any material from being sprayed into door and quarter panel mechanisms such as door locks, window run channels, window regulators and seat belt retractors, as well as any moving or rotating mechanical or suspension parts on the underbody, particularly the parking brake cable. After material application, be sure that all body drain holes are open. Improper application may increase chance of corrosion damage or limit the operation of moving parts, resulting in personal injury.

Any procedure that disturbs these special treatments, such as panel replacement or collision damage repair operations, may leave the metal unprotected and result in corrosion. Proper recoating of these surfaces with service-type anti-corrosion material is essential.

After repair and/or replacement parts are installed, all accessible bare metal surfaces must be treated with metal conditioner and reprimed. Refer to the GM Approved Refinish Materials book which identifies the paint systems you may use.

The latest revision of the GM Approved Refinish Materials booklet is located on the GM Genuine Parts website at www.genuinegmparts.com.

After a collision, some vehicle structure areas such as frame rails, cross-members and sill panel sections may need to be repaired. In most cases, the anti-corrosion materials need to be removed to perform these repairs. These materials are classified into two types: Closed Cavity coatings and Undercoat coatings. The primary difference is the way the products set up or "dry". Both are intended to protect the surface they are applied to from corrosion caused by water, salt water or Magnesium Chloride blended de-icing compounds used to thaw icy winter roads. They also can provide a measure of sound deadening.

The Closed Cavity coatings remain sticky to the touch and will seep into seams initially and over extended periods of time. Closed Cavity coatings provide the best corrosion protection inside of sill panel sections, pillar sections, frame rails, cross-members, doors, rear compartment lids and closed areas of bonnets - anywhere that is concealed or closed off to exterior surfaces.

The Undercoat coatings are "dry to the touch" and offer the best corrosion protection and sound deadening for floor pans, wheelhouses, inside rear compartment and under bonnet areas - anywhere the coated surface is exposed.

Below is a listing of Undercoat coatings and Closed Cavity coatings that GM believes to be reliable. While others may exist, we have found these products, or equivalents to them, can be used with satisfactory results. Always use these products according to their manufacturer's recommendations.

Undercoating and Closed Cavity Coatings

The following products are available from *Automotive International/Valugard. Contact them at 1-800-543-7156, or at www.valugard.net

The following products are available through your local *3M® distributor. Information about 3M® product retailers in your area may be obtained at 1-866-364-3577 or at www.mmm.com/automotive.

The following products are available from *Crest Industries, Inc. at 1-800-822-4100 or www.crestauto.com.

The following products are available from *Kent Automotive. Contact them at 1-888-YES-KENT (888-937-5368) or at www.kent-automotive.com.

*We believe these sources and their products to be reliable. There may be additional manufacturers of such material. General Motors does not endorse, indicate any preference for or assume any responsibility for the products from these firms or for any such items which may be available from other sources.

Sealers are intended to prevent water and dust from entering the vehicle and also are anti-corrosion barriers. Sealers are applied to such areas as rear compartment lid hem flanges, wheelhouse, quarter outer, floor, cowl, roof, and various other panel to panel attaching points. The originally sealed joints are obvious and any damage to these sealed locations should be corrected by resealing. Attaching points of new replacement panels should be resealed. Replacement lids and doors will also require sealing in the hem flange areas.

Flanged joints, overlap joints, and seams should be sealed using a quality sealer of medium-bodied consistency. The sealer used must retain its flexible characteristics after curing and be paintable.

Open joints which require bridging of the sealer in order to close a gap should be sealed using a heavy-bodied caulking material. Follow the label directions for the material selected.

Color application may be required in order to restore repaired areas such as bonnet, wings, doors, quarters, lid, roof, engine compartment, underbody, and inner panels to original appearance. When this is necessary, conventional refinishing preparation, undercoat buildup, and color application techniques should be followed.

Deadener materials, spray-on type, are used on various metal panels in order to provide corrosion resistance and joint sealing. They control the general noise level inside the passenger area of the vehicle. When deadeners are disturbed because of damage, are removed during repair operations, or a new replacement panel is installed, the deadener material must be replaced by a service equivalent material. The application pattern and location of deadener materials can be determined by observing the original production installation.

Cleaning of the interior and underbody panel surfaces is necessary when original galvanized or other anti-corrosion materials have been burned off during welding or heating operations. Removal of the residue from burning will require additional care in such areas as interior surfaces of box-type construction and when configurations of the metal panels limit access to interior surfaces.