To blast or not to blast?

I was thinking of having my Merc blasted but after finding out what it will cost ($1000) I'm not to sure. The reason I want to blast is it will save me a day or two of sanding. Or should I just save it and put that money towards the upholstery. What do you guys (gals) think?

 

Does the blaster have a good history, and references from satisfied customers?

The reason I ask is that, at the shop where I work, we are re-skinning a pickup that was perfect, until the customer sent it out for blasting.

Every single panel is warped.

 

One. What is your time worth to you? Two. How much are supply's going to cost? Compare, and do the math. And, you won't have bloody stumps that resemble fingers. I'd say blast. I'll give you a better result. If your using sand, make sure the yahoo that does it knows proper methods, specifically distance, so it doesn't get all warped. Look into soda blasting. It's almost impossible to warp the part. Good luck.

 

If it is only a time issue don't blast it... blasting always uncovers problems that you will then have to deal with which will take more time than the original sanding. Of course, the problems that are uncovered and are dealt with properly will not cause additional problems in the future. Blasting, improperly done, can also cause problems like wavy panels. Stripping a car to bare metal, regardless of the process, is the only way to achieve a truly flawless finish. But unless you are making a "trailer queen" it is a lot of extra effort for a daily driver/cruiser.

 

It comes down to time versus money. If you have lots of time then sand it down one section at a time and shoot some good primer on that section then go on to the next.

If you're short on time then haul it to the blasters. There are several blasting options locally here in Houston. Walnut shells will take it down to bare metal without much chance of warpage. Soda blasting is probably the safest but will get into every nook and crany and needs to be removed or neutralized before painting. The soda blasters have a trailor mounted rig and will come to your location.

3M and a few others make stripper disks that fit a drill or angle grinder and will take of paint and rust quickly. The 4 1/2" ones go for about $8 and it would probably take 15 or so to strip the Merc.

Lots of options so pay your money and take your choice.

 

It depends on the condition of the car, what does it look like? If it just needs a day of sanding, then you probably don't want to blast it. If it has a lot of rust or lots of layers of paint, then blasting might be worth doing. We're just guessing, without more info.

 

Blast it and find your problems now instead of them coming back to haunt you later when you think your done.

 

It would depend on how much he is doing for $1000. Outside surfaces Only? inside car , doors. underside of fenders. What exactly. If only the exterior then I would seriously consider doing it myself.

 

Does the 1000 include priming?

 

Well the car is in pretty good condition. There is some rust thru on the passenger rocker. But over all it's not bad at all. There is only 2 layers of paint and primer. This is going to be my daily.

 

No but it does include all materials and supplies.

 

$1000 sounds cheap. At the shop I work at we do rotissery blasting, top to bottom inside and out. With epoxy primer it averages 2-2500. Less for small stuff, more for bigger or stuff with a lot of paint or undercoating. Like mentioned, make sure they know what they're doing or you will have problems. Either way, stripping by hand or blasted, bare metal will show you all the work you have ahead for that perfect paint job.

 

X2

Get it blasted/primed by a reputable blaster OR buy a blaster and do it yourself. Just be careful to avoid hot spots by keeping moving around the body.

 

I've never had a vehicle blasted, so I don't know what I'm missing out on. I've always used chemical stripper and good old elbow grease. Actually, if you let the chemical do it's thing properly, not much elbow grease is involved. All in, chemical strip materials shouldn't run over $250, at most....based on a gallon costing about $30. The nice thing about chem stripping is that you can strip one section at a time, do your metal working, then move on to the next section. You can pace yourself the way.

So I guess if your time and effort is worth more than $750, I guess blasting is a better option........assuming the blaster doesn't warp the crap out of your panels, and you can immediately prime it.