The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Water/Sand Blasting ... do these systems work?

I am getting near to starting projects on my 47-53 Chevy 3100 and 3600. I have seen advertisements for these systems that use a pressure washer and siphon sand for paint striping. My first question is do these systems work? Next it seems like a bad idea to rough the surface and get it wet. Instant oxidation. I ask because for my 46 I used a HF sand blaster and it worked but it was a continual problem with clogging and my 11CFM compressor could not keep up with the demand. Thoughts on the best method to strip the paint?
I can go the sanding route but really like the sand blasting surface to prime.

For small stuff it does. The tips wear out quickly.

I got everything together and had a mobile guy come do it. 4hr minimum and just kept putting things in front of him till I ate the whole day. The cab was half a day.

Had a friend that had a old Cadillac soda blasted and was pleased with the results!

Lots of youtube videos on both the DIY harbor freight type of versions and others. and lots on the professional.

If you just doing a few pieces the HF may be your option. Pros and cons for dry vs wet. Again lots of videos on pros and cons.

if you going to do it all then. I would suggest pulling it all apart then have the pro guys come in and just feed them all the parts. They should be able to do a truck in a basket in a day easy. Then your one day and done.

Any kind of aggressive blast media "peens" the metal and results in a lot of distortion- - - -problems that sometimes don't show up until the final finish is applied- - - -then sheet metal parts with big "flat" areas look like the craters on the moon. Professional blasting with baking soda or granulated dry ice is the safest, but also the most expensive approach. Using ground glass media in a recirculating blast cabinet (with a good, high volume air compressor) is OK for small parts . Big sheet metal pieces really need to be chemically stripped (messy) or professionally blast-stripped with soda or dry ice. "Ya pays yer money, and ya takes yer choice!"
Jerry

Thank you all for the input. On my 46 I started with the Harbor Freight and then took the rest to a commercial sandblaster. The HF was more hassle than I thought it was worth. Having a mobile come would work great for me. I'll see if I can find someone around here, Vancouver WA area. I never had any warping or distortion problems.

The mobile blaster I used does wet blasting as well (he did mine with dry ground glass media.)
He said he uses an additive to prevent rusting, but didn't recommend wet blasting for my project ('51 Chevy 3100 cab.)

A professional blaster can clean up sheet metal without warping it (assuming he knows what he's doing.)