Two questions...

[lemming303]

1: Should I cut my rear quarters off before sending the car to get blasted? They are rusted pretty good along the bottom so I'm going to replace them with new sheet metal. I was thinking of cutting them off so the blaster can get into the car more but I wasn't sure about stiffness of the chassis if I do so.

2: What should I coat the car with after I get it blasted? I'm not gonna paint for a long time, at LEAST 1 yr and obviously I don't want to leave it bare metal. What will keep it from rusting, but not absorb moisture. I live in Texas and it gets really humid in the summer.

Thanks for the help.

[the_engineers]

If you're not going to paint until next year, what's the rush to get it blasted?  Most people just lay on a coat of primer.  You'll end up sanding the majority of it off as you do you body work.

As for cutting the quarters, the more the blaster can get to, the more you'll know about what's going on underneath everything.

[73Chally]

Cut off the quarters, but leave a couple inches all around the perimeter to help keep the stiffness.  Here's a couple pics of mine after it was dropped off at the blasters earlier this year.

[lemming303]

The reason I want to get it blasted now is that there is rust all over the car. I don't know how deep it all goes or anything. I don't want to do any repairs and then have it blasted and find out that there was rust adjacent to where I fixed and have to do it again. Do you think I should wait to blast it?

[the_engineers]

The reason I want to get it blasted now is that there is rust all over the car. I don't know how deep it all goes or anything. I don't want to do any repairs and then have it blasted and find out that there was rust adjacent to where I fixed and have to do it again. Do you think I should wait to blast it?

If this is the kick-off for body work, do it.  If it's going to sit and wait, as long as it's protected from the elements, the rust won't get much worse in the next year.

[lemming303]

OK thanks

[dutch]

a few coats of epoxy is what I`d do... that will keep the rust away for some time.

[e-tek]

If this is the kick-off for body work, do it.  If it's going to sit and wait, as long as it's protected from the elements, the rust won't get much worse in the next year.

Yikes - that's about as true as me having a super alter ego!!!! It'll flash rust in days.

After it is blasted make sure they vaccuum and blow the sh1T out of it to get as much of the media out as possible. Then - as soon as possible (same or next day) - wipe the entire thing down with a pre-apint solvent (aka wax&grease remover) and spray a 2 coats of Epoxy (catalyzed) primer over it. That'll keep the flash rust off.

[the_engineers]

Yikes - that's about as true as me having a super alter ego!!!! It'll flash rust in days.

After it is blasted make sure they vaccuum and blow the sh1T out of it to get as much of the media out as possible. Then - as soon as possible (same or next day) - wipe the entire thing down with a pre-apint solvent (aka wax&grease remover) and spray a 2 coats of Epoxy (catalyzed) primer over it. That'll keep the flash rust off.

Guess I should have said that better.  What I meant to say was "If it's going to sit and wait, hold off on having it blasted.  As long as it's protected from the elements, the rust won't get much worse in the next year."  Sorry for the confusion.

[70_challenger]

These suggestions are right on.  If you absolutely are going to replace that quarter, then you could remove it pre-blasting.  But I left mine on during blasting, to help the stiffness of the surrounding structure (basically, to ensure that nothing warped or flexed during blasting).  I just told the guy that I was going to replace that quarter panel, so he did not waste labor time blasting it.  If your blaster guy knows what he is doing, the job should be thorough, whether the quarter is on there or not.

And I had mine coated in epoxy primer (PPG DP-90), because it sat for over a year before bodywork.  The epoxy primers are outstanding, and really seal it up.  Most of it will be sanded off during bodywork, but the stuff is excellent to work with.  I had a bodyshop clean/vacuum/prep my car, and shoot everything with the DP-90 after blasting...I think it was a couple of hundred dollars, and well worth it.

-Tom

[lemming303]

Thanks. I think I'm gonna wait a while to get it blasted.