Stripping the paint

[MARTINSR]

Originally Posted by DransportGarage

I've got a local blaster that is reasonable, but his workers seldom do a great job. He did do my two rear fenders - inside and out - for $40, which is waaay cheap. The chemical dipper in our area wanted $200.

I wasn't happy about the missed areas, so I told the owner that the first thing I would have to do when I got home was get out my blaster. When I pryed him out of his office to see them in the shop he complained all the way about how no job is perfect. Then he saw them. He got the guy that did the job and did some "splainin'". The guy then worked on them for another 20 minutes while I watched. He was using a cannon compared to my rig, and even knocked one of the fenders off the table while I was standing right there. It hit hard on the concrete, but these fenders are a mess anyway, so no big deal.

The moral is, if you want it done right, do it yourself. Unfortunately, as others have said, it takes a bunch of time, especially if you have a cheap rig. My GTO frame alone took me 19 hours, but it was perfect. The truck frame probably took 12 hours.

And you REALLY have to watch it as they can destroy a part. I mean DESTROY as in you throw it away! That sand blaster that I mentioned in my last post, he had a new guy blast a few parts for me once, one was a 1928 Buick sedan door, it was DESTROYED. Thank goodness it was being done for a sign and not on a car. I had to shrink the hell out of it then cover it with bondo, a LOT of bondo.

The sand is like little hammers, and unlike the common myth that it is heat that is warping the panel (the air being blowing the sand on it on it actually cools the metal) the sand acts like little hammers thinning the top surface of the metal like hitting metal "on dolly" thins it, exactly the same, and that's what warps the metal.

Brian