The Best way to remove rust from a 80 year old body?

What is the best way to remove the rust from my model T. Should I just have it sand blasted or is there a pad or 3m disc I can use to sand it off? I'd like to at least slick up the cowl by hand and get it primed. Most of the body is very solid, except the patch panel area.

 

Redi Strip

 

where do I get that at? I've never heard of it?

 

home depot in the paint section they have phosphuric acid

 

To do it the right way, your going to need more than a strip disc or wipe on chemical from the hardware store. If you skimp and go that way, you will either grind away metal until there is none left, or most definately have the rust return after painting.

Your best bet is having it blasted by a reputable shop that wont warp the panels. I used Dupont star blast on my car, and it had no warpage problems, and got nice clean "white" metal with no more rust.

 

that's what I was thinking.... it couldn't be easy and a do it at home experience.

 

Redi Strip used to be a nationwide chain of franchised outlets that specialized in rust and paint removal using a hot caustic solution. The objects (anything from small parts to entire auto bodies are immersed in huge heated tanks-first the caustic then a neutraliser then a rinse.) I say "used to be" since, as I Google all I find is listings for some individual locations. And nothing about a franchisor. Apparently the chain is no more and there only a handful of independents left. Chicago, Indianapolis, somewhere in Canada, and Australia. I was probably too quick with the answer since I live in Indy where one of the remaining outlets is.

 

I did the blasting myself. If you have a big enough air compressor, its not too bad. I have a 5hp 2 shatge 80 gallon eaton, and it could handle the job (anything smaller probably wont cut it, my compressor was running all the time, but did keep up). I got a cheap $100 10 gallon pressure pot blaster at tractor supply, ordered about 800 pounds of star blast, and did it in my back yard over a tarp.

 

Where do you get the star blast? I assume it'd be expensive to order and ship that stuff!

So you just recovered the star blast and reused it?

 

If you have the $$ Soda blasting is a nice non harmful way to strip it.

 

I couldnt find it anywhere locally. Its a dupont industrial devision product, and the nearest dealer was 4 hours away from me.

I ordered it from these guys:
http://www.blastandpaint.com/category.aspx?aliaspath=/catalog/Abrasives/Dupont-Products-(1)

Shipping by freight was around $95. I think the media was around $6 or $8 per 50 lb bag.

I think doing it myself was a great idea. To have a pro shop do it would have been around $1200. I was way below that with the blaster and media. Plus I didnt have to trailor the body anywhere.

Now I just had to blast a part (firewall) that was very rusty, and I used the 40/80 grit media from Tractor Supply (They have 2 grits, be sure to get the 40/80 fine grit). its called Black Diamond. Its not as fine as the Star Blast, and while it cut faster, it also left a coarser finish on the metal. This media also runs about $8/50 lb bag. It did work well.

Being that your car is much smaller than my 47 ford coupe body, you could do the whole car in just a few hours, taking breaks to give your compressor a chance to rest.

I did re-cover the used media from the tarp, and passed it through a sieve made from hardware store screen door mesh before running it through the blaster again.

 

Soda blast doesnt cut through rust. It will take some surface rust off, but not more than very light stuff, Chadillacs body would not be a candidate for a soda blast.

 

I second the star blast. Turned this........



INTO THIS!!!!!

 

NICE - REALLY NICE!!!!!!!!

 

don't waste your time with that old rusty body I know some people who will come and pick it up from you so you can buy a nice new clean fiberglass body and not have to waste time or make a mess. Or just get it blasted

 

And another newbie with nothing to add to the proceedings.

 

This is an interesting topic, I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to tag along, and see what comes out of this, as I too am interested in the "prefered way" I've priced the Acid dip and ecoat process, and they want $8k for one body, thats crazy... I've blasted before, so, I am comfortable with the whole process, my question or conceren would be the corrosiveness of the blasting media, if you don't get all of it out of the nooks and cranies, it could corode out the body, what are your thoughts, and how corrosive is this star blast? sorry for the highjack chaddilac

 

i guy i go to uses coal slag dust at very low pressure and high volume, he guarantees no warping. this what they look like when he is done:

 

The problems I have faced with media/sand aren't corrosivenss- anything left over is typically "inert"...problem is that it is a pain in the ass to remove from all the nooks and crannies prior to painting. and when it gets into the little cracks and such, it can hold moisture.

I would say to take it as far apart as you can before any blasting begins, and plan on cleaning like a madman once it is done.

aside from that, it's a pleasure to work with blasted metal.

 

Black Magic, right? ( the brand of media...not the technique.)

 

i guess it's also called black magic..he calls it coal slag dust and also claims to have bought several truck loads of it from a coal fired power plant

he also used to be cheap...you get get a whole body done for about $300 5 years ago. i think he found out he was the only guy in the area doing it so the prices went WAY UP....this car with doors , hood , front fenders, rear tailgates , inner fenders , front and rear tailpans was $1100 and took one day....or maybe he has that new house to pay for

 

I wonder if this stuff would work: http://www.safestrustremover.com/ It's a liquid you can either dip parts in, or rig up with a sprinkler of some sort to treat large section of metal. They have a slideshow with an example of that here: http://www.safestrustremover.com/Cometresto.asp?slide=1 I have no experience with it, but it looks good in the pictures.

Apparently they're going to use their product to try to de-rust that '57 Plymouth that was buried in Tulsa.

 

Interesting idea for a dip, but to set up a rig to constantly re-cycle a spray over every part of the car would be very time consuming.

 

I tell you what...I've been "fixing up" old cars for over 30 years now. I like the do-it-at-home stuff myself...I've seen sandblasters really ruin sheet metal. Did it myself on a bunch of projects, and am successful, with low pressure and careful blasting. but what a pain in the ass!
Recently I've tried Picklex. I had some Muriatic acid (concrete cleaner) spill in the shop, and immediately rust everything within 20 feet of it. Rather than go through the trouble of blasting it, and it's pretty cold outside, I tried Picklex. The best stuff I ve used EVER! I used to strip off surface rust with DA's or paint stripper discs, then scrub the metal with DUpont metal etch (5717S). Took hours and the fumes were terrible. also had to use wire brushes on drilles to get the deep stuff, and acid wash again, and again.
With Picklex, I spray it on, wait ONE minute, and scrub with a red Scotchbite pad. Most rust is gone at this point. Heavy stuff takes one more application. This stuff works miracles. Does not leave behind a bad residue, like other rust removers, and claims to actually increase weld bead strength if you use it to clean a weld area. You don't have to jump through hoops to clean it off for paint, either. Just wipe it off while wet. If it dries, wet it again, and wipe clean. It also acts as an oil remover for painting purposes.
I haven't been this impressed with a product in a LONG time.

 

Chadillac, I think you should try the "Black Diamond" 40/80 media from Tractor Supply. Go lightly, and I think you will find that it knocks off the rust down very easily. Start on an area like the cowl where warpage isnt as likely (as opposed to the center of a door skin). If you do plan on buying a blaster, it wouldnt hurt to try a bag for $8 if you have a TS store near you. Also, make sure you buy extra nozzles for the blaster, the media will slowly wear them out. Also get extra dead man valve seals (I dont know what the actual name is, but its the part that stops the air/media flow on the gun part)

Star Blast is a really nice media, but its a pain to get if you cant find a local dealer.

 

Very interesting! I gotta try to find some of this locally.

 

chopolds where do you find this at??? i would like to give it a try..

 

I can probably find a number for the guy that did my ol' lincoln. He's got a mobile set up. He did the body inside and out ,fenders hood, and running boards and such' basicaly all the big pieces in 61/2 hours. Cost was 90 bucks an hour last spring. I thought that was reasonable enought. And he did a nice job. He used real fine silica sand.
Might not work out if you live in town. Not something I would want to try to do in my backyard.

 

chopolds im doing a 30 sedan and would be interested in some of that picklex also let us know where to get it

 

What if you blast it and can't get all the rust out of some of the heavy pits, can you go over it with POR15 or Rust Encapsilator before priming?