sandblasting help

[chrismcc2011]

i havent picked the truck up, but it has been sitting for a long time and im willing to bet it has some rust and id like to sand blast the whole thing and start witha a metal shell. i have read that sand blasting can warp metal but i have also heard about sandblasting with baking soda and that it doesnt cause damage to the metal. has anyone used the baking soda method and can give me an idea of what i should do.

im 17 and have no metal work experience so excuse me if my questions seem ignorant to you lol.

[Bugeyev8]

I would be very carefull who you take it to for blasting, just reg sand from Home Depot will work fine for the heavy things like frame and suspension, but the body is a whole different story, baking soda has had a whole lot of issues since hitting the car field in the early 90s, there are people who swear by it and some that don't, I have had cars media blasted and dipped, the dipped method was a huge mistake and the issues were delayed by years but that was not the way to go

why do you want to blast it ? is it that bad? I stripped my truck with a DA and the tough stuff with a knotted wire brush and some phosphoric acid

Call San Benito sand blasting in Hollister Ca, check their web site too its got alot of info, they treated me well and were reasonable and delivered and picked the cars up

good luck with whatever way you choose

[markeb01]

Welcome to the forum. This is such a complex subject I’d recommend doing a Google search on the subject of sand blasting, soda blasting, and chemical stripping of automotive paints. There’s an endless amount of information available that can help you make the best decision for your specific project.

From my own experience, here’s what I’ve observed.

Sand blasting is very abrasive, cheap and effective. Consider this like 50 grit sandpaper. It works very well on hard parts like castings and suspension pieces, detached from the vehicle.

Cons:

It can work harden or warp delicate body panels. This isn’t as big a problem if you’re doing it yourself with a siphon blaster and small compressor, but it takes forever to do large surfaces so it isn’t very practical. The electric bill for running a small compressor non-stop can sometimes pay to have someone do the job professionally.

Sand gets “everywhere”. Trapped sand particles continue leaking out of body cavities years after completion.

Breathing blasting dust is dangerous to your health, besides being miserable so if you do it yourself wear a respirator and eye protection.

It doesn’t work on grease or undercoater. These must be removed before blasting.


Soda blasting removes just the paint, it does not “profile” the metal. For example if you want to remove the finish from a painted grille in order to have it chromed, soda blasting works perfectly, because the stripped surface looks just as it did when it came out of the stamping tool.

Compared to sandblasting this is more like 400 grit sandpaper, but leaves no scratches. There are claims it does not damage glass, chrome, rubber or wiring.

Cons:

It does not remove rust or body filler.

Many paint manufacturers recommend against it, due to adhesion problems with soda residue.

Soda residue can cake up and be difficult to remove.

It costs much more to remove heavy finishes because it takes longer than more aggressive materials.

Here are some articles you may also find helpful:

http://www.crankshaftcoalition.com/wiki/Sandblasting
http://www.crankshaftcoalition.com/wiki/Soda_blasting
http://www.crankshaftcoalition.com/wiki/Media_blasting

I find the best approach is a combination of techniques. Paint stripper on large sheet metal surfaces, flap discs on hard parts, d/a sanders with various grit discs depending on the surface and finish, wire brushes in both steel and brass, and blasting for the tedious areas that I can’t do any other way. Good luck on your project.

[63 & 64 Bowties]

Originally Posted by markeb01

This isn’t as big a problem if you’re doing it yourself with a siphon blaster and small compressor, but it takes forever to do large surfaces so it isn’t very practical.

Sand gets “everywhere”. Trapped sand particles continue leaking out of body cavities years after completion.

Breathing blasting dust is dangerous to your health, besides being miserable so if you do it yourself wear a respirator and eye protection.

It doesn’t work on grease or undercoater. These must be removed before blasting.

This is me in the picture below. It took all day to do the undercarriage of this Mach 1 with that little Tractor Supply blaster.
It does get grit trapped everywhere.
I used Black Beauty but whatever you use, it's dangerous and messy.
And anything pliable won't be removed, even grease, so it has to be fairly clean even before you start.

[GMR-PERFORMANCE]

here are some pics of what sand blasting does. It cleans great does get every where but if all parts are taken off so what get a shop vac and go to work. I think that the whole deal about the sand blasting making parts brittle is blow out into left field. If the job is done correct you are fine. I had my entire truck done. I had a huge amount of metal owrk to do and none of my parts had any sign of being brittle or work hardening.. These two pics are just a sample there was a ton of filler in this truck. If they had taken the time to fix it I am sure they spent just as much getting the filler done. Either way they did do a great job and took many many hours getting the truck straight.. It was very deceving until I had it stripped. Then we saw the grapefruit size dents.

Check around at shops that do this. Sand paper and DA discs are not cheap.. I have kept my bills on the everything you would be shocked at what you spend. The more you can do yourself the more you will save.. provided you dont get in over your head..

One thing to think about is this. Many time a auto body course will take on a project. Maybe look into that and see what you can work out there. I know our local college does that. Have seen many a nice car roll out and you will learn some things along the way. Just a thought. It will not be free but they will have the shop tools and gear needed to tackle a full project.

Good luck hope you stick with it ..

[chrismcc2011]

Thanks for all of your advice guys.
I'm basically weighing my options and thinking of what im going to do. The truck is a 1964 swb. And I know it has been sitting for decades. I havent been able to see it or go get it because of weather. Sounds weird that I haven't seen i truck that I own, but the truck was given to me so im into it no money. And I also know it has no motor or tranny so I thought it would be good to do a complete frame up (maybe not a good idea being my first restoration) and I just thought that blasting everything and starting with bare metal would help. But I have no experience like I said, so anything helps. When i get the truck home I will post detailed pictures and ask again for thoughts on it.

[chrismcc2011]

im ging to wait for now. im going back to school come January so the build wont start until next summer. But if its still around by then id be interested. I want to put a 350 in it.

[chrismcc2011]

and can you guys give me an idea of how much in idk volume will a 50 lb bag of a blast media will last? and is there a difference in how much is done with sand vs. soda or really any of them?

[andyh1956]

my pot holds 300# & i have to fill it up about every 45-50 min. my 2cts says i don't blast ANYTHING that is on the outside of my trucks. 80grt & the DA does wonders on the outside panels. oh yeah, just 1 grain of lose sand will take out ANY window in range. ask how i know. or ask my wife.
andy

[GMR-PERFORMANCE]

Originally Posted by andyh1956

, just 1 grain of lose sand will take out ANY window in range. ask how i know. or ask my wife.
andy

too funny,

[jbgroby]

Not to make some of you green with envy, but when I sand blasted my parts back in 2003 I used a LeRoy road Air-Compress and 2,500 air tank see pic. This set up belonged to Mr. Bill wolf in New Orleans.

[Captainfab]

WOW you could run a heck of a big nozzle with that setup and never run out of air.

Originally Posted by jbgroby

Not to make some of you green with envy, but when I sand blasted my parts back in 2003 I used a LeRoy road Air-Compress and 2,500 air tank see pic. This set up belonged to Mr. Bill wolf in New Orleans.

[collins10672]

i am no body or blasting expert,but have sandblasted several parts for the 1960-66 trucks without warpage.i have known local body shops who were using sandblasting back in the 80's and did not have trouble with it.sandblasting is like grinding on sheetmetal,stay in one spot too long and you will have a big warped mess.the main thing with blasting is to keep the blasting nozzle moving and do not hold in one spot for too long.if you have undercoating like under the cab or firewall you will have to scrape it all clean down to clean metal before blasting.if your truck has original paint on it,sandblasting will take it off very quickly,if it has been painted several times in its life it will take longer of course.what i do like about it,it does take all the rust along with it and nothing escapes the blaster,so if you have a dime sized hole it may be as big as a quarter after blasting it.i have seen bodies that were warped after sandblasting by someone who went crazy with it,so yes it can warp,but the main thing is to keep it moving if you decide to do this yourself.i have blasted body panels without warping them so i figure if i can anyone can cause i am a purebred amateur.