Media blast or Dip

[Rack]

  Rack...the name of the place in Conroe is Houston Metal Stripping.  Try 281-367-4037 or 281-541-5234 and ask for R.L.  He's an old fart and when I brought in my car, he had a full house.  About 5 cars ahead of me, Stangs, Camaros even an AMC they were all there.  Now this was 6 years ago so maybe the #'s have changed. Good luck bro.

Thank you Sir, I'll call them on monday.

[bull]

Don't use epoxy primer on bare metal no matter what the paint companies tell you.

What's the problem with epoxy primer? It should be fine if you don't leave it outside.

[gtx6970]

Having owed a car that has had panels dipped. I'll NEVER dip a panel , let alone a complete body.

Every time the car was exposed to moisture, whether it was caught in the rain or just sat in the garage and had condensation settle on it .Every seam in the car would bleed rust.
Never again.

We've had 3 cars now plastic media blasted and will do the next one this way as well.

[Dodge Don]

Having owed a car that has had panels dipped. I'll NEVER dip a panel , let alone a complete body.

Every time the car was exposed to moisture, whether it was caught in the rain or just sat in the garage and had condensation settle on it .Every seam in the car would bleed rust.
Never again.

We've had 3 cars now plastic media blasted and will do the next one this way as well.

I do not disagree with your findings but that is because the seams were not opened up to completely address all the rust. You can dip or blast....but if you don't address the seams you have not addressed the rust in there.

[xs29j8Bullitt]

Here is a thread that I started on Moparts about media blasting:

http://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=4027702&an=0&page=0#Post4027702

After reviewing the options and the pros & cons of each, I will have the C500 plastic media blasted because I feel it is the safest method overall... IMO

Here is a good discussion about media blasting options:

http://www.nstcenter.com/writeup.aspx?title=Abrasive%20Blasting&page=TechResourcesAbrasiveBlasting.html

XS

[tan top]

I never dip cars. It removes seam sealer in places that are impossible to get at to replace it. It also removes all of the flutter control substance that keeps the car from rattling.
Besides, that stuff ends up down in the quarters and any other recess that it flows into which can lead to rusting on cars that never had rust issues before.
I say go with the media blasting performed by a professional.
The ideal way is to sand all surfaces possible with sandpaper no coarser than 80 grit and then media blast the rest. Then 180 sand the entire car, clean with wax and grease remover and apply acid etch primer. Don't use epoxy primer on bare metal no matter what the paint companies tell you.

                     also  true eatch all bare metal   , yep  not keen on chemical dipping for that reason ,  would not have any of mine dipped.

[hotrod98]

Anyone in or near Arkansas we started a media blast business last year most cars cost less than 500 dollars. We use baking soda and a really fine abrasive called star blast. If you need more info e-mail (judywewer@yahoo.com) Have worked as a sand blaster for over 30 years. Also all equipment is on a trailor i can come to you.

I'm pretty good at guessing, but I bet you live near Scranton and are related to a guy named Bobby. 

Tell us more about star blast. I just might be interested in having you do some blasting for me.
I live in Greenwood and own a restoration business that specializes in musclecars.
I need to blast a 69 runner real soon.

[moparracer]

I did my 68 roadrunner with starblast. You will need to remove all the glass and chrome but the clean up after blasting is as easy as blowing with air. Starblast is a dupont material that is made up of several different chemicals. it will create heat but if you know how to use it it works fine.We have used it on several cars with good results and the cost is not bad compared to other abrasives.

[69hemi]

1. I never dip cars. It removes seam sealer in places that are impossible to get at to replace it. It also removes all of the flutter control substance that keeps the car from rattling.
2. Besides, that stuff ends up down in the quarters and any other recess that it flows into which can lead to rusting on cars that never had rust issues before.
3. Did you catch that episode of American Hotrod when the car came back from the dipper and when they removed the quarters, they were filled with sludge? Nasty stuff. I don't want that crap in my cars.
4. Wouldn't feel comfortable dipping any car until they come up with a way to dip the car in a cleaning solution to wash all of the acid they just dipped it in, off.
5. The acid will definitely take off all of the unwanted material, but there is absolutely no way to be 100% sure that you got all of the acid washed off without being able to dip it in a cleaning solution. Don't understand why they can dip the entire car in a vat of acid, but have no vat of cleaning solution, and how they figure a pressure washing can get all of it out?

I love that this topic pops up every 2-3 months and anyone who has read my posts on this knows I am a big dip fan so lets take a look at the above statements
1. If you look at most of the Mopar Bodies before stripping, the seam sealer can be pulled off with your fingers and under it is rust.  I have restored enough B Body Mopars to see the same rust patterns time and time again and rust and holes under the seam sealer is one of the best bets to find rust.  Why wouldn't you want that sealer removed so you can address the hidden rust then apply fresh sealer?
2.The whole upside to stripping instead of blasting is it does flow and remove rust that a media blaster cannot get to.  I am not sure how cleaning the inside of a quarter then sealing it promotes rust, but I am glad the dip flows into all the cracks and crevices where rust hides and gets rid of it.
3. That sludge was melted paint and gooey left over dip.  This was still there because they used a guy who did not clear his cars well after the dipping.  The most important part of the dipping process is the cleaning of the car after the dip.  This through cleaning stops the etching process, removes all the funk from the car that the dip has removed and preps the car for either a coat of primer or an e-coating dip.  A lot of dippers are lax in this area and it has earned the entire industry a bad name.  I had two choices of where to get my cars dipped and chose the one that did the best cleaning.  My 8 cars have come back dry and clean from the guy I use
4&5 Stripping is not acid dipping like in the old days.  That was a powerful acid used to chemically mill the thickness from the bodies of the cars to make them lighter. This is a solution that will not hurt the good metal in any way.  After my cars are dipped they get power washed for about three hours to remove any traces of the dip.  They then get a light coat of rust inhibitor (kinda looks like weak anti-freeze) then they come back to me.  I then do all the metal repair and ship them back t the dippers who gives them another bath to remove any surface rust that has built up.  At this point you need to decide if you want to go with the e-coat.  I highly recommend it as it completely seals the car but it is not a cheap solution.  If you do then the car get three more baths in different cleaning and prep solutions before the final dip in the e-coat.

I guess the short of it is for a frame up resto then the media blast is cheaper and easier.  For a full resto you already have the shell down to the bones so why not ensure that all the rust is gone and it is sealed forever?

Check out my website for more info and pictures http://www.69hemi.com/

[suntech]

Totally agree with 69hemi here!!
I is all down to the craftmanship of the dippers, to get a good result. Blasting is easy and less expansive, but it has its downsides, dipping has to be done right, and cleaned right, and draining is important, but in MHO the only way of getting a 100% rust free body.
Rolf

[Rack]

If I could afford it I'd get my car dipped and e-coated. I wouldn't dip it w/o e-coating. As it is, I haven't found anyone in Texas that can e-coat an entire car so I'll just be blasting. It'd cost me about an extra 2K to have it shipped somewhere to get dipped/e-coated.