It’s a great time to be building and restoring vehicles, as there are so many reproduction parts available that weren’t around 10 or 20 years ago. Completing a project car is much easier today. Also, in addition to those hard-to-find trim items, some of the best restoration products available today are chemicals.

3M Underseal Undercoating

Some cheap undercoatings stay tacky forever, picking up dirt, rocks, road kill, etc. Not exactly what you want to see under your Chevelle after all that scraping and preparation. Try 3M’s undercoating. It’s rubberized, it covers well, it’s paintable and it has that nice undercoating texture. 3M’s Underseal Undercoating is the best undercoating we have found, and it was recently reformulated with even lower emissions (40% VOC). Underseal may be a little harder to find. Check out auto body supply stores, rather than Pep Boys or Kragen.

Chemical coatings that were once sent out for are now available in spray cans and bottles, and can be delivered right to your door. Gone are the days of the local plater losing your “correct-head” intake manifold bolts among 50 other guys’ bolts. Now you can plate them yourself and take the worry out of it.

In fact, there are so many great restoration chemicals out there that we could fill this entire magazine with chemical articles. We won’t, but you get the picture. You may not know about them all, so we’re going to show you a few of the more popular and most effective at work. We’ve even included a few traditional chemicals that we use regularly. Hopefully, including them may save you some time trying to find better solutions. We’ve just scratched the surface this time out. There are hundreds of other resto chemicals available. Sit back and enjoy the ride. Then get out to your garage and get to work.

Gunk Engine Brite

Old faithful. We’ve included it because it works and doesn’t harm original finishes, wiring or plastic. It just degreases. Still smells bad, however. Still cheap, though. Still the first chemical we grab after bringing home a new find so that we can really see what we’ve gotten ourselves into. 

Eastwood SelF-Etching Primer

Eastwood’s Self-Etching Primer etches and primes bare metal fast. It adheres to bare aluminum, steel and stainless steel much better than typical spray primers. Use it under primers and paints. Industrial quality. Lacquer based. Available in Sage Green, Gray and Black.

OEM Paints React

React rejuvenates black oxide parts without the expense and hassle. It dries quickly and brings the black oxide finish back to bolts that are looking a bit tired. It works on everything from bolts and nuts to clips, rivets, springs, etc.

Steering Box Quickie Cleanup And Resto

There are many schools of thought as to what to do to restore cast-iron parts that originally came from the factory with no protective coating. These “as-cast” parts have been nightmarish for restorers throughout time. General Motors’ Saginaw steering boxes came from the factory in bare cast iron. Therefore, by the time the car reached the dealership it already had a light coating of surface rust.