VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Body - Sheet Metal, Paint & Wood Strip Rite for chemical stripping???

Anyone in the upper mid-west ever use Strip Rite in Union Grove, WI for any of their restorations work??
Denny G

If you're refering to the Plastic Media Blasting, I have a pal who had his Model A done in the Union Grove. I asked him about it, and the car was already blasted by the previous owner. But, how many media blasters can there be in Union Grove? If indeed it was the same place, he can't argue for the fine work done on it.

Denny, I live not to far from uniongrove and pass the striprite place all the time. I had a 1941 chevrolet truck done there and a friend of mine had his GTO done.They did a good job . Media blasting, not sure if it is done there.I know once dipped ,I did alot of washing to make sure nothing was left to raise up the paint later.I can check it out if you like .
Howard

Thanks guys, it's out of my hands now, dropped off the front clip this morning. Bout a five hour trip and 220 miles but I've heard good things abouit them. I just hope it all comes out ok and that it all gets back to me. They also do soda and sand and have portable rigs that they can bring out to your location.
Denny G

What would be an extremely rough estimate for dipping a cab, hood and 4 fenders? Are we talking hundreds or thousands? My engine and chassis are very nearly done and I need to start thinking about the body.

There is an acid dipping place in Franklin, Wi.....been there for years. Its a suburb in the far south-western area of Milwaukee.
I know the place in Union Grove has been there for years but Have no history on them
Would prefer blasting to dipping myself.

Jon, I asked that question yesterday about my 1950 cab. Rough estimate was $600 to $800 depends on how much and what type of paint and undercoat they have to deal with and how much rust is present. Blasting would be about half that from the estimates that I’ve gotten.
Thanks Gene, haven't heard about the one in Franklin. I have a friend that builds street rods/customs and has had several cars done in Union Grove.
Ah yes, Dipping vs. Media Blasting, always a debatable subject. Where I worked before I retired I did a lot of cabinet blasting. I spent many a lunch hour and after work session in the gloves, motorcycles, airplane parts, lawn mowers your name it, anything that would fit into the cabinet that was in need of paint got blasted. From what I’ve observed over the years when it comes to cost media blasting is the only choice, as I mentioned the chemical dipping is usually about twice as much because of the time involved and the EPA hassle that the shop has to go through.
But, media blasting removes not only the paint and rust but a lot of the fine detail that I look for in a restoration. Such as sharp edges, drag lines left from the forming dies or forming operations.
Chemical dipping leaves all of this in tact and only removes what’s not steel any more. The common complaint that I’ve heard about dipping has always been that the chemical can be trapped in the overlapped or folded over sections such as the belt line or door skins for instance. This raises its ugly head after the expensive paint job is applied. Yet I’ve talked with several body men that do restoration and street rod work who have had cars dipped and never had a problem with this.
This will be my first experience with chemical dipping and I’m kind of anxious to see how it compares with sandblasting. The extra expense I’m prepared to accept if I get the results I want.
I really don’t like the look of everything on a restoration all smoothed over and multi-coats of color sanded base coat clear coat applied or worse yet powder coated parts when you look under the chassis or hood. That’s fine for a racecar or show custom but doesn’t belong on an accurate restoration. The e-coat seems to be one of the most difficult things to duplicate and I’ve seen very, very few restored cars where it looks original. The paint is usually applied way to thick or it’s the wrong sheen.
Thanks for the input guys, the parts are in the tank and all I can do is wait now.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL