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Fri May 25, 2012 8:39 pm

I am working on a 62 ragtop that was seriously hurting due to rust. I got mast of the rust dealt with but ended up stripping most of the car paint. I used a harbor freight blaster with fair results in conjunction with stripper. I have very dry air (refrigerated) so there was no clogging. I t seemed like using a toothbrush for a tile floor. does anybody have any recomendations on the next level blaster? How many hours does it generally take to do a vw assuming 1 coat of paint and primer? How many bags of sand can you plan on? just seems like it took a long time. I live where blasting is not a problem and I prefer not to pay 800 or 1000 for something i can do. I just dont want to reinvent the wheel .....Steve

Sat May 26, 2012 10:09 am

In my recommendation, I would do chemicals before any more blasting. There are a few hangups with blasting:

1. It makes a ton of dust. This dust gets into everything inside the car as well as any nearby tools.
2. Inexperienced folks who want to blast their entire vehicle don't usually understand that there are different types of blast media to prevent work-hardening of the steel. There may be sections that require walnut shells, glass beads, or even dry ice.
3. A pro can blast your entire car in an afternoon and then you are not stuck with all the sand and dust and junk that comes with it...

The chemicals make all your paint and filler into a nice puddle that can be washed away. Any remaining spots can be sanded/scraped away. It's nice to be able to see where there was previously filler for when you are restarting bodywork.

Just my two cents...

Tue May 29, 2012 7:53 am

The problem with sand is it is very aggressive which in turn it builds alot of heat. That heat is what causes some flat panels to warp. Most pro blast shops will not use sand on sheet metal its usually ground Walnut shells or a Plastic/Glass type of media that will not heat and warp the panels.Also they do it in a larger volume and with greater pressure thats why it is so effective.

Blasting at home with sand is fine as long as you pay attention to the heat build up. Its slow and messy but it works.....sometimes the Home Depot sand works well....just wear a mask as it contains Silica