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The mkiv Supra Owners Club

Acid dipping a car


mwilkinson

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I'm starting to think ahead to the respray on my car now that I have a cumulated most of the parts required for a respray.

 

I want the car to be immaculate as I intend to keep it long term. When I resprayed my last car I had the shell taken back to bare metal, or as best as could be obtained in a rolling shell state.

 

This time I intend on taking the car back to a bare shell and rebuilding. This got me thinking that I should really go all the way and have the shell acid dipped.

 

Has anyone had experience of this? Any idea as to the cost of such a process?

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I've heard several rumours of the acid staying in the panel seems and affecting the paint years down the line.

 

I'd look at media blasting instead!

 

That's an eye opener. In striving for a perfect starting point I could inadvertently cause myself long term issues. Surely this would be a result of a poor post dip cleaning process?

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Soda blast is mobile and also leaves no mess as you just wash it away, a few comps up here doing it now.

 

I wouldn't media blast it, I had a nightmare with my Range Rover bonnet, it can also deform the panels if your

not careful

 

There's also dry ice blasting to consider

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http://www.surfaceprocessing.co.uk/technical-process.html

 

You MUST get the "electrophoretic" coating done though, or the shell will be covered in surface rust in a few hours. Great process, not chgeap, but does inside all the box sections blasting can't reach.

 

 

Has anyone ever heard of a brand new factory MKIV shell ever hitting the market place? I found a brand new factory R33GTR shell in Japan, and had Jurgen bring it over. They were never listed by Nissan, so God knows how it escaped the factory.

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Acid dipping was de rigeur a few years back in racing, to lose weight in the shell. But if not properly washed in an alkali solution, then water, then FULLY dried, as in a spray booth with the heaters on for 24 hours, they had a habit of falling apart quite quickly.Not that it mattered at the top level. I am told the current processes have eliminated these issues, and I know of *NO* other way to get rid of rust in seams and box sections.

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My car does not have a rust issue, so cleaning out the box sections wouldn't be all to necessary. Clearly I would need to inspect these with an endoscope once the tear down begins to know for certain, but I'm confident they are in good order.

 

I think the key will be to find a reputable company who can soda blast the car without distorting the crap out of it. I might omit the bonnet and doors to minimise damage. They also appear a lot easier the take back to bare metal.

 

I like the idea of a factory fresh shell like you got Chris, but I like the idea of maintaining / keeping the matching chassis and engine.

 

Graham - do you mind telling me where and how much you paid for the 240Z soda blasting. PM if you prefer.

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