Sandblasting do's and dont's

[STL_66 Chevy]

again with another question! i will try to keep them to a minimum.

i am getting ready to sandblast a bunch of parts and i need to know if there is anything i cant blast or need to watch for.... example: 1) steering box? can i blast it? do i need to mask off certin parts 2) rear axle: any areas i need to stay away from?

thanks again!

[ClassicAutoResto]

I blast my steering boxes with no trouble. Just stay away from the seals. The splines usually aren't rusted, so I recommend staying off of those as well. As with anything, afterwards clean, clean, clean! Good Luck - Jerry

[ClassicAutoResto]

Sorry, I missed answering your whole question, The rear axle I normally take everything out before I would blast. Not a good area to chance getting sand in. Some do, at my shop I do not. Jerry

[1963chevyshort]

Yes make sure that you remove all parts like glass and anything that will shatter. Anything that is smoothed metal such as a spindle you want to cover the smooth surface. Also remember to use a soft sand on the body parts such as "sugar sand". If you have bondo on the truck do not try to get it off if you are using sand. The metal might warp depending on how deep the spot is. And as stated before remove as much sand as possible when cleaning or you will have a painted truck with sand still coming out of crazy places lol.

[Paul Sek]

Hi

We industrial blast at the place I work for. Any areas that you don't want to have blasted wrap duct tape around it. Use 3 or 4 wraps and use will have no problems.

Paul S

[Captainfab]

A word of advise on sandblasting.....DON'T use silica sand. That used to be the material to use, but not anymore. Aside from airborne silica being extremely dangerous to breathe, the silica that becomes imbeded in the metal causes adverse reactions with current day primers, particulary epoxy primers. You could potentially ruin your new paint job by using silica sand

A better blast media to use is copper slag, which is black in color, or nickel slag which is greenish gray in color.

[stsalvage]

they have a new one out there is call Baking soda it takes off all paint and rust and leaves it clean and if you do a cab all you need to do is wash out the cab

with sand blast you will be picking sand out of that truck for ever

[Hart_Rod]

Originally Posted by Captainfab

A word of advise on sandblasting.....DON'T use silica sand. That used to be the material to use, but not anymore. Aside from airborne silica being extremely dangerous to breathe, the silica that becomes imbeded in the metal causes adverse reactions with current day primers, particulary epoxy primers. You could potentially ruin your new paint job by using silica sand

A better blast media to use is copper slag, which is black in color, or nickel slag which is greenish gray in color.

How does it ruin the paint?

[Captainfab]

Originally Posted by Hart_Rod

How does it ruin the paint?

The imbedded silica that you can't get out of the pores of the metal can react with primers (such as epoxy primers) causing the primer to not stick to the metal. So consequently your paint could peal and flake off.

To my knowledge, PPG will not guatantee a paint job where the metal has been blasted with silica sand.

I would not recommend using baking soda either. It is more difficult to get out of the cracks and crevaces than copper or nickel slag. Also the baking soda doesn't mix well with primer or paint. I'm sure some of you are skeptical about my claims, so I would suggest checking with the manufacturer of the primer and paint you plan to use and follow their recomendation.

My claims are based on information from a good friend of mine that has been abrasive blasting for over 10 years. He does all of the blasting for most of our local auto restoration/customizing shops, and has also worked with the local PPG rep. I trust what he tells me and I was passing this along in hope of helping some of you avoid problems with your paint.

[Hart_Rod]

Originally Posted by Captainfab

The imbedded silica that you can't get out of the pores of the metal can react with primers (such as epoxy primers) causing the primer to not stick to the metal. So consequently your paint could peal and flake off.

All you guys wanting to "patina" your paint, listen up, . Thanks for information.

R