I recently looked at an XK8 of which an underside pic was provided (see attached). I’ve owned a lot of cars but other than a respray have never seen an underside painted the same as the body. Did I miss the memo.... dealer indicates, no respray... Thank you for any input!
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In production the entire bodyshell first went through anti-corrosion/preparation processes before receiving a full coverage of primer and base colour. This has an almost matt or satin finish and can be seen on the inside of the engine compartment, luggage compartment and underside. Because of the limitations of the painting process, the insides of the door panels are rarely fully covered in an even primer or colour. The visible outer panels were then finished to a high gloss which didn't include the underside. The completed painted shell moved on to the assembly line.

From photos and video of the production process I've seen, there is no evidence the underside was covered in any further protection at the factory (the typical black material) and many examples in the UK have a lot of rust and paint missing from the underside due to the combined effects of rain, salt and abrasion. JLR have always had a reluctance to show the paint stage to visitors or video makers so the only evidence comes from views of the vehicle at later stages in the production process.

Both my 2001 and 2005 XK8's were fully painted underneath although much rust was also in evidence.

Graham

 

Thank you for the insight, I learned something!