Zinc-coating the entire shell - worth it or not on a classic?

Started by ptashek, 16 September 2012, 05:10 PM

ptashek

I have this idea for my restoration project, that if I get enough funds I would want to fully zinc-coat the entire shell on my car, including panels. In AU, Arizona or California rust ain't a problem, but in Ireland it's a biggie. You can here the oxidization chewing stuff... There's a company in the UK that chemically cleans the whole body, then zinc plates it and puts an electrophoretic coat on it. Basically, it's the same process as you get on any modern car.

The whole lot costs about 2800GBP for a W116. But is it worth doing? Or maybe just do the body work well once, cover it with a zinc-rich primer, a good sealing primer and high quality top coat, rinse and repeat in 10 years (tops)? I'd love to hear from folk who have done a full body restoration. How is it holding on? Am I over-thinking this?

I'm not new to the subject, it's just that the cars I've seen done were done for sale, not for keeping. Different standards tend to apply...
1993 "Pearl Blue" W124 280TE
1988 "Arctic White" W124 200T
1979 "Icon Gold" W116 450SE

TJ 450

I reckon it would be worth it, but only if you intend on keeping the car a long time.

Everything needs to be removed from the body, so this is no easy task.

Tim
1976 450SEL 6.9 1432
1969 300SEL 6.3 1394
2003 ML500

Mforcer

I don't think it is worth going to the effort/cost of completely stripping the car to that degree just to fully zinc-coat the entire shell. But if you are going to all that effort of stripping the car anyway, then it is probably silly not to do it. I would not want to need to deal with rust again for a very long time so would make sure it is done right.
Michael
1977 450SE [Brilliant Red]
2006 B200

ZCarFan

If you are already going as far as completely stripping the car down and rebuilding then it would seems like a good idea to me.  Once you've gone that far it really sets the standard for the rest of the work.  Everything else just about has to be perfect once you have made a move like that, no shortcuts.