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Re: Chemical Milling... [Re: polyspheric] #1569499
01/29/14 10:46 AM
01/29/14 10:46 AM
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 298
Shelton, Ct.
5
572_HEMI_Cuda Offline
enthusiast
572_HEMI_Cuda  Offline
enthusiast
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Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 298
Shelton, Ct.
Quote:

Acid attacks steel just like electro-plating - the material is deposited disproportionate to the surface area. It removes the most material from edges, corners and the ID of holes.
It removes the least from flat surfaces, like all panels.
This is the very worst thing from a structural standpoint, since the weight loss is minimal until the corners and seams fall apart.

The entire panel must also be neutralized (baking soda, dilute lye) after thorough rinsing with water, or the remaining acid will completely destroy the panel. Submerging absolutely won't do it. Even cars carefully washed sometimes don't completely flush out (direct path from the acid to the exterior). For the final rinse, boiling water from a pressure washer is best.

Sandblasting works OK until your operator forgets to angle the nozzle or turn the regulator down, then you have a washboard instead of a hood. The bondo weighs much more than the weight saved.
There is also no such thing as "effectively masking the area" to allow blasting on assembled pieces. It never, ever works, and you can get sand out of it 5 years later.




Good post

Also sandblasting will not achieve what you are looking for. If you have a hood that has rust or bondo you can sandblast or media bast it off, But if you think you can remove weight by blasting the metal to a certain thickness, or to death (which certainly will be the case) it aint happening. Even on heavier parts like a k-frame, all you will achieve is a deeper etch.

Re: Chemical Milling... [Re: Cab_Burge] #1569500
01/29/14 05:18 PM
01/29/14 05:18 PM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 5,875
communist bloc of new jersey
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jamesc Offline
master
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Posts: 5,875
communist bloc of new jersey
Quote:

Back in the day a company called Aero Chem in SO CA used Hydrofloric(not hydrochloric) acid to chemically mill steel for a lot of SO CA racers, the air quality enviormentalist got that banned in the L.A. basin years ago They bought a plant up (in El Mirage) in the high desert later, if you knew someone that worked thier you could get them to still do it back in the late 1980 and early 1990s that company did a lot of the aerospace milling back in the day, the racer stuff was secondary only




it's "hydrofluoric" and imho not something you want to mess with

Re: Chemical Milling... [Re: MadMopars] #1569501
01/29/14 08:14 PM
01/29/14 08:14 PM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 6,591
Canton, Ohio
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Sport440 Offline
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Posts: 6,591
Canton, Ohio
From the looks of "Your Test Results" I wouldnt even consider it. Lots of other easier ways to take weight off.

Re: Chemical Milling... [Re: MadMopars] #1569502
01/29/14 09:01 PM
01/29/14 09:01 PM
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 836
Up a holler, down a crick
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booger Offline
super stock
booger  Offline
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Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 836
Up a holler, down a crick
Lots of places to lose weight if you look around. It may not be the best place to do it, but here's an example:

8017573-trunklid.jpg (139 downloads)

Chasing bears through the woods drunk with a dull hatchet is strongly not advised
Re: Chemical Milling... [Re: booger] #1569503
01/29/14 10:01 PM
01/29/14 10:01 PM
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 1,751
Graham, WA
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Polarapete Offline
top fuel
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Joined: May 2003
Posts: 1,751
Graham, WA
Taking weight off the back of the car is the wrong place to do it. Of course that is exactly what I did 35 years ago. On my '68 Coronet I built rear wheel tubs out of sheet steel and in doing so I lost the trunk hinge support structure. So I pinned the deck lid (after I cut out the webbing and spent hours repairing the damage that caused)in the front corners with 1 pin in the center of the back. This meant that when I had to fuel the car, I had to pull the pins, pull off the lid and find someplace to lean it while I filled the fuel cell. I also took the quarter window regulators and glass out cause the new tubs interfered with the regulators and replaced them with plexiglass. I took a few small pieces off the front of the car and moved the batteries to the trunk. So it was a lot of work and no real benefit

The winningest bracket racer in this area is Don "The Worm" Elgin and he adds ballast to his Pontiacs to dial them in. If you need the last possible advantage to reach your ET goals then have at it. If you want to win bracket races, refine your existing combination


1986 Dodge Ramcharger 440 2wd, Bracket Racer Under Construction
1998 Ram 2500 QuadCab, new daily driver.
2008 Honda Element
2014 Carry-On 7x14 Cargo Trailer
Re: Chemical Milling... [Re: Polarapete] #1569504
01/29/14 10:40 PM
01/29/14 10:40 PM
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 836
Up a holler, down a crick
B
booger Offline
super stock
booger  Offline
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Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 836
Up a holler, down a crick
Quote:

Taking weight off the back of the car is the wrong place to do it. Of course that is exactly what I did 35 years ago. On my '68 Coronet I built rear wheel tubs out of sheet steel and in doing so I lost the trunk hinge support structure. So I pinned the deck lid (after I cut out the webbing and spent hours repairing the damage that caused)in the front corners with 1 pin in the center of the back. This meant that when I had to fuel the car, I had to pull the pins, pull off the lid and find someplace to lean it while I filled the fuel cell. I also took the quarter window regulators and glass out cause the new tubs interfered with the regulators and replaced them with plexiglass. I took a few small pieces off the front of the car and moved the batteries to the trunk. So it was a lot of work and no real benefit

The winningest bracket racer in this area is Don "The Worm" Elgin and he adds ballast to his Pontiacs to dial them in. If you need the last possible advantage to reach your ET goals then have at it. If you want to win bracket races, refine your existing combination




No doubt, that's why I phrased my reply like I did. The intent wasn't to say do it here, but to say look around before going totally radical with acid. My car was "race prepped" by the shop of a known factory racer, and they treated the stamping lines in the sheetmetal like "cut here" lines. The trunk lid was just the most obvious in a photo.


Chasing bears through the woods drunk with a dull hatchet is strongly not advised
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