Sanding vs Blasting a car... questions

[Rack]

Obviously blasting is easier and faster then sanding, but for those with a tight budget, is it worth it to wait and save up, or should I just put the DA to work now and save the $$$ for something else?

Also, how would I go about spraying on the epoxy primer this way? Would I have to get up at 5 am and sand down the car, wipe it down, then spray on the primer all in one day? Or sand down a section, spray that section, next day another section, etc...?

Or could I just sand a section, wipe on some metal cleaner (to clean and prevent rust), and continue to do that till the whole car is sanded down, then wipe down again and spray on the primer?

Also, with sanding (after it's done) do I spray on the metal etching primer then the epoxy primer, or can I just do the epoxy primer? Which way is better (in the long run)?


I was gonna save up to get the car blasted, but I'm having trouble finding someone to do it (I'd have to trailer the car 150 miles to San Antonio) and I'm getting anxious to get started on it myself. I have a DA and a 60 gallon compressor so that wouldn't be a problem.

I have a speed blaster too, would I be able to sand the open parts of the car, and use the speed blaster to the "hard to get to" places using glass or soda? Can you use fine media in a speed blaster?


As usual, THANK YOU!

[Charger-Bodie]

with the stripping if you dont have the means to strip it al and epoxy it id do it a panel or two at a time but i would rent a blaster or by  one to do the jambs nothing keeps them parts crisp like a blaster does epoxy is actually best used diectly over bare metal . metal etch primers are good but they fall in diff areas than under epoxy

[Rack]

Thanks, 1hot68.

I looked around to see if anyone sold/rented blasters, but no one does around here. I bought a 20 gallon blaster from Harbor Freight (http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=34202) but I'm not sure if it's gonna be enough to blast the whole car. Maybe bits and pieces at a time. I'll try it out this week.


Do you know where I can purchase a good epoxy primer (no ones sells that locally either. Salemen tried to get me to buy a build primer to put on bare metal).

[terrible one]

I'm broke. Hand sanded the entire car. 

[Rack]

I'm broke. Hand sanded the entire car. 

You need to tell 'ole Vince McMahon to give you a raise.


Yeah I think I'll sand it, but I'll blast the hard to get to spots. Probably do the blasting first, then the sanding. I still have to finish building the shelves for my shed so I can store some parts that are in the way (in my garage). Then buy the epoxy primer, then start with the sanding.

[Rack]

I did some light sanding last night, just to try it out. Here's some pics...















The sail panel (is that the right term?) and left front corner of the roof went down to metal real clear and easy. The quarter panel got the most work done to it and it cleared up the least. Do I have cause to be worried? I was using 60 grit sand paper. Shouldn't that be enough to cut through the rust? It doesn't appear rotted but with the amount of time I spent on that section - compared to the little amount of time I spent on the sail panel and roof - I figured it should of gone down to clean metal.

Any suggestions?



These last two were attempts at blasting (using soda) with the POS harbor freight 40 gal blaster. Let's just say I wish I had those $80 back.

[Rack]

I'm broke. Hand sanded the entire car. 

Man, I'm an idiot. I think I got you mixed up with lowprofile. I know one of you drives a truck for the WWE. Sorry for the confusion. I've been away for awhile so my memory is taking awhile to catch up. 

[AutoRust]

Dont waste your time trying to blast the body panels. Dig in the elbow grease and D/A the body. I would suggest you do one area at a time. Get it down to bare metal, then prime it. Then move on. The blasting should only be used in the unusual areas, like corners in the door jambs, inner wheel houses, inside trunk lips, etc. The blasting does not remove Plastic filler very well, and tends to create a lot of heat which could warp things a bit.
Good luck with your project.

Dave

[Rack]

Thanks, Dave.

And you should post more cuz that avatar... greatness.

[Rack]

I'm not having much success getting that paint off that quarter panel (compressor is working way too hard for such a small area), should I try it with 40 grit paper? Or is that too abrasive?

[71_Charger_R/T]

Dont waste your time trying to blast the body panels. Dig in the elbow grease and D/A the body. I would suggest you do one area at a time. Get it down to bare metal, then prime it. Then move on. The blasting should only be used in the unusual areas, like corners in the door jambs, inner wheel houses, inside trunk lips, etc. The blasting does not remove Plastic filler very well, and tends to create a lot of heat which could warp things a bit.
Good luck with your project.

Dave

  I was waiting for somebody to mention blasting warpage. Sounds like Dave knows his Onions!

[terrible one]

I'm broke. Hand sanded the entire car. 

Man, I'm an idiot. I think I got you mixed up with lowprofile. I know one of you drives a truck for the WWE. Sorry for the confusion. I've been away for awhile so my memory is taking awhile to catch up. 

It's all good man. I'm pretty sure you're right, as lowprofile probably has a job. 

But it's really not too bad, until I get to huge chunks of bondo. It's good exercise at least!

[terrible one]

Also, I wouldn't go any lower than 60 grit, and that's just my experience. I don't know what I'm doing and didn't try to find out, but I've been cutting the paint down to metal and sanding the bondo with 60 grit, after which I go over the metal with 80 grit to smooth it out, then a quick bit with 120 grit, after which I primed and painted (Rustoleum, of course)

[AutoRust]

If your intention is to strip the car down to bare metal as part of the process to do a complete paint job, then go ahead and use the 36 grit D/A paper to remove everything. When you "hear" it getting to bare metal, back off and move on. You will not hurt the panel. By the time you prime it, the body shop re-primes it, sands it, primes again, any swirl marks you might put in the sheetmetal will be long gone.
Lots of body guys say its good to rough up the sheetmetal a bit anyways, gives the paint some more bite, helps it stick better. Not sure if its true or not, but we did our own 70 Charger in house, we used 36 grit on the whole car, stripped it bare. The paint went on like a wet dream, and still looks great 14 years later.

Dave


Rack, That avatar picture was at the Mopar Nats in 2004, our bluesmobile really brings out the best side of everyone.

[hemi-hampton]

I just had to strip a 81 Firebird this week. They didn't want to pay to blast so I pulled out the 8'' Hog & 40 grit. The 8'' DA Works faster then the usual more common 6'' DA. After taking most off with the 8'' & 40 grit I then moved to 6'' DA with 80 grit. This all worked fine for me. Next I'll use Duponts self etching (for bare metal) Variprime. LEON.

[Rack]

Thanks for the replies, Fellas.

I tried out the 40 grit and it's a little better, but that rust (?) isn't coming off very well. And my compressor (single stage POS) is working way too hard. In an area about 2 feet wide and about 7 inches in height, my compressor had to resupply air about 20 times (not exhaggerating). I have my compressor set up where it stops filling up at 135 psi and starts refilling air at about 90 psi. Is that ok? A friend told me that about 130 max is "normal", but it seems strange that the tank guage shows 300 as the max, but I should only go up to 135? I literally can only sand for about 2-3  minutes before it has to start pumping air back into the compressor. It's REALLY slowing me down. The sail panels sand down pretty easily to clean bare metal, but that quarter panel is a PITA.

[Corellian Corvette]

my body guy (who's pretty good) basically says that you only need to blast if you have a lot of rust to get rid of. Sanding won't get rid of rust without a LOT of work. 

Otherwise, he gets out the D/A and just buzzes all the paint off. Then a coat of primer/sealer and a skim-coat and you're good.

[Rack]

Yeah the parts that don't have rust come right off real easy. The parts that are rusted are a PITA. I found a place in San Antonio that does Soda Blasting (thanks to a member of the SA Mopar Club). I'm gonna give them a call tomorrow about prices.

[BlueSS454]

I had my 69 sandblasted after I mounted it on a rotisserie.  I sanded the whole car down first and removed all the old filler before I took it there.  They charge by thehour so I figured I saved me some coin by doing so.  Total cost was $750 for the body inside and out, fenders, grille support, doors, etc....no hood or trunk lid.  If you can't afford to go that route, take a DA and some 40 grit and go to town, then go back over it with 80 grit to get a nice metal etch for the primer tobite into.  There is no way you can sand that whole car down by hand in 1 day.  I would do a panel at a time and go from there laying some epoxy primer on each panel as you complete it.  Don't forget to wash the panel down with some wax & grease remover before applying the primer.

[Rack]

That's good advice, Blue. The car is gonna get blasted on thursday so I have time to get that bondo off the car. I also have to get the glass out of my doors (and the quarter glass). Oh and remove the rear window. He gave me a "high estimate" of $2200. It's not only the cheapest I've found around here... it's the ONLY one I've found around here. I guess he can keep his prices that high if he's the only guy doing what he does. 


Oh well, I was considering dipping/e-coating the car and the shipping (to the nearest place that does it) would of been more then $2200.

[hemi-hampton]

Where do you live? Sticksville. I wouldn't pay more then $1,000 but I live in the big City of Detroit where you have your choice of about 10 different places. At $2,200 maybe you'd be better off stripping yourself but then get one of those little hand held sandblasters to get the rust yourself. Thats what I'd do? LEON.

[Rack]

Sticksville would be a big step up compared to this city.