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Thu Oct 31, 2002 10:05 am

I hear alot of people talk about sandblasting the body down to the metal. But the body "experts" I talk to say that this distorts the panels. What do you think...

Thu Oct 31, 2002 10:20 am

Personally I would only recommend taking it to someone that has the skills in doing a automotive panel. There are various types of compounds that can be applied in the *media-blasting criteria* you can use anything from walnuts to silica sand to soda not coke lol.
It really varies on how the person is doing the blasting as you can F* UP any panel with all the different medias. Too long on a panal and too close.

If you just need to have say the vents and around the edges done I would do it and you will not have as much warpage. Take some Aircraft striper and clean up as much of the old paint as possible. Then take it in and have the edges and under panels done.

Thu Oct 31, 2002 10:33 am

I was told about the possibility of warpage too, but ended up going to a recommended "blaster" (is that what I would call him?). I'm happy with the final product though.

Thu Oct 31, 2002 11:41 am

i sand blasted my back fenders on my square and nothing happend to them first blasting job i did good luck tho

Thu Oct 31, 2002 11:48 am

i sand blasted the roof of my 58 after installing the rag clip and nothing warped but i also hear that media blasting is safer ... i thinkthe best way to remove everything down to bare metal is acid dipping

Thu Oct 31, 2002 3:38 pm

considering the source, I probably wont acid dip anything unless someone reliable tells me otherwise lol

Thu Oct 31, 2002 4:01 pm

Depends where you go, who does it, what they do it with. I go to a glass bead blaster out here who does many many hot rods and cars. Did 2 early porsches for my dad, my 55 vert and 55 23, and my buddies rustiest 51 split rag ever. No warpage, no rust no paint, they also run low preasure and dont dwell on one spot and let the heat build up. Go to a place that specializes in cars and you will have a better chance. I took one car to a car dealer that uses plastic, they did more damage to the car than the glass blaster plus the plastic did not remove any rust. I think the biggest thing is who does the work.
I know a car that was acid dipped. Within a year rust was starting at every single body seam on the entire car. It apears that bare metal inside the seams is not to good for your car(-:

Thu Oct 31, 2002 4:28 pm

thats cool it didnt mess up the split, as far as im concerned splits are the only car worth anything if you gotta another vw besides a split you should drive it into your closest lake.unless its a squareback big windows suck!!!!!

Thu Oct 31, 2002 6:02 pm

I prefer to use aircraft paint stripper and lightly sand blast the rusted areas only. Then use a metal etch and self etching primer.

Thu Oct 31, 2002 9:19 pm

I just started sandblasting for the first time.My 60 rag shows no signs of warpage. If you use common sense ( a rare quality today) you can keep a good distance and be effective. The most important thing to keep in mind (if you do it yourself) is be very Patient.

Tue Mar 25, 2008 4:51 pm

70 140 wrote: I hear alot of people talk about sandblasting the body down to the metal. But the body "experts" I talk to say that this distorts the panels. What do you think...
What media are they using?

Wed Mar 26, 2008 6:41 pm

I've had over a dozen cars blasted...the right guy knows the right way...from bead to media...and grits of #60-#150

pick your poison...but be prepared to pay between 600-1000 smacks.

chemical stripping is shady as the residue gets in cracks and crevises and the chance of it coming back to bite you is to great.

like anything the more knowledge the better.
T

www.401restos.com

Wed Mar 26, 2008 8:38 pm

Sand will be forced through any little holes and spaces in seams and get into things like rockers. The silica is very bad to breathe and you need to wear a special mask. Use a media such as crushed glass, and keep the media blaster's nozzle moving and at a slight angle to the body so there is less friction.

Sat Mar 29, 2008 9:50 pm

powdered glass is the way to go guys. any local sand blast shop should have it. I bought a ton of it (almost literally) and used my pressure pot at home. worked great. AND, since I didn't have a huge amount of pressure, I didn't warp anything, and I can say that I did it myself.

Joel

Fri Jan 01, 2010 6:58 pm

When I had my bus repainted it was sand blasted by a guy who does hot rods.. no problems with the stripping but every time I drive on the highway sand comes out of the window defroster vents on my dash. They blasted my bus with the heater vent open under the dash and no matter how much air I blow through from the other end it seems to show up.

Trevor

Sat Jan 02, 2010 7:06 am

The way to go now is Blast with Soda. Only using Sand for heavy pitted areas of rust, etc. Soda does not create the heat Sand does so way less warpage. Soda can still damage but less likely even with a beginner doing it.
I actually use a grinder with a 4 1/2" pad called "Rapid Strip". This thing eats paint and putty like crazy. Their about 12 bucks a piece depending where you buy. I get mine at homedepot. Just dont go nuts on one area at a time. At first use bare hand and creep hand towards area you were stripping to see how hot your getting it when you first start. If you cant lay your hand on it. Its too hot! Its just a nice tool for do-it-yourself.
Chemical stripping is nice where you have alot of angles/contours or tight areas. Where using a stripping pad or grinder just wont get in there or would tear things up like edges. Or like areas you just dont want Soda or Sand captured and cant blow out.

Sat Jan 02, 2010 10:45 am

Since the media will go inside panels such as rockers, outriggers, and cross members, avoid media such as crushed walnut shells and soda ash that will hold moisture, if the blasting will be done anywhere near those areas. Plug up holes and seams, if you have to.

Sun Jan 03, 2010 8:00 pm

i used black diamond no warpage