sand blasting

[gsiboy21]

hi there just got myself a new nova for a project and wanted to take the shell down to bare metal so was wondering if it was worth having the full shell sand blasted so as anyone on her had it done that could give me some advice please

[brainsnova]

it depends what condition the shells in.

[Jonlem]

Are you confident the car isn't full of filler ? if you are then get it done as it gets in the areas that are simply a nightmare to do any other way (except dipping)

I had a Mk2 escort shell done once, it swiftly went on ebay after as it revealed a lot of horror stories, the next one I did was dipped where Keiths was

[gsiboy21]

ok lads i asked because i was not sure if it would leave the body too rough and pitted

[R1CH]

It won't damage the shell at all, if theres a lot of rot / filler then you could end up with a few holes but the panels will be fine.
Your gonna be looking at a good few quid to get it done as well, around £600 - £800, they don't use sand either, they'll more than likely use plastic beads.

[gsiboy21]

i have a friend that does sand blasting for a living he usual does house plus he does alloys for a local power coating company and he said he will do it for about £60 to £70 so i think i will go for it

[mowgli]

be prepared for a lot of work afterwards, also get some decent zinc primer on it immediately.

[meritlover]

you will find holes you never thought were there.

i hope you can weld.

[Pistol Pete]

If your shell is in good nick then have it dipped afterwards? If it is not then get busy bee with the welder!

[gsiboy21]

not too botherd about the work after as not it a rush to get it on the road

[meritlover]

dipping is really the only answer for protective treatment anyway, therefor youll have to dip it to strip it first.

if your going to sand blast the whole car, your obviously serious about preserving it. in which case youll end up with rot in the bits you cant blast (ie inside sills/chassis legs/structural members)

so it may end up pointless blasting considering the amount of work your going to have to put in to prep the surfaces to do a bare metal respray.

[gsiboy21]

as said before not botherd about the amount of work

[meritlover]

....i know, but im saying the work you put into a blasted car may not be worth it, if the car then decides to rot in a confined area.

[twistysnovagte]

i have some panels(doors,wings and bonnet)all free of rust but painted the wrong colour of my car,and i was thinking of blasting them(as i can get this done for next to nothing)is it safe to blast panels???ifso then how would you go about preperation for paint???he also uses glass,sand,and bead(plastic)blasting which would be appropriate???
sorry to hijack the thread, but wouldnt make sense to start a new thread on the same subject.

[R1CH]

I'm sure who ever will be blasting the parts will know what type of media to use, they use somekind of (plastic) beads (not sure exactly what type) at work to blast shells, i've had a couple of panels done before, i'd imagine you'd have to use some kind of etch primer ?? but again, who evers painting them will know what to use.

[Novasport]

DO NOT shotblast panels, the friction it causes will warp the panels. It is OK on more solid sections like the floor pan. The floor pan is covered in a PVC/rubber coating so this will need to be scraped off first as the shot will just bounce off it.
Also remember it will fill up the box sections and if you cannot get it out it will actually attract moisture causing the chassis to rot anyway.
There is a company that does soda blasting, it is not supposed to damage panels so it might be worth looking into.

[R1CH]

If the correct media is used then it won't damage the panels at all, all our shells at work get blasted (quite a few times over a season) and non of them suffer any damage to the panels due to them being blasted, that includes Aluminium tailgates and bonnets.
Once its been blasted then your only looking at a couple of hours tops with a hoover / airline to remove any media thats left in the shell, if the bare shells been done (i pressume it'll get mounted on a spit) then the majority will have been removed before you get the shell back anyway, if theres any small holes leading into chassis legs that it will be difficult to get out then they should get masked / blocked off before it gets blasted.
Granted getting it blasted isn't gonna be as good as getting it dipped, bit it'll be a damn site cheaper.

[pul16v]

ive had afew bits done at a local place ( wakefield ) and they use sand its quite coarse but very fine the pressure they use is crazy i had a swingarm done for a bike and its was blown allover couldnt stop it moveing . it does leave a texured finish on it but a good high build primer fills it also something ive noticed is once its been blasted its not quite the same to weld i think the metal gets impregnated with the sand and disrupts the welding . also get it primed as soon as possible i left something about 20hours and it was coverd in surface rust when i went back to it . i think sand blasting is fine for car panels never noticed any heat and ive picked it up straight after its been blasted

phil

[gsiboy21]

ok lads thanks alot and have a good christmas

[Royston]

Be careful!

You have to be careful when blasting thin steels, i.e. a shell, roof skin, /4 panels, which can lead to panel distortion, have shot blasted many tractors, e.g. heavy castings, etc
The medium e.g. copper slag / crushed walnut shells used and pressures involved make a big difference, also remember the grit will get everywhere.

I would get it stripped personally, shot blasting will however identify any weak spots!!

iirc a company called SPL offer such a service