1970 280sl Restoration - stripping bodyshell

[parry]

I am in the process of completely stripping the body of my 1970 280SL in readiness for a complete restoration.

Usually I have favoured having the body (without aluminium panels as these would be destroyed by the chemicals) chemically dipped to strip underseal/paint/sealant off the body and used a company in UK SPL http://www.surfaceprocessing.co.uk/index.html. The process also removes / inhibits the rust and is followed by 'Electrophoretic Immersion Coating'. This ensures that all metal structures inside and outside are coated with primer coat.

Due to current legislation changes SPL tell me that they are unable to provide the E-Coating but can still strip and temporary coat with a phosphate coating. They suggest that the only place in Europe is in Germany and I have looked into the cost of shipping which makes it all too costly. The cost of the E-coat in Germany alone is €2,500.

I am looking to alternatives in particular somewhere in UK that my provide E-coat as I am not convinced that primer spraying the body after chemical strip will guarantee that every box section will be coated, after all the bodies and aluminium panels were factory dipped in primer for much the same reason. They have advised that many of there customers resort to this method without problems. I my opinion not now, further along the line it may casue rust problems from the inside out which I would like to avoid.

I tend not to prefer dry bead blasting as the high pressure needed does in my opinion fatigue the metal structure, in any case the blasting companies I have spoken to request that the underseal be taken off before body is sent for blasting. Which is most of the work and it is impossible to get into all of the box sections.

What do most restorers / owners do as an alternative and does anyone know of other companies in UK that provide the E-coat?

[scp]

I just finished having my 280SL stripped and painted.  The shop I chose did a combination of chemical stripping (I do not know the specific chemical) and soda blasting.  I have a soda blaster and have refinished a number of smaller pieces.  It is not too efficient (area cleaned per unit time), but it does not damage the aluminum.

Best of luck - it is an adventure.

Cheers,
SCP

[pj-tigger]

Parry

When did you last speak to SPL about the E-coating being unavailable ?. I was up there a few weeks ago and was chatting to the director about this. The reason the E-coating is now unavailable is that the company that did it has closed down their plant because with the loss of Rover & LDV vans they did not have the volume going through it - they also did the London Taxis & this is why bodyshell production has had to be moved to China ! . There are no other e-coat facilities in the UK able to take car bodyshells (all of the car plants will not take in external work).

SPL are working on a new coating process Electroless Nickel (its come from the marine world) & their tests were showing it to be about 3 times more effective than the Ecoat . It might be worth contacting them again to see it this process is now available (There was an article about it in last months Jaguar owners club mag)

Paul

[parry]

Hi Paul,

I spoke with Adrian last Friday, he did not go into detail, but thank you for the additional information, I was not aware that that part of the process was sub-contracted.

As far as the Electroless Nickel is concerned the tests that they did were on half a mini. The reason given was that there is not a tank big enough to dip a complete car body. The company,, not sure who, are looking into investing into a larger tank and this may take some time next year if financially feasible.

Adrian rolled off costs for the Electroless Nickel and suggested, but don't quote me, around £2,500 for the Electroless Nickel, that with the first strip cost, plus aluminum panels, oven dry and return dip after welding the total cost appears to be over £5,000 inc Vat and without transportation costs.  Hence why I am looking for an alternative route, thanks SCP, which may be chemical strip, aviation paint stripper, followed by soda blasting and finishing off with an acid/phosphate wash within box sections. This is the process I adopted on my 190sl and worked well, see photos at www.190sl.co.uk/gallery . I could not use SPL on that process as the harsh chemicals would have destroyed the aluminum, bulkhead, A and B post's attached to body.

[DavidBrough]

Hi Parry,

I've been waiting to have my shell treated by SPL since July and have decided I may a well wait as the alternatives don't seem quite as good and after going to all the effort of a full rebuild decided I would kick myself if I didn't do it the best way possible, hopefully the new dipping tanks will be available before Christmas.

[mdsalemi]

Parry,

I admire the detail you are going through...but is this necessary?

If you plan on maintaining your car--and just by your post, you are detail oriented and would maintain your car extremely well--conventional body preparation will last beyond your lifetime.

Instead of completely stripping the car, strip the external areas.  Replace the rusted panels, and ensure they are properly repaired, and primed.  If you buy K&K sheet metal it might very well be Galvalume.  Good, conventional preparation with zinc-rich automotive primer and good care after its all complete will last beyond your life.

You can also investigate dry-ice blasting.  That leaves no residue.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dry_ice_blasting

There will be so many additional items to spend money on as the restoration proceeds.  Good solid prep is important, but a more conventional body prep by a skilled and experienced body shop will be considerably less costly and easier to find.

[parry]

Micheal,

Many thanks for the dry ice option, it sounds good and I have not researched that option.

My first restoration 20 years ago, 350sl W107 which I still own today was subcontracted out and started showing signs of rust after 10 years due to lack of attention and detail.

My intention is to start with a good sound base and to do things right and to do it once. All work, metal fabrication, lead loading, paint, mechanics were done by myself on my 190sl. Time and cost is what I am weighing up with guaranteed end results. I opened this conversation as SPL say that their customers are still using their chemical dip & strip service but were unable to say what is being done after that and I can not see how the inner box sections can be coated with out dipping the body into an E-coat tank.   

I agree with you, prep, skill and experience are more important.

[mdsalemi]

If you find a body shop and skilled guy running it who will work with you, you will be fine, IMHO.

Take a look at thelews car (see his posts for the flickr site); while it had a repaint years ago, it is original and the condition is factory-delivered.  It has remained that way due to unusually caring owners who gave the car exceptional care.

My car was restored 10 years ago in a most conventional means, and shows no signs of deterioration--but then again, it has received exceptional care as well.

Good solid body work done properly, without the exotic dips, e-coats, etc., combined with great care after the fact will outlast all of us.

Finding that body shop might be easier said than done--but my guess is you can trust your instincts.

[dseretakis]

I agree with Michael on this one. I like to leave well enough alone. I would just meticulously repair and prep the affected areas. It also maintains some more originality. The original undercoatings and paint are far superior to anything you could achieve outside of the factory anyway.