http://www.redi-coat.com
I have talked to Mark who runs this facility twice now, and am wanting to take my car there to have it dip stripped and ecoated. They charge $2500 for the full process, seem knowledgeable about it plenty, and are usually around 3-4 weeks wait year round. I can get it dipped locally through the same process for $900, or $900 at Redi-Strip in Indy using the less harsh Alkaline base solution to strip paint and rust, but no one else around the great lakes/midwest e-coats bodies. They bake the shells in a computer controlled oven to get rid of most of the paint and gunk. Then dip in a mild HCl solution to rid of the remaining residue and eat away and neutralize any rust. Then plenty of rinse time, and a phosphate bath for corrosion protection and adhesion before the ecoat and curing bake.
My car is a good candidate for this, as it was formerly an RS/SS396 (sans original 402 bbc). Worth a bit more than an average 71 Camaro, and in solid shape but with lots of surface rust from years of weather with baked cracked/checked paint. Stripped some paint off and found little spiderwebs of minor surface rust lying under the primer sprayed on top of the original, worn out paint.
Since Camaros are unibodies, the ecoat I see as a necessity after dipping due to all the impossible to get to cavities and supports that would otherwise be left bare after the stripping. Rust proofing guns with wands and drilling access holes can coat most of the areas, but not all. Also, ecoating assures plenty of good rinse time to get rid of the stripping chemicals, as they don't want to pollute their 3000 gallon tank of ecoat solution with stripping chemicals, so they will definitely be doing it right. No worries at all about chemicals leaching out of cracks and crevices after the ecoat and curing bake process...
Anyway, I was hoping that some of you had used this place before, or knew of someone who had, and would be able to give me any feedback on the process/results/company.
Lastly, I know I will have lots of seam sealing to do, have to remove deck lid spring, remove aluminum body tag, etc... My only unanswered question other than feedback is this. I noticed a very thin padded gasket type material that the GM factory installs on cars on top of the inner roof structure, that isolates the outer roof skin from vibrating or rattling against the inner structure. There are many small openings in the inner structure, so once dipped, would it be an adequate replacement for this gasket material to take tubes of silicone and squirt a good bead in every interior hole between the roof panels where the original mat was located? I thought for a second maybe expanding foam, but worried about it expanding too much and distorting the roof. Any other better products to use? Seam sealer? Something like silicone in a caulking gun I would imagine is the best way to get the material in there.
By the way, Mark @ Redi-Coat is the guy that bought out all of the equipment from the now defunct Carponents/www.ecoatking.com. I have read of people who used them several years ago with great results.
Feedback, please!
__________________
'71 RS/SS Camaro pile of parts: full roller 406sbc / 9.76:1 w/ E-Tec Al. heads / 750 Comp AFB / 12"/11.1" 4 whl discs / big sway bars / Tremec TKO 5 speed + 3.23 posi / 81 Z28 & dual snorkel vette Air Induction / 16X8 alloy wheels, 255/50/16 HTR-Z's - budget pro-touring machine, just gimme a few years...
I have talked to Mark who runs this facility twice now, and am wanting to take my car there to have it dip stripped and ecoated. They charge $2500 for the full process, seem knowledgeable about it plenty, and are usually around 3-4 weeks wait year round. I can get it dipped locally through the same process for $900, or $900 at Redi-Strip in Indy using the less harsh Alkaline base solution to strip paint and rust, but no one else around the great lakes/midwest e-coats bodies. They bake the shells in a computer controlled oven to get rid of most of the paint and gunk. Then dip in a mild HCl solution to rid of the remaining residue and eat away and neutralize any rust. Then plenty of rinse time, and a phosphate bath for corrosion protection and adhesion before the ecoat and curing bake.
My car is a good candidate for this, as it was formerly an RS/SS396 (sans original 402 bbc). Worth a bit more than an average 71 Camaro, and in solid shape but with lots of surface rust from years of weather with baked cracked/checked paint. Stripped some paint off and found little spiderwebs of minor surface rust lying under the primer sprayed on top of the original, worn out paint.
Since Camaros are unibodies, the ecoat I see as a necessity after dipping due to all the impossible to get to cavities and supports that would otherwise be left bare after the stripping. Rust proofing guns with wands and drilling access holes can coat most of the areas, but not all. Also, ecoating assures plenty of good rinse time to get rid of the stripping chemicals, as they don't want to pollute their 3000 gallon tank of ecoat solution with stripping chemicals, so they will definitely be doing it right. No worries at all about chemicals leaching out of cracks and crevices after the ecoat and curing bake process...
Anyway, I was hoping that some of you had used this place before, or knew of someone who had, and would be able to give me any feedback on the process/results/company.
Lastly, I know I will have lots of seam sealing to do, have to remove deck lid spring, remove aluminum body tag, etc... My only unanswered question other than feedback is this. I noticed a very thin padded gasket type material that the GM factory installs on cars on top of the inner roof structure, that isolates the outer roof skin from vibrating or rattling against the inner structure. There are many small openings in the inner structure, so once dipped, would it be an adequate replacement for this gasket material to take tubes of silicone and squirt a good bead in every interior hole between the roof panels where the original mat was located? I thought for a second maybe expanding foam, but worried about it expanding too much and distorting the roof. Any other better products to use? Seam sealer? Something like silicone in a caulking gun I would imagine is the best way to get the material in there.
By the way, Mark @ Redi-Coat is the guy that bought out all of the equipment from the now defunct Carponents/www.ecoatking.com. I have read of people who used them several years ago with great results.
Feedback, please!
__________________
'71 RS/SS Camaro pile of parts: full roller 406sbc / 9.76:1 w/ E-Tec Al. heads / 750 Comp AFB / 12"/11.1" 4 whl discs / big sway bars / Tremec TKO 5 speed + 3.23 posi / 81 Z28 & dual snorkel vette Air Induction / 16X8 alloy wheels, 255/50/16 HTR-Z's - budget pro-touring machine, just gimme a few years...