Anybody done this? Also what about dipping it afterwards to protect it? Hey Casey a few years ago at your SHin-Dig I talked to you about your buddy who did the antirust dipping of metal. Could a whole body be dipped? If so will paint and bodywork adhere to it?
Mikey, whatever you do, don't dip the body chemically, your seriously regret it later. I know there are some strippers you can brush on, and very, very easily scrape right off. J
The acid will seep out of the cracks and pores for a LONG time afterwards..... leaves little rust stains everywhere it does, especially in the welded seams of the engine compartment. JH
Media blasting I have seen a couple of disasters on body frame cars from chemical stripping, I would imagine a unibody like a Mopar would even be worse for structural integrity. Cars today are designed to be e-coated and have drainage paths designed in to get everything out of them. I had my 68 W30 completely media blasted for $800 on a spit. It was completely disassembled and came back really nice. Not sure exactly what they used, but no signs of warpage anywhere including the big flat panels. Bringing it home on an open trailer was a little shaky, but did clean out the residue.
Auto zone sell a stuff called air craft stripper. I have never seen paint jump off like it does. I stripped down my motor cycle parts and in 30 sec the paint just curled up n fell off. Id love to get my hand on a 5 gallon bucket to do my car. a pint is about $6 but works so darn well and worth it. You just hose the paint off and it kill the chemical reaction. But don't get it on you.
Mike, I'd protect "Mr. Winky" pretty well when doing this :eek2: What's gonna happen with all the hair? Does it dissolve or does it get stuck in the drain? As for paint work are you having a Speedo painted on?:shock: :eek2: :moonu:
paint removal i was going thru this exact problem this spring,i used both chemical and media blasting,before i got behind and had to reassemble the car for stanton.they both have their drawbacks chemicals will leave residue in the cracks.aircraft stripper works well but leaves a big mess with a drill and wire brush.my stripper[media blaster] was going to do my complete car [challenger]for $1200. unless you pull the dash out expect media to collect there and never completely disappear.
I just worry about blasting. I hear so many horror stories of warped panels. Right now the car is already pretty well stripped down. It's still sitting on the wheels and the only thing left inside is the steering column and wiring harness. Also the side glass is still in. Other than that she's pretty much disassembled. If in fact a dipping in stripper could be neutralized then dipped in a rust preventative. That should cure the dreaded "POP THROUGH" of body work in a couple years. I willl keep on researching different avenues. I want to get this thing going to have the car ready for next season.
Mike, The guy that you are thinking of from my Shin-Dig was a company called "Carponents". He was about 20 miles from my house, and was the ONLY place this side of the Mississippi (country, possibly ??) that would completely strip and E-Coat an entire body. He was actually using one of the Big 3's OEM E-Coat companies to do the work. Last fall, the E-Coater that he was going thru decided that it was "too much work" to do single runs for his restoration stuff, so they stopped working with him. It was really a pretty cool process though. They chemically stripped everything first, then ran it thru a BUNCH of cleansing solutions to neutralize the acid, etc., and then it went thru the E-Coat process. This was EXACTLY how they do new vehicles today, so it was definitely a stable process. I must agree with the others though ...... don't just chemically strip the car. You'll be sorry in a couple of years when the seams start to "weap". The guy's Superbird that I did the motor for, had it media blasted with some type of soda(?) media. It came out MINT, with no hint of distortion, etc. Hope that helps. Case.
Chemical stripper will work fine. Make a week long project and strip a panel or two a day. Spend about a 2 hours a day. You will be more careful and not get tired/bored doing it this way. I have stripped many cars this way myself. I have also used media stripping. It works great with an experienced operator. Media goes EVERYWHERE! As stated earlier, this is better for a car that comes all the way apart.
Mikey: like everything else, blasting has come a long way, and you literally have a multitude of blasting materials...not just plain old sand anymore. Walnut shells, plastic beads, glass beads...even different shapes & sizes of media depending on how aggressive you want to be. We have had a couple or 3 cars blasted now, and it's the way to go. We stripped a car once, and it's a pain. With blasting you can literally take the paint off a layer at a time, or you can blow a hole right through the metal if you wish. We are in the middle of finishing up the resto of our '69 Yenko Nova, which was media blasted...we were pretty selective due to both the initial and finished value of the car, and we are happy with our choice. Any semi-competent blast business can fix you up no problem...
Soda Blast...Leaves the car smooth and WILL NOT distort the metal. Around here 800. to 1200 for an entire car. Bio-degradeable and washes away with water.
Where do you guys find blasters that'll do media other than sand? I live in a pretty good sized city with lots of local blasting outfits, and not one of them will use a media other than sand. Or is soda blasting yet another thing I've got to learn to do myself?
Ace Strippers, Hazel Park Found Ace Strippers at the State Fair Swap Meet a few years back. Right next to Hazel Park raceway. They do a lot of big 3 work on plating racks, paint fixtures, etc. Lots of them around the Northern Detroit suburbs. Beautiful job on top, bottom, inside and out.
We use a couple places down in the boonies in Arkansas...but that might be a little too far for you to travel! Surely to goodness if we have this kind of "technology" here in the hills and hollers you "city folk" have had this at your disposal for years...o No:
Blasting - Brian - Try City Auto Body in Grand Haven Michigan. They blasted my front fenders and hood a couple of years ago using plastic media. Great results and no distortion.
I have used plastic media blasting for about 10 complete restos. I have them plastic media blast the top side and use sand for the underside that has to chew thru the factory undercoating. That is the best way to go on a TOTALLY striped unibody. I bought a Challenger T-A a few years ago the was sand blasted with the dash and heater box in it and it was supposedly masked off real good but on top of the heater box was 2 inches of sand, the radio was filled and you couldnt hardly turn the dials, and the fuel and the amp gauge were half filled up with sand. I stilled had to take the dash out of it. If you leave the glass in the doors, the window mechinisms will work like crap. Thanks Jim
What Dave said Ace did the shell of my Mustang for $800...Actually, I have Sharon dropping off the front valance panel and a few other small parts there today. They do a good job. I am still getting media out of the car though. I bet I've pulled a five gallon bucket full of media out of the car.
