Those felt undercarriage panels

[cheetoduster]

My new-to-me '23 ST is basically new, so the undercarriage panels and wheels wells look clean and new, but how durable and dirt/dust resistant is that material? I imagine it would be hard to clean.

Has anyone ever given thought to putting a couple coats of an epoxy or something similar on them, give them some rigidity and harden/smooth out the surface? Just thinking out loud.

 

[UNBROKEN]

They last just fine. It’s not a new concept.

 

[2020FordRaptor]

My new-to-me '23 ST is basically new, so the undercarriage panels and wheels wells look clean and new, but how durable and dirt/dust resistant is that material? I imagine it would be hard to clean.

Has anyone ever given thought to putting a couple coats of an epoxy or something similar on them, give them some rigidity and harden/smooth out the surface? Just thinking out loud.

They seem to last pretty fine. A rigid brush and some soap to these make them look like new.

 

[ARC]

My question would be do we need them, or is it just for a more refined ride?

 

[Caster]

My thoughts are that they are there for better aerodynamics which helps fuel mileage. The added bonus is that they keep things they are covering pretty clean as well. I've never had much issue with cleaning them. I carefully pressure wash them - don't be an idiot, use a fan pattern or wide nozzle tip and keep the nozzle far enough away so that you are not cutting into them. They have always cleaned up pretty well doing that for me on lots of different Ford vehicles over the years.

 

[2020FordRaptor]

My question would be do we need them, or is it just for a more refined ride?

They are mostly there for sound deadening.