Acid Dipping

[mrfirepro 127 1 Cars]

Now my car is just a shell I am considering getting it Acid dipped and treated, prior to painting.

 

Are there any 205 that have been treated in this way? if so how did they fare?

[omega 82]

ive heard that people have problems later on as some of the acid stays in corners/places that you cant reach also its not cheap.

have you thought of soda blasting?

seen this done and dosnt damage body panels.

[ORB 227 1 Cars]

I can tell you that we currently have a rare 1976 Porsche 911 Turbo in getting repaired. It was restored after a full dip in 2009 after being dipped. We are replacing nearly £20000's worth of metal that had been munched by acid.

 

We stripped it to bare metal with a media blaster. Most of the seam sealer was wrong too.

 

Poor car.

[Batfink 201]

depends who does it I guess. all box sections need to be drilled to allow air to escape to allow all the acid, and then the neutralising agents into the right places. If this is not done its going to be pot luck. The cars are not simply dipped in acid then hosed down. My shell went through two other dips after the initial acid bath.

The question really is, is it acid or has it been badly prepped afterwards before its been painted. You need to treat the box sections correctly otherwise the car will rot inside out. I'd bet thats the real issue.

Edited November 2, 2013 by Batfink

[allanallen 528 2 Cars]

Does the acid remove all the glue that essentially holds a 205 together?

[ORB 227 1 Cars]

Back to bare metal

[Batfink 201]

completely bare metal. For a road car you would want to spray inside the box sections and re do the seam seals at minimum. For a valuable restoration probably the electrocoat dipping.

[allanallen 528 2 Cars]

It'd be a nightmare on a standard restoration then, imagine trying to glue all the rear inner arches and up between the roof skin and pillars etc! Fook that

[mrfirepro 127 1 Cars]

I am also concerned about the seam sealer, what happens when it's all gone and how does it get replaced. On the positive side it does get every last bit of rust.

 

I have done a lot of research and there seems to be lots of people very happy but also lots of people unhappy.

 

The guys I intend to use say that other companies don't neutralise the acid properly.

 

I will ask them about the seams and report back what their answer is.

[mrfirepro 127 1 Cars]

Also I have had a good look over the car there does not seem to be any box sections that do not have good access, have I missed anywhere?

[mrfirepro 127 1 Cars]

does anyone know if a 205 has been acid dipped?

[Redtop 14 2 Cars]

Myself and my dad have had a couple of cars acid dipped, the ecoated. Both were ford escorts, but would I do it again, no probably not. There was also the issue of damage to the cars and one being twisted. Door didn't line up correct, so had to be pulled slightly, then the bolt in cage wasn't as good a fit as previous mock up.

 

In your answer to the seam sealer, yes everything goes, even you leave a clip in place, it's gone. There was a section on one of the doors however that had to be replaced and the acid had not got into this part on one of our cars. You will have a bodyman spending 1-2 days just seam sealing the complete shell after.

 

A friend lost a complete evo, due to the rust, as it had not been neutralized by alkaline iirc. This was many years ago, whenever the process was fairly new, but I don't think this is an issue now, (well since mid 07 on anyhow). The car was replaced, but that's all I know.

 

Having done 2 205's from a complete bare metal shell restoration, I personally would recommend a combination of soda blasting and glass beads. Do the floor/underside with the coarser material, then soda blast the other edges. (You don't lose all original seam sealer then) Be careful with whoever you get, as when using soda on the roof, it's very week on a 205 and can warp easy. Bonnet is the same. They need to turn the pressure down real low. The guy that done mine, kept his other hand under the roof as he did it. It took a day to do one of my cars, but he knew exactly what he was doing.

 

I've been heavily involved in over 18 complete restoration projects (nearly half of them my own) in the last 9 years, so have seen what works well first hand.

[mrfirepro 127 1 Cars]

Thanks Redtop, Who did the blasting for you?

 

Can anyone recommend anyone for Blasting?

Edited November 2, 2013 by mrfirepro

[Redtop 14 2 Cars]

Well I'm in Northern Ireland, so that will be of no real use to you, but it was these guys here.

 

Ph soda blasting.

http://phshotblasting.com/website/contactus.php

 

I'm sure there will be someone closer to you, but as I said earlier, try and get someone experienced to do it for you.

 

If you want to see pics of the escort shell with ecoat after dipping and the seams, I can send you some if you like. It's not a cheap process either btw.

[clen666 2]

What was the cost of the soda blasting?

[Redtop 14 2 Cars]

I reckon for the car it was in around 900, but I had a few other things being done as well, at the same time. That was about 4 years ago as well.

[clen666 2]

Hmm, might look into that, cheers

[Batfink 201]

does anyone know if a 205 has been acid dipped?

 

Mine!