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Sandblasting


Z0wner

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I am in high school, and I just bought a 260z. I am on a high school budget, so before I spend money on other things I was wondering if any of you who have had your 260z sandblasted could give me a range that I should expect to pay to have the entire body sandblasted.

 

Thanks

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Not a good idea. Blast media gets in all the cracks and holes then when you paint, it gets blown into the paint. After it is blasted to bare metal you will need to coat it right away to keep surface rust off.......

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If you have the time (ie. long term project) then you can blast small rusty areas, but like Tim said... sand's going to get everywhere. IF you do blast something you should take the time afterwards to thoroughly vacuum up all the loose media.

 

When I needed to blast small sections I made cardboard dams (taped to the body) and layed a tarp down on the ground under the area being worked. This helped me to minimize (but didn't eliminate) the amount of sand that collected in peripheral areas.

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ok, I am on a high school budget, so which would be more affordable... buying a sandblasting gun/compressor/media or using a sander and patching the work?

 

if I was to use a sander, what type should I use? and what type of sandpaper?

 

also, what type of filler do you use?

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You will need at least a 7 hp rated (~5hp run) 60gallon compressor. Then you will need a pneumatic DA sander. You can buy electric DA sanders, but I have no experience with them. To take paint to bare metal, use 80-120 grit paper. This also gives the surface some roughness for the filler to 'bite' to.

 

Depending on the repair, use either a combo of fiberglass reinforced (kittyhair) filler and polyester plastic filler, or just the plastic filler. Get some recommendations from your body supply store......

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well, I am planning on painting the car soon and I don't want to leave any of the original copper or (the paint that the previous owner painted) green left on it, so would sanding the entire car be something that could be done? I need a good way of removing rust and paint. Thats why sandblasting seemed fairly logical to me

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Unless it has had several paint jobs, I would not sand it completely down to bare metal.....unnecessary, plus the factory primer will usually have the best adhesion to the sheetmetal. Just know the paint down with 320 grit and primer over it....

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Whatever you do dont sandblast your car! trust me, i paid a "professional" to do it and it turned out horrible. He ruined my front fenders, doors, and door glass. I had to buy replacement parts to correct his stupidity. And i think tim means just sand the entire car with 320 then primer!

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"Just know the paint down with 320 grit and primer over it...."

 

do you mean' date=' mow the paint down with 320 grit and primer over the primer?[/quote']

sorry....shame on me for not proofing my post first. I meant to say "knock" down

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Well... you're about to learn a whole lot! A Z is a great car to learn to work on. Remember to have fun even when things get frustrating.

 

For the body work- anything rusty you'll want to replace. Sometimes if its small you can cut out the rust and fiberglass a patch. If its big, you want to cut it out and weld on some new metal. Even if its small but structural- use steel.

 

Anyway, you should buy the book Restoring your Datsun Z car by Wick Humble on amazon. Its only like $14 or so. He goes through pretty much everything.

 

I'm going to send you a PM too.

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