Has anyone ever used Strip Clean Co. in Santa Ana, CA for dipping a body ? What are the Pros and Cons with doing body work after the body has been stripped ? Thanks Andy
They did my hood before louvering. I saw bodys they had dipped waiting to be picked up. Looked good to me. They come back with the protective coating that holds off the rust. Nice way to go. IMO
From what I heard they are the only place that puts on that protective coating after they are done dipping the sheetmetal. I had other places dip parts for me that started rusting immediately after I got them, I used white vinegar, baking soda, steel wool and etching primer and they still rusted! Never again.
Strip Clean has been in business for a long time. I have used them for years in the past. I personally would not dip a whole car unless that is the only alternative, mainly because there is no real way to get all the chemicals out of double panels, spot welded flanges and other hidden areas. plus getting primer inside doors etc. I have had problems with this no matter how much you effort you but into trying to avoid problems.
If you decide to use Trip Clean for dipping your body make sure you have a way for them to pick up the body. If you don't they will just put some straps around a-pillar and c-pillar and this can cause some major damage. My family and I have used them for over thirty years. They do nice work, but you need to deal with Charle when he is there. Also take pictures of the parts or car before you take it, the workers can be rough with the parts. As for the areas that are double panels or folded over, I just clean it out with water and Baking soda mix then used a heat gun to try burnoff anything that might still be inside, then seamed sealed it with wurth seam sealer. I have not had anything come back and I do keep up with the customers I have done work for to make sure if there is any problems that I will atke care of it.
Years ago, other than paint remover, chemical dipping and san blasting were the only alternatives for stripping sheet metal. As stated above problems arise in inaccessible areas. A friend had his '32 5W dipped and the company told him all the chemicals were neutralized and would not create a problem. Years later the quarters and rear panel rotted out. There are better alternatives such as walnut shells, plastic and maybe soda blasting. The FOGGER
I had them do my 32 5-window last year. They did a really good job. the car has been sitting ever since and no surface rust because of the soda dip or whatever the final step is.
They have quoted me a price of $1800 for a Chevy 2 door sedan ( body only ) and they are the only co. that after they do the 1st. initial 24hr dip to remove all the stuff that is not metal, they dip the body in a tank for 24 hrs witch is the neutralizeing tank and protective coating.
I had them do a bunch of sheet metal on my 53 F100 20 years ago. The inner fenders started rusting where the double layers were, about 6 months later. They seemed surprised when I showed them but offered no solutions or help. Rest of the stuff seemed fine
Revisit this thread, has anyone had experience with this co. and the bodywork, after the process has been done ? Thanks for any info. Andy
Bringing this back. I'm doing an experiment right now. Half my parts at Strip Clean and half at Cal-Blast in Upland. Both have been had my panels for 3 weeks. Both require reminders. Both cost about the same per panel with a protective coating: so much that I might buy a bigger compressor and blasting rig for the rest of the project and still save quite a bit. Keep track of what you drop off at Strip Clean, there does not seem to be any inventory system.
Strip clean took about a month to finish my parts. Parts came back with a galvanized-like coating. Seems to protect the metal well enough, but the coating contains bits of grit and will need to be sanded before laying down primer. Parts from Cal-Blast came back with high build epoxy primer for around the same price per part. If you know the metal you're working with will need significant metal work once stripped, Strip Clean is probably the right choice. If your panels are known to be good, you might want to skip straight to soda blasting. I can understand the previous poster's concern about caustic solution getting trapped in panels and emerging later to destroy your paint, but can report that I have found zero evidence of residual solution in any of the parts I had stripped by Strip Clean.
Many years ago (later 70's) I had both doors and the trunk lid from my 56 Chevrolet Bracket Car dipped at Redi-Strip of Puget Sound (I think that was the name). Good job, but the protective coating was really difficult to get all of it out of the seams; it even surfaced after the car was painted. Similar product to Strip Clean? They are no longer here, and I don't know of any other company doing this locally. We could use a franchise up here! I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
I took my '28 Ford coupe body apart completely and had Metalworks in Eugene Oregon dip each piece. They all came out as advertised, I'm very happy. Their instructions were to rub every inch down with a scotch pad prior to epoxy primer. Try www.metaldipping.com A close up of the final finish can be seen in the last picture.
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