Is sandblasting a must for surface rust? I've sandblasted most everything in the past, but was really wondering if it is a must for surface rust? How will it affect paint later on if the metal is just sanded real good and epoxied?
Media blast would probably be the best. I've always blasted small parts with sand. I think both are better than just sanding the part.
No definitive answer as there varying degrees of what some call surface rust. If you mean light not full cover rust sanding with a sanding disc on a grinder will clean it up in the easy to get at areas, but blasting is the only way to get in difficult places and to get more pitted rust. Unless you have access to a bath big enough for a mol***es swim.
Yeah, media blast or soda blast (I think it's called) Anyways, it depends if you plan on keeping the project or plan on flipping. I know some of us at times have more time than money...For my model A roadster I'm getting everything blasted, for the 65 el camino I'm just sanding.
Small test , sand by hand by your preferred method about 1 sq ft do it till you are satisfied now look at really good with good light and maybe a magnifying gl*** if you see any little black dots sooner or later it will come back. It must all be shiny gray metal.
Sand, lots of it , stand back n don't heat up the metal "warping it" it'll get the rust out of the pores & craters. Loaned a friend of my dads in the late 80s our blaster warned him of this very thing & his 57 hardtop that had 8 layers of paint came out warped n wavy ,he got too close with too much psi, sad it use to be straight as s string ! Be cautious & sand will work great. Flux
Blast. If you choose to sand, you need to neutralize the pits, acid wash or evaporust work, takes work and time. You need to neutralize the acid and DA the panel again to be sure your primer will play nice. Mol***es and electrolysis work, your limitation is tank size. If you're in a rural area you can do the tank outside, suburbia? It depends. Paying a blaster, it's done and you can move on, any other method is a lot of labor intensive dirty work, your call, depends on your shop set up, time and funds. I've done it both ways.
Depends on how bad the surface rust is. If it's very light, you may get away with a DA and metal prep. How big is the car? What's your budget? Show some pics. I'd go with soda or media over sand (much less chance of warpage) and consider farming it out. If it's an $800 cost (to have it done in a day) you may be way ahead of a do it yourself especially once you consider your time and labor, prep and setup, bags of material and whether you have a large enough compressor, proper hood, portable booth build out, etc. In other words, a $800 job may really only cost you $500.
On the wagon project I used 33 one hundred pound bags of extra fine sand and did every piece of metal,body,dash,interior trim,seat frames..in essence everything! it is indeed a PITA and took a long time to finish. The key is to keep the pressure at a reasonable PSI and don't concentrate on one spot too long,failure to do so will result in heating the metal and warping. Once I was finished sand blasting I wiped the metal down with prep and started using a DA,,every inch..then cleaned and sprayed with etching primer..that's the way it all sat until it was time for paint...several years later. HRP
On real light "flash" rust I go to my local Farm store and buy milkstone remover for about $12 a gallon, (it is about 50% phosphoric acid) and wet my parts with it, rust disappears, then I rinse with water, dry, and spray with self etching primer. (it is the same acid as self etching primer has in it so I am just doing for sure, for sure) Deep pitted rust in heavier iron has to be blasted. I do not believe in "paint over rust" for anything!
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