Emrock, I agree that dipping does a great job stripping rust and paint.. my problem is the people who I paid to perform this service didn't get the acid neutralized well enough and I have a couple of spots where the paint is getting ruined because of acid coming up from below. Personally, I'm done with acid for good. Admittedly, there is no structural concern, merely cosmetic.. but this project is all about the cosmetics anyway. I wish I'd have known it wasn't neutralized before I painted it.. (still mulling over blasting it and starting from scratch.)
Dan, if you're working on a boxed frame secion, there is no way to paint inside it anyway, so why worry?
Look at it another way, we're talking about the best way to take a frame (or any other component) all the way down to bare metal. Once you're at the bare metal stage, the metal doesn't care how you got it there. (This assumes the metal isn't contaminated with some caustic material that bites you in the butt after painting.
)
If we were talking about cars being used in daily driver duties on salted roads, I would probably be more concerned about the protective finish on the inside of boxed sections. In reality, I'd be surprised if these cars we're talking about ever see rain slicked roads, much less salt. I think worrying about painting boxed sections is needless overkill.
From now on, I'll stick to a form of metal stripping that is paint friendly and won't screw me months after the job was "finished", abrasive media.
If you're naive like I was, and in love with the "spick and span" concept of acid dipping; by all means go right ahead. If you want the job done without complications down the line, abrasives are the best option.
Acid is impressive in it's cleansing ability. However, come talk to me six months down the road.
For me the debate is over, just trying to save you from my mistake. -Matt