Dershum Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 Since I recently moved and I haven't had a lot of time to spend working on my Z since then (still unpacking!) I've been in discussions with a local place about soda blasting the body. One of the things I've been trying to decide on is if I should have the shell shot with epoxy primer after the soda blasting to seal it up, or if I should leave it bare so I can identify any problem spots (rust) and fix them first. So I'm hoping for some opinions from folks who have done this or have experience with this. Should I leave it bare, or primer it after blasting? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Litman Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 Last year I had my '71 completely soda blasted in preparation for restoration/modification. The car sat in this bare metal condition for better than six months while I did modifications, test fit items, applied Lizard Skin, etc, etc. During this time I saw no evidence of rust formation. From what I understand Sodium Bicarbonate is a rust inhibitor therefore the process of paint removal leaves behind a protective coating. This coating remains until you wash the car with a special solution (hopefully provided to you by the business performing the soda blasting). You MUST wash the car with this chemical prior to priming or your bond may be compromised. I should provide that my car was in a climate controlled environment for this entire 6+ months therefore results may vary with more aggressive environments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wickiewicked240z Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 (edited) If u have bare metal flash rust is gonna pop up keep it in a garage and dry place. Plus if your not doing the body work right away primer it. I had my car media blasted and they painted it with etching primer. Edited July 26, 2012 by wickiewicked240z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
palosfv3 Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 Last year I had my '71 completely soda blasted in preparation for restoration/modification. The car sat in this bare metal condition for better than six months while I did modifications, test fit items, applied Lizard Skin, etc, etc. During this time I saw no evidence of rust formation. From what I understand Sodium Bicarbonate is a rust inhibitor therefore the process of paint removal leaves behind a protective coating. This coating remains until you wash the car with a special solution (hopefully provided to you by the business performing the soda blasting). You MUST wash the car with this chemical prior to priming or your bond may be compromised. I should provide that my car was in a climate controlled environment for this entire 6+ months therefore results may vary with more aggressive environments. This is correct. info. I would only add to be sure you have cleaned all the blasted metal with the proper agent extremely well and to follow with a chemical cleaning of the metal before priming . I recommend you view the bare body before its primed by anyone else to ensure any rust is properly tended to as soda doesn't remove rust only paint coatings. We have had several projects brought to our shop over the years that have been primed by the soda blasting company only to have to strip them down to bare and start over again because the rust' wasn't tended to correctly. All filling primer is porous . Moisture can and will permeate through the coating and cause issues with the metal . I always coat all bare metal with an etch or epoxy zinc based primer before topping with a fill primer. Etch or zinc based primers have the best adhesion qualities to bare metals and are the only products that actually resist oxidation of the metal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOTHALOSISM Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 If you just want to cover it to prevent flash rust use a laquere primer since it is alot cheaper. Then when you get around to doing any actual body work then upgrade to the epoxy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 I've had a few customer cars blasted and the paint shops that ultimately get the car are emphatic that it not be primered. They want it sprayed with a light rust preventative and one recommended using Picklex 20. I've used WD40 and just resprayed the car with it every couple months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
svMike Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 I had the same experience JohnC when I looked into this for my car: paint shops in my area suggested leaving it alone after soda blasting. They were equally empathic that soda needs to be fully neutralized before paint. BarryK of Southern Polyurethanes said the same thing when I asked him about how to prep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dershum Posted July 27, 2012 Author Share Posted July 27, 2012 Thanks everyone for the info and opinions....looks like I'll be skipping the primer coat and leaving it in bare metal. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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