The 'E' Type Forum

Thoughts please dip and strip or sand/media blasting for body shell.

Poly abrasive discs is a great diy option...Steve

Martin Robeys completely rebuilt my body a few years ago. Robey told me they never used chemical dipping because of the impossibility of getting 100% of the chemical out of the seams and the long term effects. They also chalked NO SHOT in big letters on the roof (and I guess would have done the same on the door panels and bonnet had they not already been beyond saving) because of the danger of panel distortion.
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I used a heat gun and scraper to get down to the original red oxide layer and then went down to the metal using the polycarbide discs. These are less aggressive than grinding discs, but you do go through them at quite a rate!
Some companies offer a ‘baking’ process that in theory removes the potential issues noted above with acid leakage and also the risk of panel damage from shot blasting. Ice blasting may be a less aggressive option but don’t know how effective it is.
If you want to address internal voids such as between the front bulkhead panels and sills, acid dipping or baking are the only options I would guess?

I used a heat gun and scraper to get the underseal off from inside the wheel arches, and a nasty messy job it was as well. Hot, dripping underseal is unpleasant. You need welding gauntlets and a mask.
On the body I used those poly discs as mentioned. Very effective, quick but as said they get used quite quickly.

I’ve still got a couple of boxes of these on the shelf if anyone wants them. Only cost would be for post and a suitable donation to a cancer charity.

Tim

Tim are those discs for a small angle grinder?

I used paint stripper & scrapers, poly discs & hand sanding to finish up. Underseal was mostly dry & brittle so scraped off by hand, that said I put it new floors & boot belly pan so wasn't much underseal left. left, under bonnet was worst. Stubborn corners softened up with paraffin & wire brush, then hand sanding, many hours.

Trevor,
Yes, I used these on a 100mm grinder.

If you’re interested just send me a PM with address etc
Tim

tim wood wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 08, 2023 3:23 pm

Trevor,
Yes, I used these on a 100mm grinder.

If you’re interested just send me a PM with address etc
Tim

When you say you get through them quickly, how many did you use? 10? 20? 50?

I've got a body to strip.

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I used a variety of methods depending on the surface I was stripping. On rigid surfaces,I used sandblaster being careful not to use too much pressure that might cause warping. On more fragile surfaces (the bonnet) I used a sander. I would avoid chemical stripping, especially acid dipping, as the dried acid can stay in seams for a long time and ruin the paint when reactivated by moisture.

John
70 E Type

Hi Andrew,
Definitely more than 20. I only did part of the body on the OTS. The painter did the rest.

Tim

Hi Trevor,
Box of about 15 discs sent today by Royal Mail 1st class - so should arrive within a month or two !!

( hopefully much sooner)

Don’t bother with postage cost please just make a donation to your chosen charity.

Good luck
Tim

Thank you ever so much Tim.

Hi Trevor, the discs have been posted some time ago and should have arrived by now.
I would be good if you could confirm receipt and that they are suitable. Also that you have made the charitable gift as per the arrangement.

Tim

I used to own a soda blasting Co and had many requests for remediation for all models. One thing to remember is that you can opt to remove the paint and deal with the rot separately or you can do a combined job and kill two birds with one blast gun..
Soda blasting doesn’t remove rust, except very light brown stuff that comes off on your hands. A controlled grit blast in the hands of someone who knows what they’re doing is the way to remove paint and rust. If you talk to the blaster and tell him exactly what you want…he won’t distort the panels (frequently quoted), and you’ll end up it’s a clean grey body ready for restoration.
Stripping discs ..they work well in the places you can get to…!
Now dipping….well… the only people I’ve met who have had the striping/dip done (6) have not been pleased with the seams a few months down the line.once to body has been cooked to burn off the paint and then dipped in further stripper then washed then “dewatered” nothing stops the seams from leaking “stuff” later.

So in summary, take off as much paint/ filler as you can, this gives you an idea of the problem areas, and it reduces the cost of the blasting.
My personal opinion..keep it dry. Find the right guy.

On the way to the blasters.
I’ll post post blast when I’ve transferred them from other machine.