Sanblasting cab, pros and cons

[burlapen]

Trying to decide wether or not to have the cab sandblasted. It has one paint job over the original. Old paint is in decent shape except where it is peeling in the door jambs. I am a bit skeptical on the sandblasting due to the horror stories I have heard mainly about warpage and sand hiding everywhere. I read about one guy who kept getting kicked off of the dragstrip because every time he launched the car sand would fall out. Just looking for opinions......experiences good or bad?? Thanks.

[63 & 64 Bowties]

I've done it twice. Once on my 54 that I sold and just recently on a 70 Mach 1 Mustang my brother and I are restoring. I hate it, I hate it. Did I mention I hate sandblasting? My brother talked me into doing it the second time just because the Mustang was in such bad shape and we're doing it to resell. But, the horror stories about sand getting everywhere are true. Unless your cab is an absolute rust bucket, which it doesn't look to be, don't do it. That's just my opinion. I know other's here like it.
Did I mention I hate sandblasting?

[chevyguys]

I would avoid "sand" blasting... Instead go to a shop that uses platic media, walnut shells, soda, etc. etc. etc. A good stripping shop will know the right media to use for the job. I have had many cars and trucks media blasted by a shop near by you in Sacramento(used to live there). It's off of Power Inn road and Jackson Highway if you want the exact name PM me.

They did a 69 z28 for me that ended up selling for 110k at auction.

In regards to the media gettting everywhere. It does. However, just like anything else you need to prep before you paint. It doesn't take long to blow out the car or cab with an air hose. On a cab I wouldn't be worried about it at all. I typically plug the airspace that goes up in the roof with some high density foam and then ask the shop not to blast up in that cavity, otherwise there is not much in the way of pockets in the cab to hold media. Again less than 10 minutes with an air hose and your good to go.

The advantage is you get a perfectly clean and properly etched surface to paint on, and you remove a lot of the rust from pockets that would otherwise continue to eat away at your baby. For me a cab would cost 350.00 to strip and the time saved in prep and stripping by other means is way worth the price. But yes.. avoid sand it will warp the sheet metal, it's great for frames, suspension parts etc.

[64GMCHorsepower]

How about soda blasting? Thats what I had done to mine.....

[63 & 64 Bowties]

"sand" blasting is just a generic term for blasting of any kind. Black Beauty is what we used in both applications. But, if you can get all the media out of a cab in 10 minutes with an air hose, I have a job I'd like to hire you for.

[chevyguys]

Originally Posted by 63 & 64 Bowties

"sand" blasting is just a generic term for blasting of any kind. Black Beauty is what we used in both applications. But, if you can get all the media out of a cab in 10 minutes with an air hose, I have a job I'd like to hire you for.

Well maybe I just have a bigger hose than you Seriously though... I have experience with three shops that do the work.. Most have cleaned out a majority of the media for us. My experience is using an "industrial" compressor. If your trying to use a 3 horse hobby compressor you would be there all day... SO I guess it boils down to picking the right shop and having the right tools for the job.

[jbgroby]

I have tried all three methods of paint and rust removal, Sandblasting, Soda blasting and chemical dip.

Of the 3 the chemical dip process was and is the best, I don't think it amy more costly than either form of blasting. The '60 cab and hood I had dipped in Jackson, Mississippi ran me $540.00. Soda did not remove all the rust and regular sand blasting would have equaled the same with a slight chance of some warpage issue thrown in.

All my albums
http://community.webshots.com/user/jbgroby


You can see the pictures of the 3 here

First is Soda blasting BTW I no longer talk to the AH E-xFriend of mine who let the cab re-rust, the Sh*T head.

Soda Blast Album
http://rides.webshots.com/album/414823796vWvHlX

Sand Blast - I did the blasting myself - AIR POWER!
http://rides.webshots.com/album/414770881SjvNdM

Chemical Dipping
http://rides.webshots.com/album/418332987uAZJiR

The story on the cab and hood is as follows:

I saw a demo on the Soda Blasting at a World of Wheels show, thought it was great. had the cab and hood blasted for $330.00 brough it to my (A-HOLE) friends house and bought the primer he needed.

Called and called and called and it was never done. Showed up one day and all hell broke lose when I saw the condition of the cab and hood all re-rusted to hell and back, Loaded it up and DEMANDED the money I put out from the primter (he used it for someone else's project) it came REAL close to needing to have the cops called, his unborn child was all that saved him, I did not want the kid to not have a dad!

We then brough the cab and hood to Ready-Strip in Jackson, MS. and had them strip, better than new, on the day we brough them home WE Primed it, the day was August 26th, 2005 3 days before Katrina!

11 ft. of water later and a lifetime ago we dug the cab out and you can see the condition of it now.

http://rides.webshots.com/album/575304472BKnrNw

We go to pick the paint on Thursday.

I started this project in January 2000 and it looks like she is finally getting together.

If you can get to all the areas, take your time and you can chemical strip yourself too, don't forget.

Jake

[63 & 64 Bowties]

Originally Posted by chevyguys

Well maybe I just have a bigger hose than you

I guess I set myself up for that one, huh?
Good discussion here. I see there's lots of different opinions on this subject.

[Bugeyev8]

I am stripping my 63 with a DA sander and 80 grit, I would say in a whole day u coule have the truck in bare metal, so far I did 4 front fenders, 2 doors,cab roof, door jambs mostly and 1/2 a hood before I hit the hidden issues

get a good quality DA like national detroit and a roll of 3 m paper, dust mask and you are set, I tape the shop vac behind the da and it picks up most the dust

I blasted several cars and trucks and acid dipped a few, never do either again unless it was a really really rusty car or truck

[Captainfab]

I always have everything abrasive blasted. IMO it's the best way to see exactly what you have. An experienced blaster will know what sheetmetal he can and cannot safely blast. But overall all the body panels on these trucks can be abrasive blasted without warpage.....by an experienced blaster. I would never have anything acid dipped or blasted with soda or silica sand. I've heard of too many paint problems as results of those methods. But of course that opinion is influenced by the fact that I have a good friend that owns a blasting business....and he does the blasting for the majority of the restoration shops in this area. There's my .02......

[LILRED66]

Sand-blasting is not always a true decription of the process, since most places are using media, other than sand, due to the health hazards and the abrasion & warping issues. A good, media-blaster can properly strip sheet metal without any warping issues, so be careful in your selection process. There are many outfits out there, that specialize in industrial equipment and commercial applications, and their equipment, techniques and media are suited for this type of work...if they attempt to do light-gauge sheet metal, there will be problems.

Soda, walnut hulls, corn cobs, glass beads, plastic beads, dry ice and crushed corn is now being used on a regular basis, to address some of the warping and adhesion issues, created by the other medias previously used.

In closing, I have everything media-blasted. Rust, imperfections, filler and other blemishes, can not escape being exposed by media-stripping. I have never had an issue with removing the left-over media. A thorough cleaning, with air and a vacuum will do the trick. I am currently using a company that uses crushed corn kernels and it is an excellent media for stripping sheet metal panels and leaves a surface ready for high-build primer, as well as, suitable to accept a powder-coat finish without surface preparation. Also, the media is more economical than many of the other media's available.

Chemical stripping, chemical dipping and hand stripping/sanding are all good choices, depending on the application, budget and desired results. Also, there may or may not be a chemical stripper in your area and that can/will handle large parts, like a cab or bed sides. We use Eagle Auto Stripping in Kansas City, KS or Soft Strip in Wichita, KS for all of our media-stripping.

[66swb327]

I agree with captainfab. The shop I work at uses sand and our blaster is experienced enough to what he can and cant blast. We have never had any issues with sand and we blast some very rare cars with no problems. I do agree with sand getting trapped everywhere. Even after he blows the car down the best he can I always seem to get a face full of sand when I cut into the car to some patch work.

[Gus63]

Whatever you do, do not sandblast it with actual sand. I madE the mistake of doing that to my 63, and I don't think that all of the sand will ever be gone from my truck. No matter how many times you blow it Out and clean it, there will still be sand falling out of every little piece on your truck. Save yourself a lot of trouble, and stay far away from sandblasting.

[burlapen]

Thanks for all of the great replies guys. Being that there is no rust at all on it, I think I am going to stay away from the blasting. The main reason I was considering it was for all of the hard to clean/sand areas such as window lips, dash edges etc.. I think I will just do the best I can with good ol elbow grease and sandpaper.

BTW 66swb327 I see you have a 67 GTX....very nice...my wife has a 67 satellite almost ready to go!!