Sandblast or Sand?
 

The only thing I have done so far on the 65 project is a little tear-down. Before I go any further, I just want to make sure I am going about this as smart as possible.

I have a few rust areas (bottom of front right quarter,bottom left door edge,both floorboards) that need to be dealt with. Does it make sense to sandblast the entire car (top,bottom,inside,out) now, fix the rust repairs afterward and go from there. Or, should I fix the rust areas first?

I am just thinking I could save a lot of time sanding if I just sandblast the entire car. From there, I could treat the metal, prime, sand, prime, sand, paint, sand, paint, etc.

RE: Sandblast or Sand?
 

ya... I am sanding my entire car and it takes FOREVER....... but it saves me ALOT of money and since I am going to be starting college next year money is my main problem that I must address

RE: Sandblast or Sand?
 

I used 80 grit paper on a sander/polisher set to a slow speed. It took about a long weekend to do the entire car. I then used aircraft stripper (from an autoparts store) to get into the detail areas.

I would cut out the rust and weld in new metal then decide about removing the rest of the paint. I wouldn't remove the paint prior to the rust repair. I know commercial shops send the car to the blaster before rust work, but they usually have a crew working on the car.

When I removed the paint, I found rust under the original primer that had not gotten to the surface - yet. Just something to think about.

RE: Sandblast or Sand?
 

Do not sandblast......sandblasting is bad for a couple of reasons. 1, it heats up the metal as your blasting it. 2, the sheer pressure of the blaster will cause waves and warps in body panels. While it would be ok on certain trouble areas such as the bottoms of the door, DO NOT do it on the rest of the panels.
-P.

RE: Sandblast or Sand?
 

Thanks for the input. Since I am not in a hurry, I guess I will locate a mig welder and start working on replacing the floorboards.

RE: Sandblast or Sand?
 

look in to media blasting its the same idea just doesnt use sand can be from glass beads to crushed walnut shells.as long as its not the guys first time you shouldnt see any metal they warped.i had my 68 shell media blasted with crushed walnut shells i only had to massage a spot on the firewall. due to ford using stamped parts with a little wave in them.make sure it gets primered right after blasting or else it can start to rust easy.

RE: Sandblast or Sand?
 

Exactly right. Blasting is okay in the jambs, under the car, and where there is heavy rust. Just blasting a quarter panel to geet the paint off will leave you with a surfers dream. Plenty of waves. You also need to strip the entire car down, remove all the parts that cant stand up the the sand like the glass, trim, interior, rubber seals, everything but the metal.

even sanding with a DA can warp the metal if you dont do it right. It takes time and a good air compressor, having the right tools is a plus and makes the job easier. You need to take your time, keep the DA moving and not allow heat to build up. Dont use a grinder, you want a non directional finish, with no gouges or scuff marks.

Another thing about sand blasting is the area you need to do it. A suburban driveway or garage isnt a good place to do it. It makes a huge amount of dust, the sand gets everywhere, and the noise is objectionable to the people next door. You can also pit the paint and glass on a car 20+ feet away.

Soda blasting is an option if you can afford it. You can leave the glass in, some of the trim on, and it all washes off. The soda blasting wont hurt the sheetmetal like sand will.

RE: Sandblast or Sand?
 

i had no idea that a DA could do that to the panels, that's kind of hard for meto believe but it could be true[&:]

RE: Sandblast or Sand?
 

"Sandblasting" is somewhat of a general term nowadays to describe the process. Mine was "sandblasted" with an artificial media (it was some shade of green) and I didn't see any evidence of panel damage. Unlike soda blasting, however, this media does leave a signature (slight roughness to the the metal) and must be primed immediately.

RE: Sandblast or Sand?
 

While I was stationed in Germany, some guy decided to repaint his 73 fastback. He used the DA as a grinder, locked the wheel in place rather than letting it freewheel. He also used the edge of the pad more than the center. When they sprayed it, you could see how wavy he made it by not using the DA correctly. It had warped the quarters real bad, and they didnt bother to block it out. That was before the days of high fill primer too. It looked better going in than coming out.