You guys have done very similar to what my youngest did. He bought the Alpine when he was 14 and set about restoring it ready for when he could drive. He got to the dipping stage in 2008. He is nearly 30 now. The company he used for dipping the shell had a contract with Aston Martin and the cathodic priming was done in their tank.
After the dipping, the company washed the shell in neutralising chemicals before the shell got sent down the road to Aston Martin for the priming. It looks like a shiny knife blade when it first come out of the acid.
When it came home our version of a 'wash party' was a scrubbing party, it lasted for 5 days with 3 of us working all day, everyday, using countless scotchbrite pads. The cathodic primer is incredibly hard but has to be scratched at every point where 'normal' primer and top coats etc are going to be sprayed to give a key. (I never knew how big the surface area of an Alpine is until I did this job!) After the top coats were done my son literally filled the car with Waxoyl. A single 1 gallon can will do an Alpine, he used 8 or 9 cans. It is meant to be a barely visible film of wax protection, his car looks like it has been buttered! On hot days it used to drip out and form pyramids under the drain holes but to be fair to him we live right by the sea and it doesn't rust!
He dipped the shell in 2008, the latest picture was taken couple of months ago. Dipping is definitely the way to go.
Tim R
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