Has anyone had there car dipped? If so what is good or bad about it. Im having alot of trouble finding a paint stripper that will cut throug the layers of paint on this 73.
I have read up on dipping and decided to go against it, one of the problems that is associated with dipping a shell is the inner cavities, they fill up with the solution and clean all the crap out like they are supposed too, but you might never get the chemicals out of them. This is really detrimental because depending on what chemicals they use the chemicals can eat the car from the inside out if not propperly neutralized. Or the chemials can bleed out when you start moving the body around(like when you drive it) and contaminate everything around it. Another concern is once all of the paint/primer whatever is cleaned out of some of those areas you are unable to reach, how are you going to go about puting paint/primer back in. So all in all i looked at other options and found soda blasting was cheaper and definitely easier to find around here, allot of places are going away from chemical stripping due to the environmental impacts. Soda produces a very good starting point, you just wont be able to get in all the hidden corners like you can with the body dipping.
Friends 69 Camaro body was dipped. Good - Cleaned EVERYTHING off, quick process (ready next day) Bad - like mentioned, some of that stuff could still be lurking around. the ugly - the price. (IMO)
Dont dip...Its fine for industrial equipement...Not for car bodies. As stated, it will remove ALL coatings on the body. You really dont want to remove all the E coat the factory dipped the car in way back when.(Its' half the reason the car is still around) I dealt with a nova a few years ago that was dipped. The owner couldnt get primer to stick to it certain places...Took lots of extra scrubbing and a pressure washer to cure the malady. Media blasting is better but...It too will get into places it doesnt want to come out of till you start shooting paint. Dilligent clean up is the rule no matter which way you go...Good luck!!!
I dipped all my panels that came off the car. Its was a 2 stage. Dipped and stripped then into a neutralizer that also acts as a rust inhibitor for a very short time. They came out looking like a brand new part. The negative is the chemicals get into all the seams etc. Our body shop dealt with mine as they have done quite a few parts like this. It turned out great in the end but you really have to know what you are doing. It could be a disaster. You have to keep it rust proofed also to be on the safe side in the future. That means forget about it being a show car. My car has oil spots on all the seams. You can clean it off but it seeps. Were used to that up here but you southern guys likely dont oil spray. If I was doing another project on my own I wouldnt dip anything except maybe the valences? The price was good at less than 300 to do all my parts if memory serves. No way would I do a car shell though.
There are places that specializes in removal of rust, paint, undercoating, etc. I used this place in Ft. Wayne, IN. http://www.prostrip.com/ They placed all of my parts in an oven and baked off the paint, stripes, undercoating, body filler, etc. Once they come out of the oven....a shot of air from an air hose is all that is needed to blow off the "soot". Their oven is large enough they can do an entire car. That requires removal of all the glass, wiring, interior, etc. This place uses a variety of media to sand blast off any rust.
Wow Thanks, I had no idea dipping could cause so many problems. I guess Ill have a local guy blast my car.
All of the above plus dipping will remove the seam sealer that was put between the panels when welded together at the factory and you will never be able to replace it, just cover over the outside in the areas that you can get to.
Why dont you go with the airplane paint remover? You brush it on and the paint falls off. Theres barely any sanding involved, just be sure not to get it on your hands and body.
The brush on is a lot better than the spray can stuff. You can get a gallon for $40-$70 depending on what brand you get. I put it On pretty thick and came back an hour later and the paint fell off when scraping it. It was already to the metal. Hope this will work for you, it did for me and and a friend.
Tip for stripper. After you apply stripper cover it with mask paper while you let it sit. It helps the stripper penetrate and it doesnt evaporate. Took my shell down to metal no problems.
