Dustless Blasting / media blasting quote

[May70]

I need to strip the paint on my fenders and hood. I have not figured out what is the best way to do it yet, ive read a lot of threads here but still uncertain. If I do strip it I would like maybe a grinder attachment because I have a bad wrist and using a drill with like a wire wheel kills my wrist. With the grinder ive got a hood handle to grip onto with both hands.

Anyway, just out of plain curiosity I wanted to see how much dustless blasting would cost. I see them advertised all the time. Just figured id share the quote I got today for two fenders (just the outers) and a hood through Hampton Roads Dustless Blasting. This quote was for me to disassemble and drive over one hour to their location in Virginia Beach.

$450!!!!!! I cant believe they even keep enough business with those prices to stay open. My friend just had a whole chassis sandblasted and powder coated for $750.

NO THANKS! LOOKS LIKE IM GOING TO BE DOING SOME STRIPPING.

[Jason Banks]

Hope your are not stripping to pay for the blasting...

[kxmotox247]

The mobile blasting guy in our areas is $150 an hour and includes all materials. Typically 4 bags of crushed glass an hour. I bet your fenders would be done in an hour.

Stripmasters is pretty close to us. I would guess they are $50-$75 per fender.

$450 seems really high.

[Curtb1971]

I think you're getting a high cost because blasting a flat hood would be risky for the business because they are very easy to warp. Any thicker metal like a frame can be aggressively blasted without damage so in turn cheaper because its faster. We have chemically stripped hoods on these trucks just to not risk any warpage. I think the last set of fenders I had blasted inside and out was $150 but that was a few years back.

[special-K]

If this type of blasting is worth existing at all (when there are already well established effect methods) it is because the risk of warpage is non-existent. According to the guys I've spoken with, temps are actually cooler than ambient. This place in VB is gouging themselves out of business the way I see it.

Mini grinder is the only was to go with a cup brush. Attached to a drill is good for a small spot but it's really a compromised method for people who don't have the proper tool.

Why not chemical stripper? Even with using a sander with heavy grit or cup brush you can heat the metal up to a chancey level. So watch for that. Using stripper will leave way less of that needed done. Mine needs to be done before winter, I hope, and that is how I'll do it. I do plan on getting a quote on dustless, but from all I've heard I think it will be more than I'd want to pay. I bet the prices will be coming down to comparable once the newness has worn off

[Bigdav160]

I don't know of any dustless blasting guys near me but there is a shop nearby that does all sorts of blasting media for cars. He seems to stay busy. 20 years ago I dropped by with the stripped body of my '50 Ford Coupe. He wanted $850 to strip the paint.

I finally drove off thinking I could buy a lot of chemical stripper for $850

[Jrainman]

I have done a lot of research on dustless blasting, seems like a very good alternitive to traditional ways to strip paint ,I even contacted a dustless blasting MFG and got price quotes for various systems they sell and they are very expensive systems compared to traditional stipping methods . If you can find someone in your area that offers dustless blasting it going to be expensive, I my self had gotten a estamate , these guys have either put out big bucks or have a big monthly note to payoff there systems , and I really dont see them attracting the amount of work needed to pay for them ,seems like they try and hit a home run on every estamate they give . I just saw a craigslist add about 2 hrs from me for a used dustless systems for $18,000 . thats a lot of blasting to recoup your investment .

[my67c20]

Find some neighborhood kid that wants to work on cars and offer him beer for his service. What kid would not want to take up that offer? Oh and don't forget to bring there parents over for a barbecue. Helps to cut the edge when they child is boozing it up. Tricky question is why do you need to completely strip them? I say sand the best you can, get a few cans of Eastwoods 2 part epoxy primer, rinse and repeat until your get the finish you like.

[projectking]

I blast my own parts and also do work for others $175 is plenty of money for the outsides of your 3 pieces.

[72c20customcamper]

Guy here wanted 600 or 650 to do the inside of the bed and the rear frame on my stepside. Mind you the bed was off and it had a wood floor .

Needless to say I did it myself . Combination of old school sanding and some sand blasting. I really like this tool for stripping paint. Gets into irregular areas very well. And the little paint stripper on the drill gets the tiny areas

[67C10Step]

72C20,
I have my stepside bed blown apart and am starting to think about paint stripping. I have done one step thus far and it was a pain due to four coats between the sun and bare metal.

I've looked at that Eastwood tool 2-3 times thinking it might be a good investment but have not pulled the trigger yet. Got any more photos of pieces you have done with it? I tend to use the one time price to get something done to justify purchasing a tool I can use from now on.

[72c20customcamper]

Only a couple but I wish I had it years ago. Just bought three new drums at the goodguys show in PA. should be able to polish up knifes very easily now.

Inside the stepside fenders

[72c20customcamper]

On the outside I could have cleared it and it would have looked like brushed stainless.

[67C10Step]

Man, that is on my Christmas list now! I’ve got a set of fenders and bed sides to clean up. Inside the fenders is some undercoating junk I’m not looking forward to tackling.

[Castle09]

Had a quote for dustless to do my bare frame. By bare I mean bare, no crossmembers. They wanted $450. I told him that was way more than I expected and he said he could do it for $300. I told him let’s do it and he never replied back. I ended up finding a local powder coating Co. And the did it for $150. I had to rent a u haul to drop it off and pick it up but it was worth it. They said they would reblast and powder coat it for $300 when I was done with the mods I was doing. Long story short they’re expensive lol but convenient when you don’t have a truck and trailer.

[toolboxchev]

I just recieved a dustless blasting quote, dude was 225 and hour. Well out with the grinder and drill wheel.

[May70]

Originally Posted by 72c20customcamper

On the outside I could have cleared it and it would have looked like brushed stainless.

72, how long did that SCT tool take to do one of those fenders?

Its on sale for 200$ but those abrasive drums are 50$ each which blows my mind.... how long does one drum last?? That price seems astronomical man

More info would be great

[72c20customcamper]

Originally Posted by May70

72, how long did that SCT tool take to do one of those fenders?

Its on sale for 200$ but those abrasive drums are 50$ each which blows my mind.... how long does one drum last?? That price seems astronomical man

More info would be great

The tool strips the crud very quickly and I'm still on my first abrasive drum . It's the stripper drum . I bought a finer drum and a flapper type .

[May70]

Originally Posted by 72c20customcamper

The tool strips the crud very quickly and I'm still on my first abrasive drum . It's the stripper drum . I bought a finer drum and a flapper type .

What about just factory paint off a fender with the abrasive drum? Like 10-15 minutes to remove or?

[FL71C10]

I had two fenders, my hood and the cowl panel blasted inside and out and it was $500. So I don't think the original poster's quote is too far off.

Good, fast, and cheap. You can get two out of three.

[projectking]

If I charged more it wouldn’t mean I’d do a better job...

[akart]

Try this: I stripped some Hooker Headers to recoat them w/por header paint. Citristrip worked perfect. It left the original paint puckered up an it just scraped right off. A truck finish may be different and maybe you would have to apply 2 coats. No volatile fumes but I would wear rubber gloves and eye protection Maybe it won't work at all. But a quart of this stuff is only about 8 bucks.HomeD listed it for 19.97 per Gal.
So maybe this stuff works and you have to do some light sanding. You gotta try it.

[May70]

So I have a variable speed buffer with a 7" sander attachment. It took this off in one small pass with 240 grit but the metal was hot to the touch after just that. How hot is TOO HOT (to risk warping the panel)? I feel like if I used that thing for more than a second it would get really hot.

I tried a wire cup and that was much slower and made it way hotter than the buffer. What makes this contour sct machine magically not put as much heat into the panel??????? how hot does the panel get using the contour machine? The only difference I see is a drum vs pad which does not seem like it would make that much heat difference.

Ive used chemical stripper before but I have also read to avoid them because they can cause failure with paint later and that there is no way to 100% not have that risk.

I got another quote today from a different media blaster. He would just say 200$/hr plus 13$/bag and couldn't even give me an estimation of how long it would take. Which seems very strange and he wanted them dropped off and he would call me when they were done, so I couldn't see for my self how long it took them. Everyone wants to get rich quick off the average guy who barely makes it.

[special-K]

Use way coarser grit, like under 100. I use 50-80. The thing with heat, warpage, and sandblasting is the heat it localized like with welding warpage. Sandblasting can work on sheet metal if you pass the spray across the panel the same way you spray paint. It takes many passes to 'gradually' remove the paint, using less pressure. You can't just sit on one spot and let it eat to bare metal the way you can on heavy steel like a frame or wheels and small pieces.

[Jrainman]

Originally Posted by special-K

Use way coarser grit, like under 100. I use 50-80. The thing with heat, warpage, and sandblasting is the heat it localized like with welding warpage. Sandblasting can work on sheet metal if you pass the spray across the panel the same way you spray paint. It takes many passes to 'gradually' remove the paint, using less pressure. You can't just sit on one spot and let it eat to bare metal the way you can on heavy steel like a frame or wheels and small pieces.

Agree you need to start with under a 100 grit and the 240 you are using is to fine of a grit to create a good bond when yo go to your next step, I my self start with 35 grit and step it up from there to 80 grit .