The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Sandblast $$$ ? Before or after major metalwork?

I have a 1 ton with no bed.. looking for what a fair price to sandblast is... ( upstate NY if it matters)

a local guy said he get's about 700-8000 to strip prime and paint a frame.
whole truck- strip prime paint frame and chassis stuff
- strip and prime body panels/cab.
~$1500
he said he uses a high zinc primer that "the guys around here love" something like 15-17% zinc I guess.

Next question:
do most strip and prime right after disassembly or try to do your metal work first and then strip and prime.
If money was no object i'd like to strip and prime first to reveal any problem areas but then i have to prime again later after i finish metal work...
i think I'm going to do as much of the metal work as i can before stripping and priming and then if there are small areas that are found after it will be easier to fix them and touch up...

opinions?

$1500 to strip-only would be a good price for a whole truck.
What does whole truck mean?

Use epoxy primer (but, it will cost more).

i took it as everything that makes up a rolling chassis stripped primed and painted as well as all the body panels ( fender inner and outer cab hood doors etc) stripped and primed for $~1500
Sounds like it may be a good price...

not sure if its an epoxy or not typically. I can ask.

Unless it is a zinc chromate epoxy primer, it will not seal moisture from the metal.

Make a list of the parts you want blasted and primed. Give it to them and ask for a written quote. $1,500 would be a great deal for just the blasting: frame, cab, doors, inner/outer fenders, hood (grill, bed, bumpers)?

grill and bumpers ill need. don't have a bed...

As i get closer, ill definitely get a formal quote. i know someone that has gotten work done by them and says they are good but it wasn't a car. I guess they do 3-4 cars a week though.

With an epoxy primer, how long do i have before i should paint?

Should i strip and prime then do metal work then prime again??
or should i do the metal work first and risk finding something ive missed after stripping?

I'm not a body man, but have done some blasting and painting over the years. The local hot rod shop, where I hang around, will sandblast or strip a project, then prime it with epoxy primer. Then, it can sit indefinitely, if needed, as it won't rust. And, when they do body work, filler sticks to the epoxy so no need to re-strip. And, if they are cutting out rust and welding in new parts, they just prep as needed. You can't tell what you have until you blast it to white metal!!!

hey guys it sound crazy but have your stuff sand blasted first then you can metal work but if your having your chassis done go to your local car wash and blast the car with a high pressure hose that way when you get to the painting stage you don't have sand or whatever the guy uses doesn't get into your paint and if you use soda you will need to neutralize it before you do anything paint wise I hope this helps

Sandblast, clean, epoxy primer, sand away epoxy where metal work is needed (dolly/hammer, patch welding, etc), then another coat of epoxy. Scuff for filler, then 2k.

What you don't want is your freshly sandblasted parts to slowly flash rust while you do all the body work. Epoxy stops this from happening and is the perfect coating in my opinion.

I am getting to the point of starting to think about paint on mine. I have a ways to go yet, and want to be able to do some of my own work. I have a question about epoxy primer, if you please............

Will epoxy primer accept just about any kind of finish coat? Lacquer, enamel, urethane, whatever?

I don't know what kind of finish coat I'm going to end up with (will depend on what my painter is most skilled/comfortable with) and don't want my painter to have to strip everything off and start over if it's the wrong primer.

Thanks for any information you can help with.

Everything sticks to epoxy primer. It's extremely hard and also a bit of a pain to sand IMO but the absolute best coating there is for bare metal.

Thanks 5wests..........I've been trying to do some further research, but confusing myself with conflicting information. For instance I have read:

* You can brush, spray or roll epoxy primer
* Epoxy will "encapsulate rust" (you can prime right over it)

I know it would be preferable to spray over bare metal, but I don't have the facilities or capabilities (or $$$) to do it that way.

What am I going to lose if I brush on epoxy primer over light rust?

As far as I know epoxy primer is not a rust encapsulator. Rust encapsulators have chemicals that change the composition of the rust, making it inert, then seals it from moisture. Epoxy seals really well, but the rust is still there in its original state.

I don't recommend spraying or rolling epoxy over rust. Take the time to remove the rust.

You've got to have the capabilities and at least enough money to get some sand paper, a grinder with a wire wheel, and some rust converter? All it is is labor, and that is the most valuable thing you have in this hobby.

http://www.crankshaftcoalition.com/wiki/Rust_encapsulators

Fiftyfifty took his thread in a different direction.

In answer to the original post, many people extolled the virtues of epoxy primer over clean, rust-free, blasted metal. They are correct - epoxy primers create a water barrier against exterior water reaching the metal surface.

jomichael is right about epoxy being of limited usefulness when applied over rusted metal. And, "rust encapsulators" are of limited use when applied over clean, rust-free metal (and/but, loose rust should first be removed.

Most (all?) of the "rust encapsulators" use water as their "hardening catalyst" - water and water vapor above and below the layer of paint help to harden the paint. The resultant paint surface is impervious to water transfer.

After curing, epoxy paint and water-hardening rust-encapsulator paints need different special preparations when applying over-coats of any paints. The overcoat paint company might have specific instructions/warnings for use with either type of undercoat.

Thanks so much for the additional information. I didn't really mean to hijack the thread, just was looking for clarification.

I'm going to start a new thread to finish this off.