What's the best thing to sandblast a body with.

my question is why do you HAVE to blast the car to strip it? Seems like an awful lot of work unless you're going for a concours/nut and bolt restoration. 3M abrasive discs on a (good) right angle grinder will strip paint and bondo FAST but won't erode the metal beneath or cause warpage, and will leave a nice smooth finish on the bare steel. They're cheap and you can easily do a full size car with 10 or less. The only problem with these are that tight areas, such as window channels and the tight part of door jambs are inaccessible, so you'll need to get at those with a wire wheel on a die grinder or dremel. Bottom line is that if you can strip an entire car in 1 full days worth of work for a fraction of the cost of blasting

 

We're talking about rust removal. I've never been satisfied with the 3m disks for rust. It wont get the rust out of the pitted metal

 

I'll agree, for rust, the 3M pads don't do a great job. For just stripping paint though, the most economical way to go for sure

 

Yeah, I use the stripping disks quite a bit. I'll also chemical strip once in a while before sending the car to the blaster if it has a lot of paint on it. Mostly to save money at the blaster. By far the best way I've found to remove body filler is to warm it with a torch, and s****e it off.

 

agree with oldcarfart starblast is the best ive ever used.have to watch soda blast to make sure you fully clean body or you may have problems with your primers lifting.

 

3M pads do work great on large areas but it wont get in the tight areas and wont clean out any pits. I dont want to spend time with sanding and not blast and in a few years have rust issues again.

 

No not realy the coal is just small enough to go through the blaster so not that much dust.

 

You got to watch your air pressure though, we blew a line between the tank and the blaster end . Funnest **** ever, I wish I would have had a camera to see two guys dive behind a car in fear for their lives and skin, oh yeah I was one of those guys. HaHaHA

 

have blasted myself, but prefer outsourcing it. even with a respirator, unless you have a really nice set up you will be breathing in particulates. gl*** bead works really well. with sand be careful, look up silicosis in wikipedia to learn more. the blaster in vegas that I swear by blasts in 2 stages. Stage 1: plastic bead to remove paint and stuff. Stage 2: gl*** bead to remove rust. Wasn't the cheapest in town, but definitely got my money's worth. last car had some paper thin rusted out sheet metal that survived completely un****hed.

 

Whatever you do DO NOT USE SAND!
Black beauty is Only good if used at low pressure on THICK metals (frames ect), NEVER body panels....
Baking Soda blasting is ok but messy and does not remove some materials like bondo and such
Walnut Shells are ok but break down quick and aren't reusable or good at removing some adhesive materials...
Plastic Media is the same way after a couple p***es it breaks down to a unusable point and it doesn't remove some things from the metal....

I have blasted many bodies and the best I have found is:
Aluminum Oxide...it removes: Rust, paint, bondo, fibergl***, dumdum, tar, undercoating...whatever....it does NOT heat the metal to the point of warpage and it reuses seveal times before it is worn out and it pretty reasonable to buy..Hope this helps...

 

yep...starblast is the ****. blast at a 45 to the surface, about 12-18 in away. just take your time. After 4-6 p***es through the machine, it loses some of its cutting ability.

 

Anyone know where to buy large quan***ies of gl*** at discount? It's the best **** for everything, stainless, chrome, body, frame, drip rails, hood seam, you name it. Just expensive as all hell.


And yes, coal (black beauty) takes off rust easy, takes off skin too. Gl*** doesn't break through skin but hurts worse because it bounces back harder. I've used several different types of eye protection, even full cover goggles, I always get gl*** in my eyes. Coal will leave you with a lotta tiny ****** dots.... unless you wear gloves, which I so often forget.

 

didnt have time to read all replies, but I use whats called sugar sand...just work it back and forth....and the main reason I post this is to tell ya not to use metal prep after...it causes a chemical reaction and sets it up to rust.

 

Thats what I was using sugar sand, really fine and powder white, havent used it on the body just frame, has anyone every used it on a body with luck and no warpage.

 

Soda Blasting will remove bondo, undercoating, paint, primer, grease, oil, dirt, gum, bugs, and just about anything else, including lite rust. As for any medium to heavy rust, I would reccomend low pressure sand at sharp angles, or crushed walnut shells.

 

We blast with the black slag stuff you can get it at Northern Tool or most industrial equip stores it comes in different grades, I like the #80 grit. Also you will burn up a home-compressor or just run out of air if you try to blast a whole body with out stopping every few minutes to let it catch up and cool off. blasting requires a lot of air flow......... keep it moving, dont try to get clean silver metal on your first p***.... you WILL warp panels. practice on an old door ........

 

This thing was soda blasted....

 

Truck looks killer, how do you and whoever does the potted plants cohabitate in the shop? "Linda, dont leave me, the fern will die"(Bill Murray-Stripes)

 

Haaha, yea, its my brother-n-law's place. His wife put the plants in there for the winter....

 

I used black beauty on my rims recently (Bob/"bald rears" is a RULER! Thanks!) and I have to warn you it leaves a pretty rough finish. We were blasting at 75 psi though too... It's nasty sharp stuff and will strip paint like nothing. I'm thinking you may want to save that stuff for wheels, drums, suspensions parts, etc.

Another thing I should mention... if you're doing it at home, get yourself a FULL suit, and build a sealed tent for yourself! You will find that stuff in cavities of your body not listed in Anatomy text books!!! Crazy messy! Only way to go though.