Cleaning up undercarriage with rust encapsulator, positive or negative?

Hey all. I'm doing a light restoration on an '87 SR5 to flip on BaT. No concerning rust but there is surface rust on the undercarriage. I've been planning on cleaning up underneath with a pressure washer, brake cleaner and then rust encapsulator but after perusing a bunch of BaT N60 auctions I've noticed that none of them seem to have fresh paint on the undercarriage.

I don't mind investing a bunch of work for potentially little to no value add but it does bring up the concern of whether the rust encapsulator might actually hurt the value of the vehicle. Like, is it possible bidders may feel like I'm hiding something? In my mind it's a big value add, but IDK. Trying to do this the right way.

Curious for your thoughts.

 

I am not understanding the use of "brake cleaner". It seems you intend to use it on the whole undercarriage?
That seems a mis-use of the product. Is the undercarriage soaked with oily residue? If lots of oily areas I suggest a commercial do it yourself car wash with the wand set on soap (non hazardous). You can get all the undercarriage oil free, then rinse well with plain water. I think the "rust encapsulator product ??" would hide corrosion. And lower value.
If you want to use a product that chemically converts rust to a stable substance (rust lock product) that makes some sense. Then leave it un-painted. Choose this type product carefully-most are hazardous. Does the undercarriage have just mild surface rust (a wire brush will reveal shinny steel easily) or more serious rust that flakes off when scraped?
Pics will be helpful.

 

Just mild surface rust, nothing that flakes.

 

As a potential buyer, a fresh coat of POR15 or similar would make me think that something was being hidden.

I suppose one thing you could do is take a detailed before and after pictures and videos, to show any potential buyers that you are only addressing cosmetic issues.

 

Clean it up and hit it with surface shield, will help stop the spread.

 

If it really is only surface rust and is an 87 I'd leave it.

Nothing hiding and nothing affecting the vehicle.

 

Well, definitely leaning against it now but let me pose this question. What if we took lots of before pictures and took video of the process. Would that change how you perceived it or still suspect?

 

It's an '87. Not going to affect value significantly either way. The fact you have a 38 year-old frame with no rust holes is already an oddity.

 

Original is always better if the condition is how you describe. IMO.