Sandblasting revisited

[papabug71]

Guys, I know the general consensus on sandblasting thin body panels. The heat generated can potentially warp said panels. What about heavy stuff. Some panels on these trucks arn't that thin, not by todays standards anyways.

I would like to blast my core support & inner fenders, along with a few other small parts. Now, the only place around here that does blasting is a 40 minute drive for me & is by appointment only. He uses -20 sand. No soda or other media type. I have a blaster, but with my pathetic craftsman oil free compressor it would never happen. At least not the big pieces. The small stuff I can do here.

Has anyone on here blasted the core support or inners with regular extra fine blasting sand?

[Cipher43]

Before I knew much about restoring vehicles I sandblasted my 57 international and had all kinds of issues with warping and that metal was much thicker. It could have been from me moving way too slow but I guess I will never know for sure.

I know the pros will chime in here to but I will show you another option for blasting. Its a dustless blasting unit and it is suppose to blast better than straight sand and does not warp the panel due to the water cooling.

Here is a vid of the small unit they make.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5wKuj4nXg4

and here is one in action.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCehkkTTeMk

the website that makes them.
http://dustlessblasting.com/

I wouldnt recomend buying one from here if you are just doing your own project because they cost 5k but I have been looking on the internet alot and have found a few guys modding sandblasters(not putting water in the blast chamber but having it be external) or building them from scratch and getting the same results from it for 100 bucks or so. I have one in particular I am gonna try to build some time soon so If you want I can send some pics of what the blaster looks like with the mod.

[BobbyFord]

If you know what you're doing there's no problem. Especially with core supports and inner fenders. I have a guy near me that can blast any panel with no warpage. I just dropped off a hood and door to get blasted yesterday.

[sargentrs]

I've blasted practically every part on my truck. I don't use sand because of the heat generated and also the silica residue it leaves behind requiring a.secondary cleaning operation. I use Black Diamond fine (30-60 grit). It's a coal slag compound and does a superb job with less heat and no silica residue. I've blasted my frame, doors, inner and outer fenders and sections of my cab, not to mention too many small parts to name. At $8 a 50lb bag it's also inexpensive. I use a $30 open pot plastic blaster with a $10 gun and an ancient 125 psi, 10 cfm compressor with a 60gal tank.

[papabug71]

Thanks for the replies you guys. I think I'll get some of the black beauty or similar media & give it a try here at the house. Might hit my blaster guy up & see what he says about using a different media as well. I know I can do the frame here at the house over a weekend or take it up to him & he can have it done in an hour.

What I wouldn't give for a good air compressor .

[BobbyFord]

Just got my stuff back from the blaster today.
Couple of dings, no rust, no bondo.

[colnago]

Bobby,

Looks great! What media/method did they use? I just looked up that dustless system that Cipher43 mentioned. Pretty sexy, but I don't have that many zeroes in my wallet.

Joseph

[BobbyFord]

Bobby,

Looks great! What media/method did they use? I just looked up that dustless system that Cipher43 mentioned. Pretty sexy, but I don't have that many zeroes in my wallet.

Joseph

This guy uses sand, I'm not sure what type. He knows how to do it without warping the metal. He does complete bodies, too. All of the high end shops around here use A&M Sandblasting.

[papabug71]

Wow, those came out clean. I'm looking forward to getting mine to that stage.

[fbomb100]

Before I knew much about restoring vehicles I sandblasted my 57 international and had all kinds of issues with warping and that metal was much thicker. It could have been from me moving way too slow but I guess I will never know for sure.

I know the pros will chime in here to but I will show you another option for blasting. Its a dustless blasting unit and it is suppose to blast better than straight sand and does not warp the panel due to the water cooling.

Here is a vid of the small unit they make.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5wKuj4nXg4

and here is one in action.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCehkkTTeMk

the website that makes them.
http://dustlessblasting.com/

wow thats bitchen.. its making me think some

[pincheweddo]

I have blasted multiple cars using an industrial trailer compressor and a high volume sand pot. YES it will warp the living crap out of a body panel. BUT if you are careful and watch your distance to the surface, you can do it and be just fine. My favorite sand to use on cars can be found on the side of the road in west Texas and is free.

[FordHam]

I have just recently had several parts sandblasted including two core supports and two new reproduction inner fenders. There is a guy I use who reuses his sand and the sand has broken down with use so it feels like a very fine powder now, not coarse at all. He has a 6 cylinder Diesel engine as his compressor and it will blow a wheel across his shop, but all the parts came out just perfect with a good etched finish to them. I had a hood done by another sand blaster and he warped the hood so bad it was not repairable. So my advice is to focus more on the person holding the hose than what comes out of it. A paint and body guy mentioned to me that he did not like the dustless system so far because it seemed to leave a residue like soda blasting does.