Chemical dipping a 55 Chevy
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I would never do it, It removes prime/paint protection from metal surfaces that you can never get anything back on to protect from rusting. It also gets into spot welded overlapped panels that if not 100% neutralized (tough to do) will come back to haunt you once new paint is applied.
It also appears someone removed the VIN tag.
It also appears someone removed the VIN tag.
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2,614 Posts
I know Metalworks (large high dollar restoshop) does it.....they have to remove the VIN plate when they do it. That in itself is a good reason to not do it. They were selling one of those high dollar resto's the other day and the vin was riveted back on.
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I have a different take on the process. I think its the ultimate way to completely strip paint and rust from a body. When that body comes out of the tank, there will be no rust lurking in unseen areas. Every inch of the metal will be as clean as it was when brand new. My buddy had his '71 Dodge Challenger dipped 15 years ago, and he hasn't encountered any problems with it, and mind you, his car is a unibody, which has lots more overlapped panels and hidden areas than a trifive body has. A trifive body is fairly open, and you can reach almost everywhere with a wand type sprayer to apply epoxy primer. If the process is done right, you won't have any problems.
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The VIN tag is made of stainless steel. That part won't be affected by the chemicals.
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I think its called E-Coat. That would be the ultimate.
They are in Pennsylvania, are you looking for a place that does it?
Not sure where they are, I will check. I don’t need them at this point, maybe a future project one day.
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That was my first thought , lots of places that are almost impossible to ensure coated when trying to respray.
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Not sure why they do it, but that was the reason they have for the riveted VIN plate when it was noticed in their for sale ad.
Looks like they do a good job of neutralizing the acid.
Industrial Cleaning Services
Industrial Cleaning Services
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11,872 Posts
Some facts verses speculation. The chemicals used today for dipping are not the same. I have used the old style chemicals in small batches (95gals) to do wheels and its pretty horrible stuff but works great. But hard to get and expensive now.
I talked to the guy that does the videos he works for the company, just to pick his brain. The old style dip was pretty nasty stuff and would eat alot of things, and would remove the paint in one dip in not alot of time. The chemicals they use now are pretty off the shelve and not harsh to humans or the environment. They do take longer and they have to power wash the paint off as it doesn't completely dislodge and melt it. Basically there is a "base" paint stripper then its power washed and dipped in a mild acid which netulizes any base and removed any rust. Then powder washed and spray with rust inhibitor. So the days of the acid leaching out of everything are pretty much over.
I looked into dipping on this large of a scale and for me just not worth it. It takes like 2-3 days of the car in the tank for it to work. And they only do one at a time. Granted he adds small parts in same tank but just not worth it for me. I will say $3k for that service is a deal. But he is booked up a long time in advanced.
I may try the acid he uses as he did an engine block and it came out like new.
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I talked to the guy that does the videos he works for the company, just to pick his brain. The old style dip was pretty nasty stuff and would eat alot of things, and would remove the paint in one dip in not alot of time. The chemicals they use now are pretty off the shelve and not harsh to humans or the environment. They do take longer and they have to power wash the paint off as it doesn't completely dislodge and melt it. Basically there is a "base" paint stripper then its power washed and dipped in a mild acid which netulizes any base and removed any rust. Then powder washed and spray with rust inhibitor. So the days of the acid leaching out of everything are pretty much over.
I looked into dipping on this large of a scale and for me just not worth it. It takes like 2-3 days of the car in the tank for it to work. And they only do one at a time. Granted he adds small parts in same tank but just not worth it for me. I will say $3k for that service is a deal. But he is booked up a long time in advanced.
I may try the acid he uses as he did an engine block and it came out like new.
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I have had a couple builds "Dipped" and it is not as scary as it used to be. Stories of bodies going into the tank and dissolving were the the things of lore. They offer a zinc coating that will prevent any rust issues in the nooks and crannies and this "coating" is paint-able.(I don't think it is actually really a metal coating but it does seem to stop flash rust ).
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Fifteen years ago when my buddy's Challenger was dipped, they used Sodium Hydroxide (I saw the labels on the drums of the stuff myself). That's the main ingredient used in most drain openers. After the body came out of the tank, they hosed it down with water to neutralize, and finally, to prevent flash rust from occurring, they sprayed the body down with a mild phosphoric acid solution, similar to Ospho or Metal Prep.
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Sodium Hydroxide is what is used now. Its used in most off shelf paint removers now too. The good stuff is Methylene Chloride I still have a nice scar on my arm from just a drop of it. Its like from the movie Alien, their blood would eat through 5 decks of a ship. Well this stuff is almost as bad LOL.
Ideally you dip parts in 10-15% solution of Sodium Hydroxide then power wash, then dip completely in phosphoric acid solution which neturlaizes base and removes rust. But that takes days to complete. With Methylene Chloride it will remove paint or powder in 15 min typically. Nasty stuff but WAY faster. But Methylene Chloride will eat soft metals like AL and magnesium. I ruined one AL wheel leaving it in to long 18hrs by mistake. It pitted the face and back to render it unusable. Had to buy a new wheel, as well as didn't charge customer for the other 3 to make it right for my mistake.
Most dips shops are the Base acid dip. Which the base just removes the bond the paint or powder has with the metal, vs the nasty stuff will melt it completely!
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I know about Methylene Chloride. When I graduated from high school back in 1980, I got a summer job working at a marine paint factory. Among the chemicals I used to clean the paint vats was Methylene Chloride. Imagine standing inside a 6 foot high paint vat that's coated with wet marine paint, and brushing it clean with MC. I probably lost a few brain cells from the fumes.
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Methylene Chloride was the active ingredient on all paint stripper at one time now its been removed due to regulations. The concentrate I use you won't be breathing it, I use full face mask when opening the tank. Its nasty stuff. I tried just wearing a mask but it burned my eyes to bad. On thing to note is when the fumes are burned IE introduced to flames they break down into a nerve gas. Good stuff. lol
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