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u118224
Samba Member
Joined: July 22, 2008
Posts: 7
Location: Horton Bay, MI
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 Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 6:44 am Post subject: Chassis Sandblasting Questions |
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| I have a 1973 Standard Beetle. I am disassembling it in order to restore it. I do not particularly want to remove the rear suspension plates and torsion bars. Can these remain on the chassis when sandblasting, without any adverse effects? |
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69 Jim
Samba Member
Joined: September 27, 2004
Posts: 6264
Location: Chickengeorge's Neighbor
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| Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 9:12 am Post subject: |
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I wouldn't suggest it, sand gets everywhere. The pan needs to be completly disassembled. I had to run the water hose through the tunnel for quite a while to remove all the residue on the last one I did. If you are doing a restoration, the rubber bushings should be replaced anyway.
It is not really that hard to do and the finished product will handle much better. If you read up on how to do it, just remember when you unload the springplates, take a picture of the position where they are hanging. This takes all the guess work out of the reassembly and makes the job much easier. Good luck. |
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pbenn
Samba Member
Joined: November 21, 2007
Posts: 375
Location: Toronto
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| Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 3:30 pm Post subject: |
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Yes. Sand will also get in the torsion tube and the tunnel and the front floor cross channel.
I actually hung mine vertically and used gravity for a 50/50 kerosene/water wash, with the big rear tranny mounts unscrewed for the drain. It was too much work and didn't get the cross channels.
If I ever did it again I'd use a shop-vac for about a day first, before trying the wash method. If you do unscrew the rear tranny mounts you're going to have to clean the fine threads carefully inside the rear horns. |
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tobyte1
Samba Member
Joined: July 13, 2008
Posts: 11
Location: Valley, AL
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| Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 4:36 pm Post subject: |
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| Check into soda-blasting. It is a lot less invasive than sand. I have had great results. Around here, a guy will come to your place and blast a whole car for $500-800 depending on the car and how bad it is. |
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u118224
Samba Member
Joined: July 22, 2008
Posts: 7
Location: Horton Bay, MI
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| Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 6:14 am Post subject: |
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Thanks for the replies, I appreciate it! For those of you who did sand or soda blast the chassis, did you remove the diagonal suspension arms?
Also, how did you address the chassis to body sealing strip that runs around the perimeter of the chassis? I presume it must be removed, but does anyone sell a suitable replacement for it?
Thanks again for your help. |
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69 Jim
Samba Member
Joined: September 27, 2004
Posts: 6264
Location: Chickengeorge's Neighbor
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| Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 9:22 am Post subject: |
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Try here for the body seal: http://www.wolfsburgwest.com/wwd.cfm
Depending on your budget, powder coating the pan comes out very nice. Looks factory clean. |
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clarkbre
Samba Member
Joined: June 20, 2004
Posts: 1107
Location: Everett, WA
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| Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 9:52 am Post subject: Re: Chassis Sandblasting Questions |
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| u118224 wrote: |
| I have a 1973 Standard Beetle. I am disassembling it in order to restore it. I do not particularly want to remove the rear suspension plates and torsion bars. Can these remain on the chassis when sandblasting, without any adverse effects? |
In general, if you're taking it apart to get things blasted, take everything apart. I am in the process of restoring a '73 pan and had it blasted and then applied POR15 to it. Every part that bolted, clipped, or clamped to the pan was taken off in order to get the best coverage from the sandblaster and paint.
For me, it's a detail thing. Had I not taken the suspension apart or had left the front beam on, I would know in the end that there were areas that weren't freshened up because I was lazy. It will be a better quality restoration if you disassemble everything and start fresh with all new parts.
After blasting and paint, the first thing I did was replace the shift rod busing and worked my way out from there.
Also, I will disagree with 69Jim about powdercoating. Although it looks nice and is durable, I found that POR15 is a better product. It is much cheaper (1 quart will do 2 coats top and bottom of the pan), prohibits rust, dries just as hard as powder coating, if it ever does chip it is easy to touch up, and is resistant to battery acid. Either way you go, it will really help prolong the life of your pan. |
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volksbug70
Samba Member
Joined: August 22, 2005
Posts: 126
Location: Tallahassee, FL
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| Posted: Wed Mar 08, 2017 11:06 am Post subject: |
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| tobyte1 wrote: |
| Check into soda-blasting. It is a lot less invasive than sand. I have had great results. Around here, a guy will come to your place and blast a whole car for $500-800 depending on the car and how bad it is. |
I'm going to be blasting my chassis soon and am considering the different media options. I've heard that soda isn't as abrasive as other options - how well did it handle rusty areas on the chassis?
_________________
~Dave (Brother of Matts70Bug)
1970 Beetle
Undergoing Full Restoration as of February 2017! |
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Steve22
Samba Member
Joined: March 05, 2004
Posts: 1389
Location: the wild unknown
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| Posted: Wed Mar 08, 2017 11:25 am Post subject: |
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| volksbug70 wrote: |
| tobyte1 wrote: |
| Check into soda-blasting. It is a lot less invasive than sand. I have had great results. Around here, a guy will come to your place and blast a whole car for $500-800 depending on the car and how bad it is. |
I'm going to be blasting my chassis soon and am considering the different media options. I've heard that soda isn't as abrasive as other options - how well did it handle rusty areas on the chassis? |
technology has changed since 2008, check into dustless blasting.
_________________
'65 Karmann Ghia 'vert
'73 Super Beetle
'59 Beetle ragtop
'73 Sunroof Transporter |
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TX-73
Samba Member
Joined: January 04, 2013
Posts: 1133
Location: Texas
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| Posted: Wed Mar 08, 2017 1:56 pm Post subject: Re: Chassis Sandblasting Questions |
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| clarkbre wrote: |
For me, it's a detail thing. Had I not taken the suspension apart or had left the front beam on, I would know in the end that there were areas that weren't freshened up because I was lazy. It will be a better quality restoration if you disassemble everything and start fresh with all new parts.
After blasting and paint, the first thing I did was replace the shift rod busing and worked my way out from there.
Also, I will disagree with 69Jim about powdercoating. Although it looks nice and is durable, I found that POR15 is a better product. It is much cheaper (1 quart will do 2 coats top and bottom of the pan), prohibits rust, dries just as hard as powder coating, if it ever does chip it is easy to touch up, and is resistant to battery acid. Either way you go, it will really help prolong the life of your pan. |
Agree, it's all in the details. even to removing bolts before you paint.
I wanted to add that I've used Rust Bullet with very good results. You can also reduce it slightly for better coverage and flow. I did a 73 F-150 chassis with it, great results. Eastwood sells a ceramic engine paint that is pretty durable as well. I used their dark Ford blue color for some of the chassis components for a little contrast. Lots of good materials out there. That chassis was blasted with Black Diamond grit from Tractor Supply.
_________________
My 1973 Standard Beetle Build SOLD
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