sandblasting?

[wkuehn]

 Hi all
have my first gen mostly disassmbled. needs floor work, both rear quarters, tailpan ect. this is my first project car and i was wondering if i should sandblast the undercarrige and trunk ect. if so what  is a good piece of equipment to use... i see a few choices in harbor frieght. any advice would be appreciated...
wally

[william]

Having done my share of sandblasting I strongly recommend that you have a professional shop do the work. Sandblasting of this magnitude [entire floorpan] requires a large compressor and sanblasting equipment, all of which can be rented. The car will need to be suspended; don't even consider lying under it. It will take a lot of sand and is incredibly noisy & messy. You will also need personal protective equipment. Inhaling sand is hazardous and it can easily end up in your nose, ears and eyes.

Sandblasting can warp and work-harden metal so you do not want to do any exterior sheet metal. If you get careless it will instantly ruin glass. There will be sand in the car forever.

Were I to do a car again I would first remove all panels due to be replaced and would seriously consider having the remainder of the paint/rust chemically stripped. There are rust-neutralizing solutions now available that are far more thorough than sandblasting. Hot Rod did a feature on this topic in the June 2006 issue.

[mrdetails]

I had my car done by Quick Strip of Alentown PA (ad in Hemmings). It is an amazing process, the metal looks brand new. It doesn't put metal back where their was rust though, to bad. My car was from Arizona so rust wasn't a problem. My friend brought his 67 Baracuda their also, it looked like that alpine swiss cheese when we got it back. If you do get it done, one thing for sure, get primer on it ASAP because it will rust in a mater of days in humid weather.
Good Luck
Sam

[wkuehn]

William and Sam    .. thanks a million.. great advice.. i am now re thinking the process.
wally

[bjr68z28]

Wally,
Media blasting is not as invasive as sand, yet removes paint just as well.   This may not be a concern with undercarrige and trunk, but would be on body panels.   Just a thought.
Bill

[Dave69x33]

Wally,

William's provided very good advice - it is a health, safety and MESS hazard.  The blast media gets EVERYWHERE and takes forever to clean up.  You will be cleaning blast media from ON and IN everything in your shop or garage if that is where the work is done. 

My body shop had the car blasted by a specialty blasting company in Indianapolis where I live.  My body man used this company because of their experience with striping cars, and to leave this part of the messy restoration out of his shop.  The blaster used a pumice material which is in between plastic and sand media in terms of harshness to the metal (and warp large sheet metal panels).  The painter like the way the pumice basting left a micro etching to the sheet metal surface for the sealer to "bite" into before the prime coat.  The Pro’s know (or should know) the best product to use on what part of the car.  I also had my local Ready-Strip Company stand blast or chemically strip many different parts during the restoration.

Like all properly done projects, you’re on the right track to ask as many questions as you can about each step of the restoration process, and to find the right people to do the job. It will pay-off in the long run.

Good luck on your project!

Dave

 

[hotrod68]

If you want to keep the original character of the car, don't sandblast it! I found out the hard way that hard stripping destroys all the assembly line marks and other anomalies found on them. This is just if you want to preserve what was there originally, though. If originality is no concern then blasting is a great way to strip it--except for sheetmetal. Unless low-pressure media blasting is used on sheetmetal, it'll warp it and cause uncountable headaches when preparing the car for paint. But any kind of blasting will leave residue that gets in every crack and crevice, and it's danged expensive if you don't do it yourself. Also, blasting takes off the factory sealer. William and Dave nailed it. My 2 cents.