For anyone dipping a car body, pickup cab, or gas tank it's important to know for the best results we will need to drill a vent hold somewhere in your part. Vent holes are required in pickup cabs and some car bodies. Some cars and gas tanks drilling a vent hole may be optional. However, for the best results if we recommend drilling a vent hole it's for a very good reason. Below we list and discuss each reason for vent holes.

Vent Hole in a Body or Cab

Car bodies and pickup cabs require a vent hold be drilled for the following reasons:



  1. to allow them to sink, some cabs and small bodies will float with the small amount of air trapped in the roof

  2. trapped air does not allow solution to reach the metal.  we want to have the smallest amount of air trapped so the maximum area of the metal will be treated and cleaned

Underside of Roof Before Dipping

Notice the underside of the roof of this cab before we dipped it.


Looking closely you can see the small hole drilled near the center of the roof.

Underside of Roof After Dipping

The same cab after we dipped it.


See how clean the entire roof is.  The position of the hole was nearly perfect allowing basically all of the air to escape.


Looking closely you can see the small hole drilled near the center of the roof.

Underside of Roof of a Different Cab

Here is a look at the underside of a different cab after we dipped it.


Note the circle area near the center of the roof.  Look very closely and you will see the drilled hole at the very outer edge of the circle.  The trapped air that couldn't escape through the vent hole blocked the solution from treating this area.


We do our best to drill one hole in the ideal location.  However, without making cheese cloth out of your roof line we can't promise every inch will be perfectly cleaned.  Lol


In the end most all customers find that having a tiny hole or two is worth having more surface area cleaned and treated.

Drilling Vent Holes in Gas Tanks

Gas Tanks generally require drilling a hole for the best possible cleaning.


The hole allows for two things:



  1. allows the tank to be fully submerged in liquid without air trapping inside

  2. provides drainage for solutions, rinse water, and debris to be fully flushed out

Submersing Tank

You can see in this picture here how having a vent hole in the corner of this tank allows air to escape.


Notice how it will be fully submersed inside and out by having the hole drilled.

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