I just sent my 29 off to get sandblasted. I live in denver so it's fairly dry unless I run heat this time of year then I get moisture. I'm concerned about rust after getting it back from the blaster but have patching and dent work to still do. Should I epoxy primer everything then maybe wirewheel it off where I need to do repair work later? It's going to take some time to fix everything so not sure what is the best option. Obviously just leaving it bare would be easier to address the metalwork. Also wanted to say I'm new to the group but the conversations here are always pretty good for this kind of work and car style and appreciate everyone's comments on here! Thanks! Levi
Welcome. I used a metal prep right away on bare metal to keep it from rusting. Then I washed that off with soap/water, sanded, then wax and grease remover and then epoxy primer. But I stripped mine one panel at a time. Now mine is all in epoxy primer, I will start the metal work and patching and epoxy prime again. I'm slow.
It will rust, and in my experience, rust quick. Compressed air often has water in it from condensation, if it does you metal will start rusting on day one. If you doubt that take a piece of steel, toss it in your blast cabinet and after cleaning it, take a propane MAP gas torch to it and watch he water vapor burn off. After blasting I clean, heat, epoxy primer (while it is still a bit warm) and store indoors. Epoxy primer alone will not keep the metal from rusting under neath it. It will slow it, but not prevent it. I recently epoxied bare steel on my daughters truck that she is driving this winter up on the mountain. But I plan to paint the truck this spring so it should be fine for the limited amount of exposure it will face this winter. Otherwise I would get to strip the primer and remove the new rust that formed like I had to do with my 41 PU cab. Rust never sleeps.
https://view.publitas.com/ims-catalogs/products/page/1 You could do worse than to look into Industrial Metal Supply descaler and degreaser. It removes and prevents rust. It leaves an easy to wash away coating on the surface.ive overcoated it with Gibbs Brand when it's being left for a considerable time. No good for exposed outdoor storage though. Chris
Ugh.. now I feel like I should of waited to blast. It's also suppose to be in like the 30s this coming week. Any better options than epoxy primer? Thanks for everyone's feedback appreciate it
I used epoxy primer on mine after chemically stripping. Drove it around for about a year as-is and got invited to show the car at World of Wheels show. It snowed and turned to slush move-in morning so to keep dirty slush and black crap out of the porous primer, I waxed the whole damned car! I have no plans on finish paint so I just touch it up occasionally with wax and it's looked like this for 3 years. Low maintenance!
I live in a completely different environment, but I think you should put something on it. If nothing else everywhere your skin touches it or sweat drops hit it it will rust.
My garage is heated (bare minimum sometimes in the winter), and I live in Iowa where the temperature fluctuates between -10 to 100. Our humidity fluctuates between 10 to 100 also. I have a variety of bare metal panels in my garage that look the same as the day I put them there. Some blasted, some dipped, some sanded. I think the key is to not touch them a lot.
Yeah I was worried about panel warping also. They have been blasting for 25 years so hopefully they do decent.
Some of the better restoration blasters will blast and prime. This way it comes home primed. Is this an automotive blaster or an industrial blaster? Whatever you do, get some epoxy primer on it. I have seen several blasted cars just left to ruin.
I would put two wet coats on the inner and bottom of your project and one coat on the outer body itself. Epoxy primer does not need etching primer before applying the epoxy, I would sand the outer body with 80 grit on a DA and then go directly with epoxy. Epoxy was formulated for sandblasted metal with no coatings.
If you can't get to epoxy primer right away why wouldn't you just steel wool some metal prep on the panels? You can buy it at Home Depot. This should also remove any light surface rust.
Any major bodywork or rust repair I do before I strip the whole body. Anything minor I leave for later. I always shoot bare metal with epoxy primer/sealer as soon as I can. Then do whatever minor bodywork it needs over that.
Really dependant on your location. I can leave bare steel in my garage for years and it won't rust. You live somewhere where it is humid and that doesn't fly. If you are getting stuff back from a professional sand blaster and it is rusting because they have water in their lines and it has been left on the metal you need to find a real company to deal with. There is zero excuse for a reputable blaster to not have the proper equipment to do the job professionally and that does not include water in their air.
When I was a dumb kid (19 or 20) I rented a sand blaster and stripped my whole '55 Chevy. My buddy comes over and asks me what I'm going to do to keep it from rusting. I said I'd fix the holes and then get it painted. He said, "I mean today!" "Duh, you mean it's going to rust that quick?" Luckily his dad owned a production paint facility. We towed the car to his house, ran to the shop to get supplies and sprayed it in their carport. Aircraft Critical Corrosion Green! That was the best foundation and absolutely kept it from rusting. Don't know if that is still available but it certainly is worth looking into. Now, I'm just a dumb old guy!
I think that might be the really good green etch you used to be able to buy, cant get it here now, banned (the UK) but great stuff. I've had a mag trans case in green etch for 15 plus years, no issues
I'd epoxy it personally, better safe than sorry, its not porous and seals really well. You can fill over it as long as you key it up, and it comes off easy enough for metal work/welding. Once the welding is done, I use single pack (spray can) epoxy to cover it, tho you could mix 2k epoxy and spray or even brush on if its a small bit. Thats just what Ive done, I'm not an expert.
Joining those who advised epoxy, that's I used to apply when I was doing bodywork for living. That was in the UK so skipping on it meant cleaning the metal all over within 3 days, lol. I don't suppose conditions are as bad as in the UK where you are but better safe than sorry.
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