Bodyshell dipping Vs Blasting

[KevJTD]

Does anyone have any 1st hand experience of modern bodyshell dipping process as far as how effective it is?
I hear horror stories from folks about seams that bleed rust after a few years.
Sand-blasting is very harsh but there are places that do it with Walnut shell etc, but what about the underside that has thick underseal on it which I can't see sand getting off?

What is considered the best solution for revealing the corrosion without causing more issues down the line.

I have a new project that I want to do the best I can with.

Grinding off layers of underseal is not a nice job, but is it the best solution to do it all by hand?

Kieth???

[Kegsti66]

Hi Kev,
As you know most of my jobs are sand blasted and old '60's cars or earlier. We have panels dipped but they don't tend to have underseal.
If chemicals are used on a shell I think you just need to know they have been thoroughly cleaned down and dried, and treated after as all areas will be bare. Boxed sections will need protecting.
If you do it by hand you can isolate how much saturation the floor sections get, but it is very messy and ideally you want the car on a spit. If the blasting is not an option, that is all you can do. But gravity can make paint stripper hard and very dangerous to use.
I am sure you have experienced it burn your skin. When using it, if you can, keep a bowl or sink handy with clean water just in case you get splashed. Gloves and goggles are a must.
Blasting is still the best thing to expose corrosion and prepare metal prior to repairs.
Hope that is of help.
Curious to know of the next project. Do you ever rest?

[KevJTD]

Thnaks for that mate, was just trying to find an easy alternative to the messy & slow scraping of old underseal.
Guess i'll just have to man up
Will look into soda/walnut blasting though.
Once made the mistake of taking a hatch to the local blasters whose used to doing lorry trailers, came back with more ripples than the North Sea!

New project?

Finally got an integrale........or should do in a few weeks, shook on the deal and he's a guy I'd trust not to back out

[justsuds]

there is a place locally here that burns off the paint and underseal etc off, then dips them to remove rust, the advantage being that the rust remover is a lot kinder than stripper and a sort of rust preventer too, but don't really understand the chemistry of it, one of my customers has had his series 1 Sud ( - dark green, been off the road for years, hopefully another one to appear next year ) done recently and was very pleased with the results, - I can get more info if you need it Kev.
John.

[PETROLHEAD]

Immediate results are always fantastic with dipping, its the historic issues that CAN be the blight of the process.

As stated before, the important bit is the neutralising and drying, before the first protective coats go back on.

My personal fear comes from the knowledge that on occasion, the chemicals have managed to hang around in really tight seems and cavities, only to leech out some time later, almost always after completion of the love and pride of its owner restorer, so the timing couldn't be worse, but nor could the position of it.

An important chassis seam or previously protected cavity now rusting and decaying with the speed and assistance of aggressive substances, is going to be a lot harder to repair than a rusty arch or holey wing when starting the project isn't it


Its not a common occurence as far as i know, but knowing my luck, it'd happen to me! ha ha!


Many of these process's started life across the pond in good ol' US of A, along which are a couple more that you could consider, and that would soda, vapour, and dry ice blasting.

These should guarantee no heat and warping of panels

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_9nITRz--0