Bead/sand blasting?!

[SillyCarS]

Im looking to do a respray and have numerous layers of paint to remove. I've been asking what's the best and quickest way can do this. Many people have suggested blasting, but today when i asked a professional he strongly recommened against this as its heats and distorts the metal.

I have a done a search on spray painting and bead bleasting and there is little and/or varying opinnions it.

Anyone???

Thanks Craig

[BigWorm]

Unless it's done by a pro, bead/sand/grit etc blasting can definitely cause many problems. The easiest way to strip paint yourself is probably paint stripper.
It's like welding, a high concentration of heat in thin panels will cause warping & distortion.

[Enchanter]

I believe its great for heavier guage stuff like crossmembers, suspension arms etc but thin stuff like panels isnt such a good idea unless you really know what you are doing.

[kingmick]

any ones i have had done they use lime, Does a good job even on the really thin sheet.

[gwilmarlio]

sand blasting is not a realy good idea I have seen what can be done if it is held in the wrong spot for too long (used to be my job) I have herd of blasting of vintage cars with like crushed nut shells insted of sand but do not know of where this is done
+ the sand gets in everywhere and that is hard to get it all out you ready do need to look into it more befor you do this

[Mr Ed]

I just had some alloy bits sand blasted. They came up great bit it dfeinately does take a reasonable amount of material off them. I wouldnt have it done on my car body panels.

What about media blasting though? I think they use bicarb soda or somthing for that which is much less abrasive than heavy sand.

[fade-e]

i had my celica TA22 sand blasted and nothing wrong at all... bead blasting is alot easier on the metal than sand blasting... personally i wouldnt restore a car at all if i wasnt going to sand blast it...

now if its just a respray cause colour is fading or cracked paint then all you need to do is sand it back smooth and spray... would be even better if you did a light coat of primer before paint too

also remember that new cars these days use anywhere from .6-.8mm metal for panels where as the older cars used 1.1mm (like the TA22s)... now obviously thelonger you allow the sand to blast in one area the more that is eaten, but done properly you would never ever notice... plus the final product will be 10x better if not more... as for cleaning the aftermath... well you pay someone to blast and they also clean it...

finally, for sand blasting you would be looking at about $1500-$2000 for the shell and panels, $2000-$2500 if you include the boot area and engine bay... upto $3000 to include interior, and then more to do under carriage

cheers

[Robert]

i recommend paint stripper to start with(put plastic sheet over it and leave it in the sun, works really good). But only do that if theres lots of layers of paint.

Otherwise use a clean and strip disc with a grinder, its a bit more expensive but saves a heap of time.

I recommend sand blasting for suspension components and thicker metal components.

Cheers, Rob

[LeeRoy]

As mentioned above sand blasting has it's pro's and con's like everything else with alot of this depending on who is going to blast it. Personally i am going to get my shell blasted when it comes time for paint as it takes back everything.

When you think about this if you go to a place that really specialises on cars then they should be able to do it so you get no panel damage and the result you are looking for whereas if you go somewhere with little/no automotive experience then your car will come back a little wavy.

Also, although it isn't as cheap as the stripper, it will save you ALOT of time in prepping, and at the end of the day you can have some bad results using stripper also.

- LeeRoy

[Robert]

ever considered getting your shell alkaline dipped, that strips absolutely everything including rust, i dont recommend for older rust cars as your left with not much to work with doing rust repairs, but if you cars got no rust go for it.

[skiddz]

it only neutralizes the rust (converts to FePO4) eg stops the oxidization reaction while it is being dipped, after that it starts again untill it gets a coat of somthing to cover it all up, go with paint stripper, but stay away fromt he body seams with it, do those with a grinder or sander

[Robert]

it eats all the rust away but turns surface rust int little black pits, yes it will start rusting again if not primered.

what i was saying is after it eats the rust theres sometimes not much panel left to work with.

Cheers, Rob

[Rusty]

sand blasting is a quick way to strip paint off of the car but if there is rust in the panels it will blash the rust out sometimes leaving a hole which will either have to be cut and new metal welded in or bogged (depending how deep hole is). Sandblasted metal has to be primered within a few hours due to the fact it activates the metal meaning it starts rusting pretty much straight away. Personally I would sandblast the car but only using a small blaster not a big industrial sized blaster.

Cheers
Rusty

[ROTFL-ACT]

Doesnt sand blasting cause pitting in the metal, kinda like looking at an orange?

Thats why they use media blasting instead with walnut shells??

[kingmick]

Doesnt sand blasting cause pitting in the metal, kinda like looking at an orange?

Thats why they use media blasting instead with walnut shells??

Yes there is a few medias they use! Lime,plastic beads,walnut shells etc. yes sand blasting can pit. i Once saw a a light plane{ PA-28} that had been done with sand by a backyarder. The pitting was unbelievable as they have an alloy skin. The plane was a writeoff and sat at the airport as a parts plane.

Sand blasting can be ok if done properly as the high fill gets rid of the small pitting you get when its done properly!

But all said, media is the best way along with acid dipping{it can still seep out the gaps for a fair while after it is done} and paint stripping.