Moderator: FORDification
They are not stepsides. The 8 foot boxes are in really good shape and just wondered what the best method of removing the old paint would be. I did use media blast on one of my trucks, that was not a Ford, but the steel was 20 gauge so there wasn't too much of a problem with metal distortion. Just wondering what works on these Ford's or if any of you folks know from experience. 
Black Diamond, Starblast, or, if you can find it, Green Lightning. Heat isn't what warps the panel, its angle of attack plus the shape of the media. Thousands of little tiny hammers hitting the metal in one place @one time. Trust me. Whatever you blast it with remember to keep about a 45 degree angle to the surface you are blasting & don't stay in any one place too long. And please, correct breathing apparatus. This **** can kill you.sargentrs wrote:I've had good results with Black Diamond fine grit media. Doesn't generate much heat when blasting so no worrying about warpage.
Back in '85 I crashed a fabric covered sprayplane, just enough to pi$$ me off but the plane was rebuildable. I received a couple cuts and hurt feelings. 
I removed all the old fabric from the wings and fuselage then had the fuselage sandblasted so we could dye penetrant the welded sections for cracks. The guy I used had a portable unit, powered by a 400 HP Caterpillar engine. We put the fuselage up on sawhorses and he stood about 6 feet and let loose and did that ever turn out nice. The final inspection went well, two coats of DP 501 primer and two coats of Tremclad white paint to finish. Then new Ceconite 101 fabric on the fuselage and wings and 16 coats of finish Butrate paint to finish and fly again. I did another all metal plane with soda and had a lot of problems with soda weeping through the riveted panels and peeling the paint off the rivets. Needless to say the FAA was not impressed but structurally the plane was just fine. Even bolted to a 450 HP Pratt & Whitney radial engine. 
Great memories! 