[jemo]

My '56 Chevy 210 has quite a bit of surface rust and I've decided to just get it dipped at Metal Rehab in Ft. Worth. I've heard lots of good reviews about their shop.

My only concern though is getting everything properly sealed. How do you do it without leaving any residue? How do you prep and seal areas hard to reach like behind the dash, behind the quarter panels, inside the fresh air vents, etc. Do you just put your gun in there, pull the trigger, and hope that it gets everywhere?

If I can quickly get the car home, can I clean off the neutralizing solution and start spraying epoxy directly on the bare metal or do i need to use a metal prep? Guys on the chevy forum like PPG DX579/520. Moderators on autobody101.com say it's a waste of money, just spray epoxy on the bare metal.

[baddbob]

Ask the company doing the stripping what you should do. Ask them what to do inside the rocker panels and cowl sides and similar areas where you can't physically get into to clean and prep for primer. Ask them what solution should be used to clean the residue off the metal. If you're going to use an epoxy primer the metal will need to be sanded with 80 grit to provide a good texture for adhesion. I wouldn't use a metal prep or any acid etch primers.

The only option in my opinion is to clean every square inch really well, sand the surface, and apply epoxy primer. On the rocker panels and other boxed areas these surfaces should be coated with a cavity wax type spray like 3M's rustfighter or Transtar's Ambercoating, or cosmoline. A long wand with a 360 degree spray head will coat every inch of the inside on these areas.

If you hear of any other methods for dealing with these boxed areas let us all know. Bob

[shine]

make sure you get something in writing about warranty. my experience with dipping has not been good. the solution gets into places you cant get it out of. causing bubbles in the paint at areas where metal is folded or spot welded together. door edges and such. i chose to put in a blasting booth and clean my cars up with starblast after media blasting them. i take them into the paint booth and epoxy them as soon as i blast them. good luck.

[astroracer]

If the rest of the car (floors, trunk, etc.) are good, I would stay away from dipping also. The panels will have to be sanded before primer anyway so just hit them with some 120g on a soft pad on a D/A and prime with epoxy. Do a panel at a time if you have to. It is a little more work but it will save the heartache of rust from the inside when ALL of the acid isn't removed.
Mark

[Centerline]

My experience has been just the opposite than what has been said so far. I had my 41 dipped and after cleaning with water and blow drying I just primed it with PPG DP 90. The dipping etches the surface enough that an etch primer can be applied without scuffing. If you were going with an epoxy I would scuff the surface a bit first though. The car sat for 4 years (inside) after priming before the final paint was applied and has now been on the road for about 8 years with no paint problems whatsoever.