131mirafiori forum

Yesterday I spent almost four hours in the garage removing the old paint from the drivers door aperture and sill etc before priming it with Zinc spray  :o.

If I where to carry on in the same way around the whole car, it will take months to complete, and cost a couple of hundred quid in paint etc. So I was thinking about having the car dipped and then zinc primed similar to the process in the link below..

http://www.surfaceprocessing.co.uk/for-cars.html

This would cost approx a grand or so from my restoration budget ( something that I had not bargained for ). But would this would mean that all the little nooks and crannies where treated and hopefully would not require any further attention ?.

Bearing in mind the shell in it's current state ie with only the wiring, dash, engine and suspension currently fitted it would be a reasonably easy job to remove the above prior to transporting.

So bearing in mind I want this restoration project to be done properly, the question is this - do I commit a sizeable amount of the budget in order to protect the shell for years to come, more effectively than I could and speeding up the project as a whole ??.

I think I already know the answer but what would you guy's do ?? and has anyone any experience with this ie how long would it take for me to get the shell back, any problems down the line etc etc

Thanks in advance for any input  ;D

The quality of the end result will only be as good as the preparation work before the final painting. There's no point putting nice shiny paint on badly prepared metal so it looks great for six months and then starts to deteriorate; not unless you are preparing the car just to sell it on. So I'd say you should definitely spend the money and get the shell properly prepared and primed prior to painting it.

you must definately have it dipped gets rid of all the  sealents etc finds all the rust you didnt know was there and stops it its the best thing ever start as you mean to go on 

Cheers guy's,

Like I said above I pretty much new the answer as I was writing the post. Will have to look into it a little deeper me thinks. Just have to sort out transport etc.

Will email the company now and see what they say re cost etc.

I asked them before mick ,I'll dig out the mail and post it up...

here we go..
Surface Processing Ltd <sales@surfaceprocessing.co.uk>    
to me
   
show details
    29 May

Many thanks for your enquiry.   Our costs to process the vehicles listed in your email would be as follows:

 

To chemically clean a Mini bodyshell and panelwork                                                ?595.00 + VAT

To chemically clean a Mk I Golf. Escort or Datsun                                                       ?695.00 + VAT

 

 

We can also offer a priming service as follows:

 

To zinc phosphate and electrophoretic coat (immersion primer) ? Recommended    ?775.00 + VAT

 

 

We are now fully booked until mid July and the turnaround at present is generally around 21/28 days from receipt.

 

Your can find further information in the downloadable pdf files on our website.

 

All prices are subject to VAT.

 

All prices are quoted ex-works.

 

We can offer a transport service at an extra cost but it is generally cheaper to hire a van and/or trailer for the day. If you require a price for transport please enquire around the time the shell is ready for process

Quotation will be valid for 30 days.

 

Customers must ensure that all non-ferrous items are removed from the shell prior to process.

Any sealed box sections / tubes must be free draining and adequately vented (this can be done simply with a 6mm drill) to ensure the maximum effectiveness of the process. If you are at all unsure we are happy to offer advice on this.

 

Kind regards

 

Georgina

 

Does anyone know of a company in Eire which carries out this process?

Excellent Tristan many thanks.. ;D.

So the cost was roughly what I thought.

If there booked until mid July that means that I can get a move on with the IRS setup, book time off work to take it down there and any welding that needs doing.

spoke to SPL begining of january about dipping one of my shells (not fiat) said the waiting list is till september  :o :o :o :o

Damn...I had better get a move on then.... :o.

If they have such a backlog of work stacked up it sounds like a great business opportunity for someone. They should sell some franchises around the country.

got a shell going for dipping in a couple of weeks not fiat though keep you posted on the results  :o

Would be very intrested to hear how you got on.Thanks Maxi Man. Eugene

I'd be interested to hear how you got on as well.

Have recently been thinking about setting up a business transporting cars. So yesterday bought a 4 litre Jeep which runs on LPG. Next step is to buy the trailer !!!.

Only problem now is the dipping budget has gone  :o

i was planning on repairing my body shell have the panels but bodyshop too busy why do i leave everything to the last minute.so its going there as is and will have to  be repaired afterwards  >:(

its going tommorrow  :'(

sorry missed this i wouldnt do this, all the in accessable panels that are spot welded together have a sealer in between so how do you replace this? i have worked in coachbuilders for 5 years & dont recommend this option, i think it will create a rust problem rather than get rid, sorry if this is too late.

But surely if the sealer, in between the welds, is removed during the stripping process ( presuming the stripping fluid can penetrate that far ), then it will be replaced with the zinc coating ??.

Assuming that the zinc coating can get as far as the stripping fluid of course  ???.

whatever the process removes surely molten zinc will fill the cavity
left behind,
i would give it a try, think of that shiny silver shell when you go back to collect
it, then get your finger out and we can get a look at her in gaydon
best of luck
gerry ;) ;)

the sealer would be where the roof skin & quarters are spotted on , maybe a bit skeptic? it might be a good job keep us posted with lots of inside pics

Still think I'm gonna go down this route. It would take too much time to get rid of the surface rust any other way !!!.

Then there's the box sections to think about as well  :(

In my experience Fiat rarely seam sealed anything, one of the reasons why these cars rusted so badly in the first place..... After the shell is dipped and primed simply seam seal everything before the paint is applied. You can get spray sealer now which comes in handy for hard to reach areas, brushable for the rest. I always apply two coats as it often sinks when it dries. I would personally then apply stonechip to the underside and wheel arches followed by the topcoats and then fill everywhere full of clear Waxoyl.

Hi i dont mean seam sealer, its a green colour that goes between the spotted metal it had to go on at fiat otherwise the water would run in wher the roof skin is spotted it has to go on with a special gun & is two pack its mighty stuff for sealing & bonding but the special gun to apply it is over a grand, very interested in the outcome of your 131 Mick, it needs lot of welding, before or after the process?

Nah not really mate, I decided to do all the welding before it went to be dipped. Apparently if the surface of the coating is broken you need to use 2 pack to repaint the area.

The plating in the boot for the IRS has been done, seat runners welded in etc. Scuttle panel, floor and inner wings are all sound with just surface rust. The front panel is being restored at the moment. So I think that's all that is needed  ;D.

Hi Everyone
I have been following this one with interest like a lot of others have and there has been a lot of good points from you all. couple questions :? there?s? a lot of very clean 131s? out there that are in A1 condition, ;) has no one who has restored there 131 down to a shell gone down this road before??? I am going down this road myself soon and I am having mine blasted and primed at the same time. I know this is going to cause a few repairs and some times you find out your shell is not worth repairing!! :'( but does this road your going down,?? will it remove all the week points which we all know fiats are know to rust :( :(? surely if I was thinking of going down this road which is a lot of money :o you would have your shell blasted first! then do all the repairs next and then you know when your chassis goes off to have this protection done, you know you have got a very strong solid chassis ;) any repairs done after you have had this process done will not have the same protection and will cause problems down the road ???? I am looking forward to the end result as well as many others I am sure. It will be good to see what this process can achieve and all so be good to follow what work you have to do after getting your chassis back !!? Sid said some very interesting? points that makes you think about making your chassis water type? again and we all know if? water and weather can get in,? what it can achieve and what it can do. Good luck!!!? :D ;D

well this whats happenig acid dipped 2 stage all paint sealer removed. then take shell back in bare metal all repair work carried out in my case  new sill, rear of chassis repaired (its not a fiat)  minor rust holes repaired. then goes back to be redipped and electro coated and wait till other project is finished. should have shell back in a month  :P   

I suppose it depends on how well you know your car/shell. Right now mine has no underseal on it whatsoever, the chassis/outriggers/floorpan/scuttle panel etc have been replaced so I know there are no areas ( except the ones previously mentioned ) that need repair  ;D. Blasting the shell would would give an indication of rot, which could then be repaired but it can also deform panels if not done with care.

The process will remove areas of rust but to what extent I don't know  ::). However I would rather have this done than wait for the dreaded "bubbling"  >:(.

Maxi.man - Could you take some pics of the areas that had rust on them so we can all see the extent of removal and how the dipping process has left the areas concerned ??.

Cheers
Mick.

In Ireland the EPA (assholes) have a BIG problem with byproducts of
metal coating businesses.

I think there is only 3 galvanisers in Southern Ireland.

well spoke to a few blokes in the trade about this process & the answer is NO dont do this to a fiat 131 or dont sand blast either the steel is too thin & weak & i saw a mk2 jag yesterday that was blasted & it does a fair amount of damage

shes back naked and sexxy ready for some plasic surgery dont know how to upload pics  :P

Hi maxi.man,

Does the process just remove the rust or does it remove the area of metal that is affected ?.

it removes all the rust  back to fresh metal it is truly impressive like new metal the shell is now a hell of a lot lighter and easily moveble but found a few more dents i wasnt aware of i would definately recomend can send pics  but it is of a renault 5 shell ;D

please post some pics

As posted in the Projects Section, the old girl is now on her side in the garage and had been waiting for me to take a wire brush etc to her to remove the paint back to bare metal.

I had really, really wanted to take it to SPL in the Midalnds to be stripped back to speed up the resto. But financially that process was out of my reach? >:( at approx ?1500 ( inc transport etc )? :o :o.

However I have now found a company in Preston that can provide, a similar but not exactly the same, process for ?650 + Vat. Went over there today to have a look around the premises and to see some of the work they have done.

Quite impressed, even though they are a smallish company, the guy seemed to be want to do a good job. Saw some panels through various stages and he even had a Lotus Cortina shell that had been part treated.

Am going to drop off an old rear panel for them to treat soon and I'll report back with pics once done.

Sounds interesting Mick, Preston is much closer to both of us too  ;D The price is definitely much more affordable too.

Yeah, I don't think that's a bad price either. OK, it doesn't get quite the same treatment it would do at SPL, but it gets rid of the rust.

Contact details -
Ribble Technology Ltd
2 Brierley street
Preston
PR2 2AU
01772 020 227
www.paint-strip.co.uk

He can also do engine blocks, wheels ( for approx ?10 each ) nuts and bolts etc.