Alkaline, Acid, Zinc Phosphate and E-coat

[abisel]

There is a place in Madison, WI, Restoration Specialties, that can take a car body and dip it into several different tanks, much like the factory.

They would first immerse the body in an alkaline hot tank to remove paint, glue, PVC and such. Then they wash the body with a pressure washer to make sure to get all the residue removed.

Next, they immerse the body in an acid cold tank to remove any rust. I understand this process will also remove the outer zinc coating from galvanized steel. After the acid bath, the body goes back into the alkaline tank to neutralize the acid.

After a couple washings, the body is then immersed in a zinc phosphate tank.

After another washing and drying, the body is then immersed into an electrostatic charged tank (cathodic dip paint) to E-coat the body with epoxy primer. If desired, the body is then baked in an oven.

Has anybody ever done business with these people?

[Jeff Jagusch]

HI Alvin,
I believe they are located in Hales Corners, WI (unless they have another locataion as well).
They did my racecar shell, I was quite pleased!
As far as I know, they can only dip the car to remove paint and rust. If you want it e-coated, they send it to Michigan.

It sure is neat when you get it back looking like brand new.

I just got mine off the rotissarie (sp???) coming together slow but sure.

Jeff

[project935]

We have one of those companies here in SE MI too (can't recall the name right now).

I haven't used them, but it looks like an good process if you want to spend the $ - in other words, make sure your vehicle is/will be worth it. Here, a full body dip/primer costs around $1400-1800 depending on the size of the vehicle. Per panel (hoods, doors, etc) wasn't too cheap either - a few hundred $ each as I recall.

I was going to have them dip my tube chassis (light paint and rust), but when I found a local sandblaster who would blast my chassis for $125 the decision was a no-brainer. Of course my chassis is a lot stronger than sheet metal panels so I didn't have to worry about warpage and handling ... they literally rolled it around in the sand pile to get at every angle.

I have a friend who has a 356 project that had it's paint stripped years ago by the PO and then left to sit - lots of surface rust now. He thought about dipping/e-coat too, but realized the car would never really be worth it. The sheet metal on the 356 is relatively thick so he'll probably end up sand blasting it sometime down the road to de-rust (using care during handling - not rolling it around) and then deal with warpage if there is any.

[abisel]

The guys at Restoration Specialties did say they could do the phosphating and e-coating. Although they did say they send the body to one of the car manufacturers to e-coat and oven dry.

Even at $1200 or so, I think it would be worth it. You would end up with a body that is rust free, phosphated and e-coated. Ready for painting.

I wonder if a person could contact Ford, GM, etc and arrange to have a body go through the process?


Sup Jeff. Long time no hear.

[Jeff Jagusch]

Hey Alvin,

Just been spending too much time on my racecar.

In anycase, I would figure $1200 to dip and $1200 to e-coat.
I've got a friend in the auto buisness, and asked him about sending a car through their line. the answer was a resounding NO WAY.
Mainly due to fixturing for whatever model the plant produces, but lots of other reasons.

Now, I settled on just the dipping as my car won't see any salt and very little rain as a racer, but for a street car, I would definately recommend the e-coat. I've seen several cars done that way, and it is VERY nice.

Hope top post some photos someday of the racer.
Jeff

[Shuie]

IMHO, $2400 for a dip and e-coat would be worth it. E-coat is really good stuff.

Jeff is right about sending it through a live manufacturing line. They will only have fixtures for the cars they are building.

I worked in the paintshop of a import car plant for about a year as an engineering co-op while in college. You could always hang out around the exit of the e-coat tank to see all kinds of stuff (from hot rod car parts to patio furniture) that had been tied to empty dolly's with coat hangers. The workers would sneak this stuff in and have the maintenance guys run it through e-coat. It was pretty ballsy becuase if anyone ever got caught doing it they would get run off immediately. I doubt you could get a whole tub in a plant without getting someone in a lot of trouble.

[SLO-BOB]

I know this is an old thread but any updates?

[abisel]

Here are a couple e-coating facilities:

Redi-Coat and Muscle Car Restorations

Before you select one of these guys, be sure to ask them about the cure temperature. If it is too hot, it will melt the body solder that the factory used at the rocker panel/rear quarter panel seam, and other places. The factory uses 340 degrees F to cure the e-coat. Also, ask about zinc phosphate vs. iron phosphate. From what I can find, zinc phosphate is better than iron phosphate, but since it is a hazardous material, it isn't used by smaller facilities.

And then there is this:
PF Online March Article, where they talk about a facility in Mississippi that does work for Nissan, but read at the end of the article. Might be worth checking into.

I haven't checked into any of these facilities yet, but when my project RSR body is finally assembled, I will be getting it e-coated. Might even consider sending it back to Porsche and letting them do it.

There is one thing to remember about acid/alkaline dipping. It will most likely disolve the heater muffler located inside the left and right rocker box. This muffler is made of aluminized paper tubes with fiberglass between them. Much like a glass pak muffler.