http://www.barefootdave.com/1969camaro/04C%20X11/dipped/tn_dsc05332_jpg.jpg

I just started a complete restoration on an 04C X11 car and I started by sending the body, fenders and hood out to the acid dipper. Take a look here to see the results.

http://www.barefootdave.com/1969camaro/04C%20X11/dipped/


The first step will be replacing the quarter skins with full quarters. Stay tuned!

Do you mind if I ask how much it costs to Acid Dip a body.
I am in NY & i'm not sure where to go or how much it would cost.
I'm considering doing my 71 olds 442 conv.

Thanks!
Nick

Do you mind if I ask how much it costs to Acid Dip a body.
I am in NY & i'm not sure where to go or how much it would cost.
I'm considering doing my 71 olds 442 conv.

Thanks!
Nick

I don't mind at all! The body was about $1000. I had the fenders, hood and body done for just under $1400. A little pricey but based on what I see (literally) and not having to deal with baking soda, sand or media residue and dust it is well worth it!

BTW, they are in Allentown PA so it may not be too far of a drive from NY. Let me know if you want their info.

If I had it to do over I think I would do the same thing. Now the work begins! See you a couple of thousand man hours from now. :)

Dave,
Not to change subject but is that body cart homemade or did you purchase it somewhere? Also, what exactly are you resting on in the back?

67Bird,

Dave's car is at my shop. I built the body cart from scratch. It uses pins that slip through the alignment holes in the frame rails, and uni-body. There are other attachments that connect to it depending on what type of bodywork you are doing.

E-mail me or PM me offline to discuss the cart.

Dave,
After it was dipped, Do they rinse it? and with what? Was something then done to the surface to prevent it from surface rust setting in?
That is awesome for sure.
Do you plan on repairing the front fenders?

Dave,
After it was dipped, Do they rinse it? and with what? Was something then done to the surface to prevent it from surface rust setting in?
That is awesome for sure.
Do you plan on repairing the front fenders?

The acid dipping is a six step operation.

it gets heated to 700 degrees in a huge oven where the temp is brought up slowly and reduced slowly to prevent warping
the body sat in a vat of acid for 2 days
entire body is pressure washed
the body was moved to a tank of neutralizer (not sure how long it's in there)
the body is pressure washed again
The body is then dipped in some type of phosphorus liquid that is meant to inhibit rust for a short time. It's not meant to be a long term rust inhibitor.Once the car was back at the shop we heated all the seams to make sure all the moisture was out (suggested by the dipper) and then shot the entire car in etching primer. I'll have more pics of that on the website this weekend.


Yes, I'll be using those front fenders (original GM) after we cut the damaged section out and weld in a patch panel.


Let me know if you have any other questions.

Thanks for sharing, great information. But watch out for that Bill guy though, I hear he's a piece of work...

Hey Bill, Hows it going????? :-)

With friends like Chuck, who needs enemies? !! :) LOL just kidding. Did you get that Z10?

Looks real good. The process sounds just about what what was done to mine locally here in Saint Louis.
That's the biggest thing I found out was to clean out any residue left from the process and then dry it out like you did.
I was so happy with mine that I got others to do the same with their stuff (69 Cutlass convertible, 66 chevelle, and a 63 Nova).
On mine I had some rot and it was not visible after stripping off the paint down to the bare metal as the rust was coming in from the backside but once it was dipped there were a few pin holes to where I marked out the area, fitted a patch, welded it in, ground it down and you cannot tell the work was even done. On mine it was so nice with having just to do minimal prep work to the backside of the panels in the hard to reach area's after I got them back.

One thing I did on mine was I knew the acid would get at all of the surfaces and some that could not be seen or sprayed with anything easily so what I did was literally pour some rust preventative paint inside the door and rotated the door all different ways to flow the paint over the inside bare metal and then stood the door up like it would be on the car and let the excess drain out the drain holes.

Whatever the company used on my car to keep the rust from forming after it was nuetralized has held up fine after 2+ years of sitting in the garage.

http://community.webshots.com/photo/328498439/328501629umVhlX

It is nice knowing exactly what you have to work with.

Jim

I did, but not the one on zbay, all original big block driver with pop and paper work. Best paper work I have gotten with any car.

Hey Dave or Bill,
If I bring a shell up there, I wonder if they can get this done While I stay in a hotel? If I were to drop off on a monday morning how soon I could be back on road home? Bill what's there to do in allentown, Pa???
There use to be a place here in Knoxville, Tn that did chemical stripping but the now longer do it. I found a place in Michigan and 1 in Texas so PA might be the closest?

You'd have to rent an apartment :) I dropped it off right before the SEMA show (Early November) and we just got it back 2 days ago. The normal quoted time-frame was 3-10 weeks!

Hey Dave or Bill,
If I bring a shell up there, I wonder if they can get this done While I stay in a hotel? If I were to drop off on a monday morning how soon I could be back on road home? Bill what's there to do in allentown, Pa???
There use to be a place here in Knoxville, Tn that did chemical stripping but the now longer do it. I found a place in Michigan and 1 in Texas so PA might be the closest?

There is one in north or south carolina that does that same process. A place in alabama is supposed to open up and eco clean will do parts in Atl but not a whole car. FYI
Also the eco clean and blast technologies in Commerce ga will media blast. again fyi

I recently acquired a rust free 04C X11 69 Camaro and


I guess that means you didnt pay for the rust?

Thanks so much for sharing the info Dave. You are going to have one amazing solid ride when you are all done!

I have two new OEM fenders for my car. I would only need to dip the body & it's a convertible. I'm still a little on the fence because the body looks pretty good ( I will be putting full OEM quarters on the car, what the heck, I bought them about 15 years ago, I may as well put them to use!) I do have rot around the wheel wells on my original ones.

Either way, if you could send his info in case, that would be great.

Good luck with your project & keep us posted!

Nick

The acid dipping is a six step operation.

it gets heated to 700 degrees in a huge oven where the temp is brought up slowly and reduced slowly to prevent warping
the body sat in a vat of acid for 2 days
entire body is pressure washed
the body was moved to a tank of neutralizer (not sure how long it's in there)
the body is pressure washed again
The body is then dipped in some type of phosphorus liquid that is meant to inhibit rust for a short time. It's not meant to be a long term rust inhibitor.Could you tell us the company that did this?

What is the purpose of the oven? How is the the paint, undercoating, and old filler removed? The oven? This procedure reminds me of the electrolysis method of rust removal.

I did something similar to this, only the hard way. I sprayed several gallons of muratic acid on the shell over a period of several days which eventually did a very good job in removing all rust, at least what was visable. But, when the time came to rinse off the dried acid residue, I wasn't even done pressure washing when the bare metal started turning a greenish tint, eventually turning to minor surface rust. I have POR15 over all the exposed surfaces and that waxy coating from Eastwood in the hidden compartments. I just don't know if this will keep the rust from reforming in the future.

Yours sure looks nice, it's what I was envisioning when I was done derusting!

Larry

ChuckL,
There is a redi-strip in Indianapolis that also does this. I can forward you the info if you need it.

69-er,

Kwik Strip (formerly Redi-Strip) of Allentown, PA. The oven 'burns' all of the paint, filler, sealer, lead, etc., and basically loosens it all up, so that the acid can do it's job better, and the dipper's acid mix lasts longer.

We have a media blaster guy here, I just like that stripping process, Just seems that you couls find everything.

I would recommend it to everyone who was going 'all the way' with their project. There is absolutely nothing but metal left. I accidentally left the rubber tubular guard between the trunk springs, and it's gone!! Every single hole, weak spot, spotweld, ...etc. is exposed. Plus no sanding scratches from removing the materials.... compared to media blasting at 700-800 dollars, it's not really that much more when you factor in the time savings...and there are no 'old car' smells left. It gives you the opportunity to reseal the car with products engineered in 2005, not 1969.

ChuckL,
There is a redi-strip in Indianapolis that also does this. I can forward you the info if you need it.

Thanks, but I contacted them earlier in hopes of finding a closer shop to me in New Mexico. I remember a Redi Strip in OK City and in Phoenix, but they have apparently went under.

I just wish I could figure out how to rinse and dilute the acid without starting the rust all over again.

Larry

There's a place in Cincinnati that does it as well, American Metal Cleaning. They've done several things for me, including powdercoating.

Chuck, where is the place you mentioned in TX at?

clwilcox33,
I will try and find the information I had on them, I found them last year sometime. I was told about them by Greenway Chemical company who is the company here that no longer does it. Let me see what I can find.

There is still a place in Phoenix that does it. I had a pair of fenders stripped by them earlier this year. They do complete cars also. I have the receipt at home and will post the name and number of the place when I get home.

Make sure you use a company that konws what they are doing and realizes that all you want to do is remove paint , fillers etc and not leave the chassis in the vat long enough for the acid to go to work on the factory welds. Also make sure they use a nuetralizer as part of the process otherwise by the time you get the chassis home it may be dust:)

Thanks Chuck. If you post the information here. I'd very much appreciate if you could shoot me a PM as well in case I forget about the post :)

Thanks for the head's up ChevyThunder.

Anyone else use this place, Kwik-Strip of Allentown, PA??? I've called a bunch this past week or 2 and I'm not getting any call back?

tips or tricks anyone???? I'm trying to set this up now cause I know it could take a while, but I want to get my car painted by the end of the summer...

Don't call me the devil's advocate, but I posted this on the chevelle forum a month ago, I think this was the only negative response out of 5 or six responses, so don't jump me, just take it for what it's worth.




Re: body dipping



DO NOT DIP IT !!!! I had the doors of my 70 Ecoated by Ecoat King here in Detroit ( no longer operating). Just discovered last December that both doors were completely rotted from the inside out. The pinchweld area on door skins is completely rusted on the inside, both have swelled with rust and split caulk joint around the perimeter. One corner of the pasenger side was bubbled up through the skin. These were door that I owned on this car for 25 years with no issues until this time. This is a complete trailor queen, two washes in three years and in a climate controlled garage all year around.

Total cost of fixing this nightmare was $3600.00, and 2.5 month of work. The car had to be blended on both sides and then the car had to be recleared, sanded and polished. The car had to be taken apart. I would never acid dip sheetmetal again. Both door are garbage, we took a sawzall to the corners of the doors and they were completely filled with acid residue (white material) and rust.

I omitted his name because I don't know if he would have a problem with me transferring his post.

Rob

The shell looks great, it sure beats the snot out of sanding it all down to metal and scraping all of the tar and gunk off of the bottom!! ask how i know. lol