Topic: media blasting

[wilsonchris]

I need some advice.  My car is gonna go to the body shop in a month or so and my body guy wants me to strip the car down completely so he can media blast the whole thing.  My problem is that since im gonna be doing most of the work myself (outside of the body and paint), and since this is my first attempt at restoring a car.  Im not very confident in my ability to put  a WHOLE car back together.  Is there a way that he can only blast like the inside or just the back half and leave so i can leave the dash and wiring up front intact and redo those things one at atime? or is this a one shot deal?  Any help would be aprreciated.
Chris

[brian c]

The problem with media blasting is that its an abrasive being sent at the body at pressure so its going to tear through any kind of paper/plastic/tape you try to use to seal off compartments that you don't want the media in. You'll be vacuuming lots of abrasive out of things, risk damage to the dash/glass, etc. Best thing to do is to strip it bare and let the blaster do his/her thing.

And if you're going to have it soda blasted you might want to read up on how to clean the body afterwards as the soda will cause issues further down the road. The first shop I had work on my car did NOT prep my car properly after soda blasting the hood and the subsequent primer came off in sheets - peeled right off with a single edge razor blade.

[wilsonchris]

Well the dash is coming out anyway because its bad (May try dashboard restoration)  The glass will be coming out for sure.  I guess my question is if it  is a good idea to go ahead with the blasting because there isnt any rust except for the passenger floor pan which will be replaced.  The rest of the body is solid.  So do I really need it or do you think the body guy can just do his thing without the media blasting.

[wilsonchris]

So I can leave the wiring in when i have it blasted?  Thats the part Im worried about.

[rkellerjr]

No, you need to remove the wiring prior to sandblasting.  Hammer's suggestion is that you mark where the wires go and take pictures so that when you assemble everything, you have photo's to go back to, which will help.  If you have problems when your putting it back together, take a picture of the problem and post it up here.  We're sure to get you back on track with whatever problem your having.

[wilsonchris]

I appreciate the help guys.  I tell you what, Ive been on a couple of forums since I got the car and I have to be honest, this has to be the most helpful.

[RENOVATIONS]

I guess my question is if it  is a good idea to go ahead with the blasting because there isnt any rust except for the passenger floor pan which will be replaced.  The rest of the body is solid.  So do I really need it or do you think the body guy can just do his thing without the media blasting.

Honestly, it doesn't really sound as though it needs to be blasted. Like Hammer said, you'll have to be careful if you do as it can warp any large panels (like hood, quarters, etc). You would probably be better off just spending some quality time with a sander and a wire wheel if the body is as good as you state.

[brian c]

Jeff, there may be multiple layers of paint/bondo which would come off quicker with a media blast as opposed to chemical stripper or sanding/grinding. That and most shops I've dealt with won't gaurantee their work overtop someone else's body work/paint.

WilsonChris, since you're working with the body guy and that's what he wants done I'd recommend following his advice as long as its something other than sand as it'll warp panels as mentioned above. Work with the guy as he probably has a very good reason for blasting the car. And if you've got questions about the work he's doing - just ask him. You might have a better way of doing things and he may have reasons for the way he's working.

[Hitman]

The wiring might be able to be left intact.  If you take the wiring (that is removed from the dash anyway), then you can probably just get some heafty garbage bags or visquene to wrap up all of the wiring and tape it cloed to help protect it.  But on the flip side of that, if the dash and everything else is out of the car, then the only thing holding the wiring in is the four or so screws that hold the fuse block to the firewall.  Hopefully you did take photos of all the wiring and connectors and label them as you removed them.  That is the best method.

[wilsonchris]

I havent taken the dash out yet but the rest of the interior is out.  I was waiting till a little closer to time to take it to the shop.  Does the media blasting take off the old weatherstrip residue as well or is that a lot of scraping I have to do?

[RENOVATIONS]

They shouldn't have any problems removing the remains of the weatherstripping.

[akdonkey]

I been searching on info about media blasting. Is this something some of you may attempt at home. I am very brave.. I have done lots of things. I research everything I can find, I have not dug too deap into this yet. I planned on only doing the inside areas that would be out of site mostly and the underbody my self. I may even attempt to do the final paint myself. I got access to a body shop if I screw it up. Just got to pay for supplies, and wait. My wife works at a Major dealership that has a body shop that is allowed to paint for cost for me. I so want to say I done this myself though.

[brian c]

Akdonkey,

You might find a blaster who's willing to come to your home to media blast the car. I could see that getting pretty messy though unless you have a dedicated section of garage to contain all the media. Remember this stuff's going to fly everywhere once it hits your car.

Not trying to deter you but rather get you prepared for the after affects.

[akdonkey]

I had considered putting up a small plastic temp enclosure in my garage or maybe doing it outside. I have plans of having the car dissembled and on a rotisserie. it will be a mess, I used to work a company that remanufactured parts for Napa. I started out as a sandblaster with a parts tank I used. It gets every wheres for sure lol.

[hot72rod]

It depends on what kind of paint job you want. Now don't get me wrong you can get a real nice paint job without stripping the car to the metal, but there is a reason that 99% of all show cars are done that way.