Sand Blasting Entire Shell

[GCC]

I am considering having the entire chassis sandblasted inside & out.  Is there anything to be worried about as far as cleaning out all the residual sand & dust?  Is it just a matter of blowing it out as best as possible??  Especially the windshield frame and frame rails.

Also, was the factory undercoating applied to ALL e-bodies, or was it an option?  Is there a code for undercoating?   
 

[the_engineers]

A lot of people have, or know someone that has, blasted their car.  Mine was blasted.  Every nook and cranny of the car will be FULL of sand.  Look in your area for someone that does dry ice blasting.  It may take some digging, but it'll save you years of clean-up.

[sleepychallenger]

i am thinking about doing the same thing. the quote i got was for 1000 to blast the car. dont know if that is high or not?

[73Chally]

That's a couple hundred more than I paid, but it really depends on where you are.  It's certainly not an outrageous price if they are doing the whole shell.

[Topcat]

Good subject to bring up as I am probably going to do mine myself. I have a pressure Pot blaster and the underside on my car isn't that bad.

I have Aluminum Oxide and it seems to cut faster with less hammering effect on the sheetmetal. It's really light and blows out quick. But it does cost more per lb.

The black oxide (coal) is far cheaper but the dust from it is harmful I hear. Glass bead really doesn't have the edges to cut as fast I hear but is more gentle. Sand has silica dust that is very harmful to breathe in and needs a special respirator.
I like the red garnet but I haven't used it before. Would like to.

Blasting_Guidelines.pdf,
BlastGarnetTechnicalBulletin.pdf   

[Sean]

I'm going to be using walnut shells to blast away the rust and paint on my car.  Walnut shells shouldn't warp the sheet metal because it doesn't generate that much heat.  It shouldn't sause any adverse health affects if you breathe it.  However, it doesn't cut as fast as other media.

This is the information I gathered before I bought my media.  I'm not an expert on the subject so if anything I said was incorrect, please advise!

Sean

[Topcat]

Sean,

How I was told about sand blasting or any type of media blasting for that matter:

The more media it takes to achieve the desired result of metal stripped clean, the more of a likelyhood that warping can occur. A faster stripping speed based on the type of media at a lower PSI is what's desired without pocking occuring. This may vary of course by the type of media, and the PSI it is being delivered at.

The reason for sheet panel warpage is to put in perspective is that it's like thousands of tiny hammers hitting the steel. I don't beleive the metal actually warms up or gets hot as I have heard some claim.

Alot of the instances of sheetmetal panel warping is because the user is not at the proper amount of distance, correct 45 degree attack angle, and slight overlap in a row by row fashion. Not jumping around eliminates over blasting one area too long. 90 degree at high PSI, close up is asking for trouble.

[sleepychallenger]

That's a couple hundred more than I paid, but it really depends on where you are.  It's certainly not an outrageous price if they are doing the whole shell.

panama city and he will be blasting the top side of the car. just where i would be painting

[Topcat]

Here's a chart and instructions written above the chart.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Silicon-Carbide-Sand-Blaster-Sand-Blast-Media-6706-50_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4506Q2em20Q2el1116QQhashZitem4143daa8bfQQitemZ280311277759QQptZMotorsQ5fAutomotiveQ5fToolsQQsalenotsupported

[Sean]

Thanks for the insight and the link to the chart, Mike!  If that's true what they say about walnut shells taking 15 minutes to do a 6" x 6" square, I'll be blasting the back half of my car for the next 6 months!!!  Since I've already got it, I'll use it.  If it sucks for what I'm trying to do, I'll try something else!

Sean

['Cuda Hunter]

http://www.co2blastingllc.com/process.html

That dry ice blasting looks like the ticket. 

I havn't found any prices yet but the process sure looks much better than all the other options. 

Has anyone here ever tried this? 

[4 speed fish]

I blasted my 70 cuda.To do just the shell I would not pay more then 500.00.The doors and fenders and valances would be about 300.00.Spend alot of time with the air nozzle blowing the sand out.Hit it with a   hammer lightly in the bottom.The sand will come out.

[MoparCar]

I blasted mine with Coal Slag/Black Beauty. It came out nice but if you are doing it yourself don't try it without a big compressor and big pressure blaster. I have a 5 HP 240 volt 19.5 CFM @ 90lbs commercial style compressor and a 100 lb blaster and it hardly kept up. I almost put my small dual tank construction type compressor with it to help.

The coal slag does remove rust nicely. It didn't warp anywhere, but then I didn't do the hood, roof or doors. I used a slow RPM buffer and 80 grit for those. Most pro blasters I talked to before doing my own would not do a rally hood for fear of warping it. Most of the professionals I talked with use plastic beads for the exterior adn StarBlast for the underside where it won't warp. Walnut shells are gentle, but they don't really remove rust unless you mix other abrasives with it. I live in a subdivision where I can't just blast out in the driveway so I built a PVC pipe/plastic tent in my garage. That was a hot, nasty job. I would probably hire it done if I had a choice to do it again. The upside of doing it yourself is if you need to do more parts then you have the equipment there. I have to do the structural part of my roof now that I have the roof skin removed and at least I don't have to trailer it somewhere to have it blasted.

Good luck.
Wes