Acid dipping advice
Discussion
Mk1 capri, heavily modified in the 70's to a dire standard and subsequently repaired and further modded by myself in an even worse way..
Got a few areas remaining that will need professional attention namely the scuttle panel, rh a panel, small section of rear floor pan. And I'm sure that there will be more revealed..
these parts are beyond me so someone who knows what they are doing can do then. Beforehand though I am considering getting the car dipped to derust everywhere (including the repairs that I've carried out and haven't treated properly )
Questions are, how should I prep the shell prior to sending it away, thinking of welding a couple of bars under the sills to allow it to be lifted easier, but then this would make repairs harder?
How much metal is removed in the acid? Surface rust should disappear but then how much steel would be left?
After dipping the car then goes to the bodyshop and then presumably goes back to be galvanised/e-coated, would it not rust heavily in this interim period?
I know to drill holes in all the trap areas to allow liquid in and out again.
Got a few areas remaining that will need professional attention namely the scuttle panel, rh a panel, small section of rear floor pan. And I'm sure that there will be more revealed..
these parts are beyond me so someone who knows what they are doing can do then. Beforehand though I am considering getting the car dipped to derust everywhere (including the repairs that I've carried out and haven't treated properly )
Questions are, how should I prep the shell prior to sending it away, thinking of welding a couple of bars under the sills to allow it to be lifted easier, but then this would make repairs harder?
How much metal is removed in the acid? Surface rust should disappear but then how much steel would be left?
After dipping the car then goes to the bodyshop and then presumably goes back to be galvanised/e-coated, would it not rust heavily in this interim period?
I know to drill holes in all the trap areas to allow liquid in and out again.
droopsnoot said:
I'm not convinced rust convertors are a cure-all for anything, though I have used some as a belt-and-braces approach when I think I've cleaned it up well enough but not completely sure. Keep in mind that if you go for acid-dipping, all the stuff you've been applying will be gone as well of course.
The only way you'll be sure about the inside of box sections, whether you blast (which won't affect them) or dip (which might, and might cause a hidden part to disappear) is to have a look. There's some very small "spy" cameras with long leads on eBay for not much money, might be worth getting one and feeding it into your box sections to see what they're like.
Ooh camera is a good idea. Good call young man. I could even use it on the car when I've finished playing SAS spy perving gamesThe only way you'll be sure about the inside of box sections, whether you blast (which won't affect them) or dip (which might, and might cause a hidden part to disappear) is to have a look. There's some very small "spy" cameras with long leads on eBay for not much money, might be worth getting one and feeding it into your box sections to see what they're like.
xjsracer44 said:
I had an A35 race car dipped a few years ago & whilst it was really good at getting rid of the rust I wouldn't get another car dipped as the acid kept bleeding out of the bodywork seams for years afterwards & ruining the paint.
I'm hearing this repeatedly the more I research. Whislt final finish I do not care about, and I mean it, this car will be ratty as a ratty rat, I don't think I like the idea of acid getting pooled up in places for eternity. Had a slight change of thought. I need to buy a compressor, why don't I buy one, and a blaster, and do it myself?
Messy, yes, tume consuming yes, but my time is free and my garage is sweepupable so any reason why no?
droopsnoot said:
Very time consuming with the kind of compressor you can run from domestic mains supply. I've been doing bits and pieces of my restoration, using a selection of large plastic bags as adaptable blast cabinets, and it works reasonably well except that I spend more time either waiting for the compressor to catch up, or unblocking the media pickup hose.
I guess it depends on how much of it needs to be blasted - you can get rid of a lot of surface rust using an appropriate disc in the angle grinder - twisted wire brushes and the hard sponge disc can get rid of paint quite quickly, and the twisted wire brush will also "highlight" any thin parts of the bodywork. And by "highlight", I mean "turn into holes". But that's better than painting over them and having them come back later.
Would a 150 litre tank be sufficient? I guess it depends on how much of it needs to be blasted - you can get rid of a lot of surface rust using an appropriate disc in the angle grinder - twisted wire brushes and the hard sponge disc can get rid of paint quite quickly, and the twisted wire brush will also "highlight" any thin parts of the bodywork. And by "highlight", I mean "turn into holes". But that's better than painting over them and having them come back later.
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