frankadelic

If I have my whole car disassembled down to just the body shell wouldn't it be easier to just have it dipped instead of sanded? It's fairly straight with a couple of minor dings but no real bodywork to worry about. It would seem to be more cost efficient (less time) and a better base to start from. What are my drawbacks? I know the seam sealer would dissolve but what other issues does tank dipping bring up? What is my etching (time) window? I'm also considering seam welding the chassis for better rigidity. Has anyone done this? Is it worth the effort? What am I looking at in costs for all this? Any advice from the body pros would be helpful.

Black Magic

iTrader: (2)

you might have to clean all the metal after the bath to ensure no residue left over from the chemicals, im not sure on that though. Reguardless you're still going to have to sand down the bare metal to ensure the primer has a good grab on it. My FD had FOUR, yes FOUR paintjobs on prior to me redoing it this winter. I took a wire wheel and removed ALL of it to the OEM metal just to start fresh again. Your time window from the bath to painting should be ASAP, or if its sitting for some time, sand down the whole thing to remove any surface rust that may start to form even if unnoticed by the eye. Then use your sealer before the primer and you should be all gravy. In which like i said before, you'll have to sand it anyhow after the bath and or clean it as well before doing anything anyhow.

Bodywork = time/patience,,, and more time/patience and some skills as well, haha.

driftfc110

dont dip it . a thing that most people dont know is that they paint over your existing paint. your oem paint as long as it isnt peeling is often the best base for a new paint job. the more coats of paint and primer added to your car will increase the chance of chipping and chemical reactions between the different paints. but dipping would add alot of work to the prep for paint.

frankadelic

Thanks for the input guys, no one else seems to want to touch this question.
I'm a little confused by the above advice from driftfc110. You say to not dip the body shell. Why? I'm considering this option because I'm considering changing color. I want it done right (engine bay, interior as well...I don't have carpets it would look too weird) so it doesn't look jenky.
Could you elaborate and also tell me why there would be more prep work. It would seem that if the body were down to bare metal and everything was straight it would just need to be primed and shot.
Sorry, not a painter so I'm trying to figure out what I'm getting into here!

Cheers,

Frank

driftfc110

ok when you chemically dip a car there are alot of things to consider. think about all the nooks, crannies, and pockets that the "acid" may get into. consider all of the rust preventative materials that you will be removing from the inside of the unibody, yes they coat the inside of your car with rust preventative coating.



think about the bottom of the car, you will remove all of the coating under the car. how in the hell are you going to paint the bottom of the car??? rotiserie is the only way. this is going to be extremely costly. extremely costly.

bottom line your car is going to get rusty.

the materials used to paint the entire top bottom and inside costs will exceed the value of your car many times over.

if you leave the oem paint all you have to do is scuff the original paint and paint over it. done deal. cheaper better. the end. do not dip it, and you will live happily ever after.

demkog

iTrader: (2)

driftfc110 is correct in saying that the acid dip get into all aspects of the car the a pillar the rocker panels and every gap. That acid is never truly washed out and can leek out during and after killing your paint job in the door jam for example. but I feel soda blasting is the best root if their is no rust it removes all the paint with little heat and less likely to distort any sheet metal all it is, is baking soda and water a good wash and dry should remove any left over after wards, but right after you should have it epoxy primed even before any body work or you run the risk of a flash rusting. the undercoating thing is true but if you don't want to flip the car on a rotisarty then just leave it and don't blast it. later on get the car on a lift and touch up the underside. Leaving the oem or all the previous paint on the car IMO is wrong because as paint gets thicker the less it likes to flex with some one leaning on the car or heat expansion and more likely it will chip also if you use a more aggressive paint on top of a cheaper paint it could pull it up Seen R-M (dimont) pull PPG off a car. Also lets not for get all that paint is heavy and light is fast Just lightening my post. Taking a car down to bare metal IMO it the only right way to paint a car. Hope I was helpful.