Jeff A Williamson <Jeff.A.Williamson@jci.com>
Subject: TR3 Body Dip
Jeff A Williamson writes:
>I've almost finished removing everything that bolts on to my TR3A body and
>frame. Rather than spend countless hours with grinders, sanders, wire
brushes,
>etc., to remove all the grime and paint, I'm thinking of having both the
body
>and frame "dipped" (or washed with acid, treated with chemicals, or
whatever
>they do).
>
>I have heard that this process will eat up rust, but also anything that's
not
>iron or steel, i.e., Bondo, fibreglass, aluminium, rubber, and some
alloys. Is
>this true? Are there any parts of the frame or body that will not survive
the
>acid or chemicals that are used? For those of you who've done this before,
are
>there any ill side effects to having the body "dipped"?
>
>Although I have not asked for any quotes yet, I've heard that this process
on a
>car this size should run around $300 for the body, and $50 for the frame.
Does
>this sound about right?
>
>Thanks for any info.
>
>Jeff Williamson
>Belleville, MI
>'58 TR3A
>'60 TR3A
Jeff:
That's what I thought when I sent my TR8 out to the dip tank. What I found
out was that the dissolution process proceeds at a finite rate and the car
did not remain in the tank long enough to remove the undercoating and the
underlying paint. My suggestion is to strip off all the undercoat and
bondo first. A propane torch and a putty knife will make this a weekend
job. But once this is done the car will come back completely nude and
devoid of paint and rust.
Also be prepared to prime it rather quickly as the exposed metal will
quickly grow a thin layer of iron oxide.
I paid $420 to dip a TR8 (7) body (no frame) here in the St. Louis
area. A friend of mine paid $125 to have his TR6 frame dipped whereas
I paid $75 to have mine sandblasted.
Dave Massey
St. Louis, MO USA
57 TR3
71 TR6
80 TR8
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