I have been asking about our Body Stipping procedures, and we have different plans of attack on that. It really depends on the car and customer preference.. Soda Blasting, Sand Blasting and Dipping all have Pro's and Cons..
Dipping, is really hard to neautralize the acids in the inner structure and crevises, so I dont do that one at all.
Soda Blasting has some of the same issues as dipping when it comes to neutralization of the soda. Vinegar and Water solution and other solutions will neutralize it, but again it is hard to get it all out.
Sand Blasting is way too harsh if your guy doesnt know what they are doing.. It can generate alot of heat and pressure, which causes warpage. We do blast the hard to get area's like the jambs and window channels.
So if we have a fairily solid car, and the materials on the car arent out of hand, we like to strip it by hand. It is alot more work, but you can avoid alot of potential problems later.. If we see areas that need a bit of extra attention, we will blast those areas for sure. All the window channels, door jambs, inner grill, etc, will be lightly blasted, we just dont like working on large panels with the blasting if it can be avoided. Would rather put a bit more effort in stripping, then cause more work and the need of more materials later.
Here are some preliminary naked pics of Saint Marie. Being it is a daily driver, we are not going to completely strip the bottom of the car.. We are going to take off all that is loose, repair any issues, and re-coat the bottom with a newer modern coating..
Of course there are some issues here or there after stripping, but this car is very solid in all the right places.. We had a bit of patch work here or there, but luckily none of it was in any boxed area's, so the back side of the repairs can be sealed up also. After we get all the repair area's tacked in, we will do all the finish welding and grinding to remove any holes are pits.
Here is some of the basic rust repair, I really think we are getting off luck with this bit. Mr. Rowlands also wanted the side bullet marker lights removed, so we are welding them up also.. There was some holes drilled from previous repairs, and they will all be welded in also. The finish welding on the patches hasnt been done yet, but the pits and pin holes will be completely filled in, and sealed from the back side.
The drivers fender was previously replaced, and not done to well. The previous repair screwed the fender at the A-Pillar and lower Rocker, these will be removed and welded properly. Also, we will have to address the welding of the fender below the windshield on the cal panel, because it is warped and way too low. If we dont cut it loose, and redo it, there will be WAY too much filler in this area and potential problems later.. It needs to be cut loose and hammered out properly, then re-welded
If you look at that spotting on the door and other area's, you can see where the corrosion was starting behind the filler. This is why it is extremely important to take the car down to metal and seal properly before body work begins. The older materials, just didnt have the sealing capability of today. So even if you use the best material over the older materials, you will still have issues later.
