Dry Ice cleaning

[993gtnut]

Interesting observation...

Guys like Topaz, JTEK Auto and others, are almost 3.5x the price of Blast Smith AND take 4-5 days...whereas he says 1 day is sufficient. I was expecting some price differences...but it seems the big shops are are really pricey.

How do you work that out? Jtek have on their site their dry ice blasting rate is £200 an hour.

Did you get the blasting done?

 

[FZP]

So I didn't go down the DIY route, and had it done by Prepworks in Ormskirk. I chose the 1 day option as I didn't want to spend 5 days having it blasted, then to be scared to drive it again becsuse it was pristine. The remit was to remove all the crud as the car will be going in for a respray in the winter, and wanted t know about any hidden rust that I wasn't aware of. It confirmed that the car is rot free.
I can't remember if he used 80 or 100kg of dry ice, it's on my Dark Knight thread, but he stripped 4.6kg of crud from it.
Your budget will dictate your results

 

[pye21]

Lots of varying prices and ways to get Dry Ice cleaning done. I have the kit and setup doing it at the end of last year. Ive aimed to provide a realistic service, cost effective and worthwhile for British car use/weather/life etc.

Some folk are charging silly amounts to make garage queen level cars. I discuss the options and required outcomes with each customer and make sure they get what they want from the service.

My intention is to extend vehicle life, like the first time you wash a car after buying it, unless the underside of a car is clean, you cant ascertain condition accurately. The process gives you the ability to do that. I then offer services to provide protection post process.

I did Frank's 930 Targa and ive done 2 996 GT3's from the Porsche world. Ive done underseal strips on multiple cars/shells and every owner has been happy with the outcome.

I offer a basic underside clean which is a single day process, but i prefer the car in the night before, thats £800+ vat.

If somebody wants an underseal strip, thats done on hours + ice. Ice is typically 100-150kg for that (£250-375) and labour is £85/hr + vat. These can take 8hrs, they can take 20+hrs, depends on the car and required finish level.

Im not mobile, I have a workshop with ramp etc.

 

[993gtnut]

So I didn't go down the DIY route, and had it done by Prepworks in Ormskirk. I chose the 1 day option as I didn't want to spend 5 days having it blasted, then to be scared to drive it again becsuse it was pristine. The remit was to remove all the crud as the car will be going in for a respray in the winter, and wanted t know about any hidden rust that I wasn't aware of. It confirmed that the car is rot free.
I can't remember if he used 80 or 100kg of dry ice, it's on my Dark Knight thread, but he stripped 4.6kg of crud from it.
Your budget will dictate your results

That's awesome thank you. Did you get it protected after? One thing that bothers me is when you see guys walking around with a spray can and think it's enough

 

[993gtnut]

Lots of varying prices and ways to get Dry Ice cleaning done. I have the kit and setup doing it at the end of last year. Ive aimed to provide a realistic service, cost effective and worthwhile for British car use/weather/life etc.

Some folk are charging silly amounts to make garage queen level cars. I discuss the options and required outcomes with each customer and make sure they get what they want from the service.

My intention is to extend vehicle life, like the first time you wash a car after buying it, unless the underside of a car is clean, you cant ascertain condition accurately. The process gives you the ability to do that. I then offer services to provide protection post process.

I did Frank's 930 Targa and ive done 2 996 GT3's from the Porsche world. Ive done underseal strips on multiple cars/shells and every owner has been happy with the outcome.

I offer a basic underside clean which is a single day process, but i prefer the car in the night before, thats £800+ vat.

If somebody wants an underseal strip, thats done on hours + ice. Ice is typically 100-150kg for that (£250-375) and labour is £85/hr + vat. These can take 8hrs, they can take 20+hrs, depends on the car and required finish level.

Im not mobile, I have a workshop with ramp etc.

I'm not after an el cheapo basic job I want a garage queen job. I think Jtek are the only company who offers that level of service currently

 

[Luddite]

Only word of mouth but perhaps true..? I had a discussion with a modified Nissan Skyline GTR owner a couple or so years back, who told me that a well known performance specialist for GTR`s and 911`s provided an estimate of circa £10k for returning the already clean car to concours on the underside by ice blasting and strip down of components where necessary, though it would take months before they might be able to take the job as they had so many customers in the pipeline...!

 

[FZP]

That's awesome thank you. Did you get it protected after? One thing that bothers me is when you see guys walking around with a spray can and think it's enough

We applied Bilt Hamber underbody sealer. One must remember that putting on thicker undersealers can result is trapping moisture between the body and sealer, causing hidden corrosion.
So it's a case of damned if you do, damned if you don't.
I will avoid the salty months and reapply when needed.

 

[993gtnut]

We applied Bilt Hamber underbody sealer. One must remember that putting on thicker undersealers can result is trapping moisture between the body and sealer, causing hidden corrosion.
So it's a case of damned if you do, damned if you don't.
I will avoid the salty months and reapply when needed.

Granted but it must be thick enough to seal or you're asking for trouble. A friend aquired a 996 that had been dry ice blasted and then "sealed" using wax in a spray can. Corrosion everywhere! Engine especially bad, my guess from the heat drying the (too thin) layer of wax out. So the whole underside needs blasting again, and then sealing properly.

Professionals use professional equipment, as did Porsche when my 993's wax was applied 28 years ago. If I have it all taken off I want the same level of protection, or better, applied as I had before. I don't want my car devalued by a half arsed job. Nor do I want to worry about not driving my Porsche in the winter.

 

[Luddite]

FZP, The underseal on what was my 82 SC was indeed thick rubbery stuff which stones and the likes would bounce off.. though as you say I found a cut in the surface of it which had allowed corrosion to begin to then work it`s way along behind the underseal corroding the metal.... Thus it would seem that semi regular underside checks can be well worth while if only to clean out all the likely areas where crud can build up and retain moisture..