Preparing body to be Blasted

MikeC · April 20, 2005, 06:56:26 PM

I am about to take the main body of my 39 Chevy 2-door sedan to be bead blasted before paint and body fill. Is there any special prep I should do like bracing before I pull it off. It will be lifted on to a dolly by 8 guys but will need to be rolled on it's side on to some inflated inner tubes to blast the bottom.
Thanks
MikeC

DRD57 · April 21, 2005, 01:13:49 AM

Quote from: "MikeC"I am about to take the main body of my 39 Chevy 2-door sedan to be bead blasted before paint and body fill. Is there any special prep I should do like bracing before I pull it off. It will be lifted on to a dolly by 8 guys but will need to be rolled on it's side on to some inflated inner tubes to blast the bottom.
Thanks
MikeC

If the body is solid you should be OK but if it's got rust bracing would be a really good idea. Actually bracing is probably a good idea even if it's solid if your going to tip it on its side which isn't necessarily designed to hold up th weight of the body.

When I had my Cadillac media blasted I left it on the rotiserrie at the blaster. They were able to spin it around and get every speck of everything blasted of the car.

Kctom · April 24, 2005, 10:43:04 AM

Quote from: "MikeC"I am about to take the main body of my 39 Chevy 2-door sedan to be bead blasted before paint and body fill. Is there any special prep I should do like bracing before I pull it off. It will be lifted on to a dolly by 8 guys but will need to be rolled on it's side on to some inflated inner tubes to blast the bottom.
Thanks
MikeC

Wish you all the luck in the world. By bead blasting I hope the bead is not sand. Had my 36 bead blasted, at least that was my understanding and was charged for beads. When i picked it up the had used sand. The car was almost completely ruined. Every panel was warped bad. The body man spent about 100 hours getting it back into shape. I have done 2 cars after that one, Stripper and those round scotch brite wheels on a air grinder is my choice . Again good luck. Will be looking for you post after the blasting.

Jimc · April 24, 2005, 09:43:59 PM

Quote from: "MikeC"I am about to take the main body of my 39 Chevy 2-door sedan to be bead blasted before paint and body fill. Is there any special prep I should do like bracing before I pull it off. It will be lifted on to a dolly by 8 guys but will need to be rolled on it's side on to some inflated inner tubes to blast the bottom.
Thanks
MikeC

When I had my 62 Impala tudor hdtp bead blasted(twice) it was taken on the frame and placed on a cart the blaster had. The body was loose on the frame and Ken lifted it from the frame with a sling he used. There was no bracing used and none needed.
Sand blasting sheet metal panels is not advisable due to heat generated by the sand pelting the body.
At the present time, my 47 ford coupe is at another blaster (Ken closed his shop) who uses aluminum oxide as a blast media. he has great success with cleaning and preventing warpage. The Ford was taken on a rotisserie,
I should get it back the last of the month and will be able to report on the results if there is interest.

Jim

WZ JUNK · April 25, 2005, 08:26:19 AM

When our friend (Mad Dog) first started using the aluminum oxide I gave him a late model Ford Ranger fender to blast for practice. He removed all the paint on the fender without warping the metal. There is a lot of difference between the thickness of metal in a late model than that of an older car. The thicker the metal the less chance of warpage. If he can do the Ranger fender, I am sure he will do a great job on yours Jim. I have never had a problem with Mad Dog's work.

Jimc · April 25, 2005, 08:48:29 AM

The fenders, inner panels, doors, trunk lid, hood, and fender spacer panels have been done with out warpage. I am very satisfied with the process
Another local, Stedman Blanchard has used Maddox blasting and is satisfied.
A local restoration company( experienced with COPO, and High End cars) uses Maddox with success.
So, aluminum oxide is acceptable to me and Maddox Blasting is experienced in the use thereof.
I am anxiously awaiting the return of the body to get started on priming and assembly.
Jim

Beck · April 25, 2005, 10:31:09 AM

It seems the local hot setup is baking soda blasting. There are a couple of companes that are offering it. One comes to your location. What is the BEST media to use or is one better than the other?
Beck

Jimc · April 25, 2005, 01:44:44 PM

Quote from: "Beck"It seems the local hot setup is baking soda blasting. There are a couple of companes that are offering it. One comes to your location. What is the BEST media to use or is one better than the other?
Beck

Best? I do not know ir there is a "best". It is my opinion that you should do what you think is best for you.

It is also and opinion of mine that the soda would need rinsed well to prevent any caustic action.
There are good points to all blasting media. I prefer plastic bead from experience. I am using the aluminum oxide due to the availability and timing on my 47 Ford.

All media will find the way into crevices you can not imagine and will provide plenty of challenges to remove.

The last time I had the 62 Impala blasted with plastic bead was in November of 1997. When I traded it off late in 2004, plastic bead was still falling out of the deck lid and rear hinge area.

58 Yeoman · April 25, 2005, 02:00:00 PM

A friend of mine had his 54 Skylark dipped, and the company put some kind of coating on it, that had to be washed off with water before prepping the metal for paint. Needless to say, he waited for a really hot sunny day before doing it; turned out well.

Beck · April 25, 2005, 11:18:07 PM

Quote from: "58 Yeoman"A friend of mine had his 54 Skylark dipped, and the company put some kind of coating on it, that had to be washed off with water before prepping the metal for paint. Needless to say, he waited for a really hot sunny day before doing it; turned out well.

I had a 34 Plymouth dipped years ago. I was pleased with the results at the time. All the paint and the little rust there was was gone. A few years later I noticed the paint had small bubbles in places that could have trapped stripping solution on the back side of the metal. Like the door sill area, and around the filled roof. I sold the car but wondered what ever happened to the paint there. I suspected that the stripping chemical was not completely flushed in those places. There was no way to get primer in those places either.
Beck