sandblasting

[jonesky2]

anybody have experience with sandblasting? tried getting quotes on doing my fenders and doors most people wont do it due to the panels warping?

Im willing to spend the money on a cheap harbor freight blaster. what do you guys think?
I could get this one and convert it to soda blaster if needed?

http://www.harborfreight.com/110-lb-...ter-95014.html

or just buy a soda blaster. or stick with an abrasive. not really sure what the difference is.

http://www.harborfreight.com/40-lb-p...ter-67625.html

how long does it take to do sand blasting typically?

[jonesky2]

the fenders i have now are rust free as far as i can tell but have multiple layers of paint/primer and i want to start out with bare metal

[2003 silverado]

There are companys that are ot there that do soda-blasting I would look into that

[chrismoore701]

sandblasting yourself is long and messy unless you have a huge compressor. sand will warp the panels, wither strip it with a sanding disc, or take it to a soda blaster. good luck

[lyrikz]

Originally Posted by jonesky2

the fenders i have now are rust free as far as i can tell but have multiple layers of paint/primer and i want to start out with bare metal

Not to step on toes, but i wouldnt soda blast it. Its a pain in the but getting that out of every crack and if you dont, it bubbles back up through the paint.

They have media blasting that uses tiny little plastic pellets that work great. I had my cab sand blasted and there wasnt any waving anywhere. I also had some fenders done with sand and still, no waves. If the blasters know what they are doing you will be fine. Just ask for the plastic media. Soda works good to, but just getting it out of the tiny cracks isnt fun.

[66Z71]

I have a sand blaster, but I hate using it. It will make a mess you will never get cleaned up. My experience with blasting though, is that it doesn't have to warp the panels. There are people who media (sand/walnut shells/soda...) blast cars all the time without warping them. But if the guy you asked is afraid HE will warp it, I would talk to someone else.

As to whether or not you SHOULD blast them... If you have rust, then yes I say blast. If you just want to strip paint, I would do it some other way. I am not a big fan of soda, or chemicals as you have to make sure you get it ALL cleaned up before covering it with paint. My favorite way of stripping paint is a heat gun, and a cheap HF vibrating scraper, or a putty knife. Followed by one of the blue Norton abrasive pads in a drill or sander. I even have a big one for my 7" sander/polisher that leaves a nice even finish on large panels. Again though don't heat the panel up, as that is what warps it.

The only really nice thing about sand blasting is the texture it leaves on the panel, I find paint really sticks to it. But you can get a good surface by going over the bare metal with 80 grit on a DA.

The really nice thing about the heat gun, and scraping the paint off, is it makes a very small managable mess to clean up.

[72SWBChevy]

I striped all my sheetmetal by DA, paint striper and sandblasting. I have a 100lb siphon blaster and 80gal compressor. It did the job, it was slow and messy, but all the quotes I got were way too much for my budget. None of my pannels/fenders have any warping issues. If you lay a tarp down use can re-use the sand( a few times), as long as you strain it before you re-use it. Also wear a good respirator.
Good luck.

[hugger6933]

I would say strip with a DA sander and 80 grit followed up by a 220 git then prime it with epoxy primer. Soda is a problem waiting to happen as it leachs back into and onto the surface when least expected. you can buy from places like northern tool and other catalog places the plastic media but be carful as with sandpaper it comes in different grits.

[jonesky2]

from everyones opinion i decided that im going to just use a d.a. to take it down. but what about the inside of the fender? just scuff it up or take it down to bare metal too?

[allaboutchevelles]

I have the pressure sandblaster from harbor freight, think is cost around 75 dollars. I sandblast alot of stuff. I sandblasted the whole top of my roof on my 64 c10 with no issues. It gets into all the cracks and hard to get places. Like your talking about on the inside of fenders. Just take your time and keep moving along and stay a good ways from the panel and you want have any issues with the sandblasting. Then a good wet coat of epoxy primmer and your set. Good luck, check out my build thread for pics of my roof being sandblasted. http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...=439559&page=3

[Dragun12]

ya the harbor freight sand blaster works awsome and you can get a good sand from lowes and no i havent had any warping problems on are 66 chevy c10

[lyrikz]

Originally Posted by jonesky2

from everyones opinion i decided that im going to just use a d.a. to take it down. but what about the inside of the fender? just scuff it up or take it down to bare metal too?

Im not a fan of the DA> think about it. You are sanding the paint and the metal down. You are going to have more waves doing that then if you blasted it. PLLLUSSS you save an enormous amount of time, and i dont care how good you are with a DA you are not getting areas that sand can reach.

Rethink. ahaha... Good luck.

[sevt_chevelle]

If you sand the paint to bare metal, how are you gonna make waves? You would have to grind down into the metal pretty badly before you removed enough actual metal to make a wave.

A sandblaster in the wrong hands is a guaranteed method to creating a large paper weight. And despite what you might read on the internet about sandblast warpage, it is NOT caused by heat which shrinks metal, the sand actually peens the metal and stretches it out.

IMO the safest media to use is plastic beads to remove paint then crushed glass to remove rust...Eric

[66Z71]

I'll add that to me tha DA is almost as messy as blasting. And you run the risk of damaging the metal. Either thru excess heat, or metal removal.

The heat gun and a scraper either putty knife or vibrating is the best way to remove 90% of the paint. Then follow up with blasting or the DA for the last 10%.

The other Eric.

[wilkin250r]

Just because I like having lots of information all together, what are the thoughts on chemical stripping? I've done small engines with aircraft stripper getting them ready for powdercoat, really easy stuff. Never tried it on anything larger.

[Constructor1]

I picked up the 100 lb HF blaster and the thing works great. The issue is the compressor. I have a 50 gallon,150 psi, 7.5 cfm compressor that can not even begin to keep up. This makes the process slow having to wait on the compressor to re-fill, and I will only do this 3 or 4 times before I stop due to fear of damage to compressor from overheaing. I am using a 30 grit sand from Home Depot and have had no warpage issues. I try not to get to close to the panels and shoot at a 45 degree angle. So far I am pleased with the results. It removes the multiple layers of paint that my truck has with ease - but the bottom (last) layer of primer is a different story. Takes a lot more blasting to remove it.

[jonesky2]

Originally Posted by wilkin250r

Just because I like having lots of information all together, what are the thoughts on chemical stripping? I've done small engines with aircraft stripper getting them ready for powdercoat, really easy stuff. Never tried it on anything larger.

actually, I have been talking to rykon on ck5 about chemical stripping. I think this is the way i will do all of my flat panels and then sandblast the rest to keep it from warping.

[ItsRandy]

I used a combination: Chemical (easy off oven cleaner) to clean off the crud and some paint; soda blast for the hard to sand places and a DA on the rest. If you choose to blast (soda, sand, walnut shells etc.) wear breathing protection, silica sand can cause silicosis (lung disease), you don't want that.

[sigshooter]

There are several medias out there, Walnut shells work well on blasting panels. Blasting is like everything else, you have to learn the method or you can cause damage from the heat.