SO as not to get flamed here I will say that I am doing a body off restoration on a non mopar and I elected to go the dip route. I can give you links to the before and after pictures. If you have a generally solid car and your biggest issue is the undercoating its probably not the route to go. If your going all out you will be very happy with the end result. The first step is a caustic bath this removes all the paint, filler, undercoating, seam sealer etc. Step two car gets rinsed with water and goes for 2nd bath in an acid solution think about how you neutralize battery acid using baking soda --same principle applies the acid neutralizes the caustic solution from step one as well as removes ALL of the rust & scale and things that a blast nozzle can't get to such as in the cowl area between the body panels and braces etc. After step 2 the body gets rinsed again and a water soluble phosphate coating is applied to prevent flash rusting. The company I used will re-clean the sheet metal again after you do all your metal work and you can either take home and epoxy prime or I took the other option to have the entire body and bolt on panels EDP coated. Depending on whether your doing the work yourself or paying a shop to do the work its a relative bargain. Meaning the initial cleaning was $1500 for the body, doors, deck lid, hood, fenders, inner fenders, and a handful of other parts like heater core box, glove box, and a few other misc pieces. If your shops labor rate is $50 an hour 30 hours adds up fast if your manually stripping it. The EDP coating is done off site and runs about the same as the cleaning. Bolt on panels are $125 to clean and $125/$150 each to EDP coat. Each method of stripping has its pluses and minuses I researched for a long time prior to making my choice. The common thing I found with dipping was everybody who had negative things to say about the process had never personally had first hand experience with it. It was ALWAYS I heard....I have a buddy who....My buddy owns a shop and..... Not one time did I ever hear a first hand account. Soda blasting leaves a film that must be removed prior to prepping the car and gets into every little nook and cranny and is near impossible to blow it all out. Remember what it IS sodium bicarbonate ---sodium = SALT upside is its VERY gentle and will not warp the sheet metal downside it DOES NOT REMOVE rust. Sand blasting would be ok for the underside of the car, floor boards, trunk floor. Do NOT sandblast doors, hoods, trunk lids, roofs, quarters. The heat generated will warp the panels.
