body + sand blast

caslor · Post by **caslor** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 11:02 am

i was thinking to sand blast my 63 beetle as it has some rust and want to remove everything to paint from begining and replace rusty metals...

but someone told me that has magnisious in the body and will be very bad idea to sand blast it...

what is your opinion about that??

what is the best solution? (we dont have chemical baths here in greece)

MNAirHead · Post by **MNAirHead** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 11:56 am

Blasting may warp the steel (make it distorted and/or uneven, "bumpy" "wavy" etc.)

Can you get "aircraft" (air plane) stripper there?

Tim

Oldbugss · Post by **Oldbugss** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 3:56 pm

Well, I am not sure of there being any magnesium in the sheetsteel of the body. Confusing this with the engine case or transaxle?

It is true that blasting can warp the steel, especially pressure fed systems. A siphon fed set up could work, but like Tim asked is best. Stripper could work out better for you.

I will blast pans, and hidden areas and parts. Not the outside skin of a Beetle. I would hate to see wavy panels!

Dennis C~

caslor · Post by **caslor** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 11:35 pm

i find it strange to about the magnesium in the body.. until now i knew that the engine case and transsmision had..

i contact with the owner of the sand blast shop and told me that he uses very thin emery grain/sand

there i had my chassis done before 4-5 months

it was a good jop i can tell

now i dont know about the body if i should or not go there for blast..

Ryan Huebler · Post by **Ryan Huebler** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 12:19 am

I have personaly blasted 7 bugs and 1 DBL cab. Anyone with any experiance with blasting car parts can blast them without warping them. Just make sure they are not using a BIG hose i.e. 3" but rather 1 3/4" max. Other than that, all I have to say is mediablasting is amazing, nothing else can compare to it. It gets off all the old paint and rust and leaves a profile on the metal for better paint adheasion. I have blasted every single metal part on the car I'm building right now and would not have it any other way. Whatever you do, do some looking into the blaster's experiance, and equipment. If all else tell them if they warp it they buy it.

MNAirHead · Post by **MNAirHead** » Fri Mar 16, 2007 1:34 pm

A trick for learning blasting is to do it in a darker room.. you can see the area heating up in the dark..

T.

Soul · Post by **Soul** » Sat Mar 17, 2007 7:24 am

Several members of our club have had their cars media blasted. All of them have been happy with the results.

Door to door service too!

Ryan Huebler · Post by **Ryan Huebler** » Sat Mar 17, 2007 8:49 pm

MNAirHead wrote:A trick for learning blasting is to do it in a darker room.. you can see the area heating up in the dark..

T.

If you can see the metal heat up, then you have already warped the metal. Maybe you are refering to the sparks made by the sand hitting the metal? Blasting Chrome is always fun for a good light show. I ran accross a bolt stuck in the mesh of a Boeing platform once that made bright blue sparks. Never seen anything else like it since.

Blasting really isn't that hard to learn, patience is the key.

ghiadesigns · Post by **ghiadesigns** » Sun May 06, 2007 8:22 am

Is sandblasting the best way to remove chrome? I want to strip a set of bumpers and was looking for the best option.

MNAirHead · Post by **MNAirHead** » Mon May 07, 2007 9:10 am

sanding is the best chrome removal method.. fine grit ensures that you don't score up the steel.

You may want to check that your rechrome place doesn't have special instructions.