The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop sanblasting

Hey guys am going to get my 49 chevy sanblasted. My question is the guy doing the work said that he was going to paint it with some type of red rust primer is there a difference between, regular primer and epoxy primer... thanks in advance

There certainly can be a world of difference...... "Red rust primer" is an imprecise description but it conjures up visions of $6 a gallon red oxide shop primer which tends to be worth every penny of the price. I would say get more info on exactly what it is and assume it's going to cause you more trouble than it's worth. You probably won't want to put your epoxy and the rest of the automotive system over it because of compatability issues we've discussed before. Certainly the easy way out though....... for them!
Bruce Palmer
Salem OR

Thanks Bruce I think what am going to do is buy my own and have them painted. can you recond any brand...thanks

More important than the primer choice is the sandblasting part. DON'T DO IT!!!!

Listen, sandblasting sheet metal is something that very rarely works without TOTALLY distroying the metal. Click on the following URL for some more info. http://www.autorestorer.com/boards/viewtopic.php?t=1671

If you shouldn't sandblast sheet metal then do what?

Well first off, does it need to be stripped at all? This is probably the biggest misconseption in the painting business. Most think that everything needs to come off. In fact most who drop their cars off for repair think that is exactly what is going to happen to their car, all the paint will be removed before repainting.

It is simply just not needed in most cases. At least not "completly" stripped that is.

Some parts can be sandblasted IF and that is a HUGE IF, the guy doing the sand blasting knows what he is doing for one. Secondly, what sand is he using? If it is very fine sand and the blaster is set at low pressure, a lot of panels can be blasted. I still wouldn't do the doors or hood on an AD though.

There are "mediablasters" out there that use a plastic media that will not harm metal at all, in fact it won't even harm the glass or chrome. But it also won't even touch rust. The rust it's self will need to be sand blasted or some other way removed like an acid converter.

I use to have a guy who stripped furniture with a very fine sand blaster. I had him do all the "hard" panels on my AD like running boards, bed, fenders, but that was it. I sanded all of the paint I wanted to remove off the rest.

You can not believe the damage that a sand blaster can do. I don't mean "It needs a little work" kind of damage. I mean "It is TOTALLY DISTROYED" kind of damage. The kind of damage that you DO NOT even repair. I have seen it, believe me.

Thanks for all the advised guys but now I am really confused sandblast or not. Any way I took the truck today for an estimate and the guy told me that he had been doing this for 42 years but wanted $900, I can't afford that right now, so I was thinking in buying the sandblaster that harbor freight sells, but I am confuse now, any advise will help, I have all the fenders, bed and interior off thanks...

SEA DOG, why do ya wanna sandblast the whole truck? like martin sez, seldom necessary - sandblasting is for removing heavy corrosion, especially where there's gonna be metal replaced w/ welding, or for cleaning up areas ya can't get at any other way - blast the whole truck and yu'll be swearin for years as the sand comes tricklin out here and there and everywhere forever - spend the money on sandpaper and sanding aids [DA and good blocks, etc] instead of sandblaster, and take small pieces [like wheels?] to a more reasonably priced blaster if necessary

Bill

Around here you can get a truck plastic media blasted for about $500.00.

Vast quantities of caffeine and sugar, an angle grinder with a braided-wire cup brush, and a dust mask. :p I put some smaller parts in the glass bead cabinet and discovered just how easy it is to warp a panel (the real challenge was finding a straight panel to warp ). Plastic is the way to go if you're just taking the paint off.

I found large patches of that red-oxide primer from a PO's repairs, and it bonds better to the steel than to anything else. There were places the paint was blistering, just lifting off the primer.

thanks guys. I only have rust in a few places so I am going to sandblast just those places and for the rest of the truck I am going to use a grainder, wire brush, sand paper, mask and lots of patience, thanks again...

seadog, the sandblaster is redundant if you have a grinder and brush. Just remember to keep moving or you'll scorch and warp the steel. Be sure to get a braided-wire cup or you'll be picking steel bristles out of your arms and legs. :rolleyes:

If the objective is to take it to bare metal, can you use a chemical stripper to save time? I poured Citristrip over my truck and in 10 minutes I scraped the liquified paint off with a wide putty knife. I still had to use the grinder to get the red primer off; that stuff is tenacious. :mad:

thanks, i'll try that