evildky Posted August 27, 2002 Share Posted August 27, 2002 anyone sandblast their car? I want to strip my car down as far as possible and sandblasting is the only way to get into may of the areas, obviously the main outer body can be sanded with a d/a, I was plainning on blasting eh interior engine bay, wheel wells and other tough to get to areas, my quiestion is does anyone have any idea how much media I can expect to use? I have a cheap harbor freight pressurised blaster and am planning on using aluminum oxide, any idea ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denny411 Posted August 27, 2002 Share Posted August 27, 2002 I would use a chemical stripper over a DA where possible. there will be less chance of rounding the crisp lines of the body,and less chance of causing heat warpage on large areas. my .02 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aaron Posted August 27, 2002 Share Posted August 27, 2002 It has been done, I remember some past posts on the subject. I think the consensus was that baking soda blasting was the best way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike kZ Posted August 27, 2002 Share Posted August 27, 2002 Baking soda, or walnut shells, but do not use sand on the body it will warp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted August 27, 2002 Share Posted August 27, 2002 Baking soda is one option, but not the concensus #1. Here is the link http://www.hybridz.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=9;t=000782 Here is another link talking about baking soda and pressure washers http://www.hybridz.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=9;t=000403 The car show I saw detailed some company that would baking soda strip your car right in your own driveway. The bigger question is whether you should strip or not. I have read previous posts saying stripping to bare metal is not always a good idea since the surface will be rougher than a good sanding. However at some point you have to remove the paint if the car has been repainted either poorly or too many times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted August 27, 2002 Share Posted August 27, 2002 In all honesty, the best way to remove all the paint is to strip the mechanics of the car and have it dipped. This is quite costly, but you don't have to worry about metal being blasted away or warped. This is the preferred method used by antique car collectors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evildky Posted August 28, 2002 Author Share Posted August 28, 2002 but how much !? the main question ther was about how much media to expect to use, I hate running out half way through a job, and the sand is for all the hard to reach areas where sanding is not an option, cowl, engine bay, interior, help me out poeple, as for the baking sode hiring out the job is not an option as this is a project for the grassroots motorsports $2003 challange for those familiar with it, I was in last year and would like to finish better than 24th this year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denny411 Posted August 28, 2002 Share Posted August 28, 2002 clue me in on the grassroot 2003 challenge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evildky Posted August 28, 2002 Author Share Posted August 28, 2002 you have to buy and build a car for $2003 or less and compete in a drag race, autocross, and concourse judging, last year I built a civic but due to rain the drag race was canceled and only the autocross and concourse judging counted, this year I have a $100 280z that I am building with a v8, so I need to make this years entry look more appealing so that I can get a few more points, I think I can make the car handle well and with a v8 with modest mods I think I can run 13's pretty easily so that is why I am asking about the blasting I need to get all those nasty little corners that you can not get a sander or scraper into, that leaves media blasting, check out the "GRM" webpage and look for the link on the challange grassrootsmotorsports Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evildky Posted August 28, 2002 Author Share Posted August 28, 2002 lol, just can't seem to get the answer I am looking for, has anyone here blasted their cars? and if so how much media did you use ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zgeezer Posted August 28, 2002 Share Posted August 28, 2002 For what its worth. I stripped mine down to bare metal in two weekends of really dirty work. The fenders, hood and doors were pulled off and liberally coated with POR's stripper. I rented a large commercial hot water pressure cleaner(think graffitti removal) and went at it. This worked very well down to the original Datsun paint. The original paint was stubborn. I used a little over 2 gallons of stripper and about 1,000 gallons of high pressure water. For the interior and exterior of the "tub" I purchased a harbor freight ($80 or so) sand blaster and loaded it with glass media. Works well, but with no recovery system the media went fast. As I live in the low desert, I have access to about a billion cubic yards of very, very, very, fine silicon (Take the sand off the lee side of an active sand dune). This cuts very fast and doesn't appear to have warped any sheet metal. (I used stripper and h20 on the roof and cowl). I painted the entire car with POR 15 silver. Yes, it did turn some puke yellow green. Total cost, a little on this side of $350.00 and probably an early death of silicosis. If I had to do it again, I'd really consider flat tracking it over to a commercial "dipper". Or, I take another look at commercial graffitti remover water pressure cleaners that pull an abrasive material (like my sand) into the water. High pressure light slurry of sand and water...now that will probably do the trick. GW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zgeezer Posted August 28, 2002 Share Posted August 28, 2002 Sorry, that last long post didn't address the question of media. The answer is A LOT. A 50# bag of glass went south on just 1/2 of the engine compartment. I hauled about 15 five gallon paint buckets of sand to the blaster and used up two ceramic tips in the process. Easy to sandblast not only the car, but the neighbor's windshield and picture window. If you can stand the constant static electric shocks and the cleanup, sand blasting is probably 10 times faster than any other method. Please notice that everything I blasted with sand will be covered with upholstery, undercoating, or is not easily visable. GW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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