Starting an auto body acid dip company

? Hi Manuel. It certainly depends on what business you are in :-)

What exactly does your business do?

Luck & Regards,

A. Hi Tim. I have heard apocryphal stories about acid dipping cars for the purpose of thinning the sheet metal and making them lighter, but I don't actually know if that is fact or fiction. So I presume you are speaking of paint stripping & de-rusting rather than trying to reduce weight. Alkaline solutions, not acid, are actually used for that because it's a better paint stripper, and you don't want to risk non-neutralized acid hiding in a crevice somewhere. The dipping process faces competition from media blasting as an alternate approach, so your first decision is which approach you want to pursue.

It's a tall order to ask what tanks to buy, what chemicals to buy, what the process entails, and how to start a business, Tim:-)
Do you have some related experience? A basic intro to metal finishing is a 4-day or 5-day course, a basic intro to the regulations is another 2-day course, and hazmat training is a few more ... so it's obviously difficult to answer your questions in a few paragraphs. I'd suggest you start with a copy of the Metal Finishing Guidebook from the library or by buying an old copy cheap, and then get back to us with some specific questions. But actually having worked in a metal finishing facility will take you further & faster than book knowledge or seminars, so you might try getting a summer job in a somewhat similar place first. Topic 40982 lists a number of companies in the media blasting or alkaline stripping & de-rusting business, and you might see what you can learn from their websites.

Good luck!