So I've been to this blasting show once before as you know.....didn't like it. I certainly wasn't looking forward to it again, but it had to be done. The purple was real automotive paint and it wasn't coming off without a lot of mess. Either media mess, or stripper mess. Media mess is a faster route to paint, so I chose media mess. And man, does this story sound familiar.....
It starts with an undersized portable baster that a friend of mine was storing here for oh, 8 years. Its a Cyclone PT 40. Crappy thing doesn't even have wheels.
How undersized you ask? (you didn't really ask, just work with me here)
• 40 lb. Capacity (smaller than the one I used in 96!!)
• 8 ft. Hose
• Blast hose 3/8" ID
• 1/8" Ceramic nozzle
Not a lot happening fast here but I wasn't about to buy my own blaster only to have it sit also around for years, so I was determined to make this work. It'll do the job, it'll just be slow. After learning a few lessons last time, here is why it will be ever so slightly better:
- The compressor should handle it this time around
- I was going to use aluminum oxide instead of sand
- I bought a blasting gun that you could actually turn on and off
So besides the goggles constantly fogging up because of the respirator type mask I was wearing, which was every 15 effin minutes (insert Covid-19 preparedness joke here), it didn't go too badly.
The plan was to keep the front end together to keep the car portable and then wire wheel/brush with a drill what I couldn't blast once in the garage and disassembled. The suspension and steering components (minus the box/pitman arm) were all going to get powder coated or replaced, so I didn't have to worry about those and the core support would be blasted separately.
This physical blasting took about 12 hours. covering both a Saturday and Sunday. I was constantly stopping with goggle issues, filling up the hopper or just taking a break. Factor in time to get the car up/down/back in the garage and clean up the driveway so I'm not "that guy" in the neighborhood, and they were pretty long days.
Here is the car once back in the garage with the moving parts, removed.(ha!) You can see the areas where steering and suspension parts kept me from reaching.
Life kinda got in the way that week. I came back to the car after work on Tuesday and started the cleanup process. Looking at the cross member however, one of the earliest of the basted pieces, it had looked like some tiny spots had been missed. So I got them with the wire wheel and the drill.
Then I noticed the same type of spot on the on the firewall......and the frame rails. Then it hit me, like ah, a two ton heavy thing... (what song guys. cmon?) These were not places I missed, this was rust starting to form. Well #$@, @#$^&#$#&%#* mother%$&$**$@@#
So here's the thing....New England weather, unless its 20 degrees outside, is pretty humid all the friggin time apparently. So lets start off with a tip.
Tip#8 - When media blasting, be prepared to protect any exposed metal as soon as you are done blasting.
I may have cried here, I may have blacked out, I really don't recall. All I remember was thinking there was no way I could keep up with this. With work and other commitments, there was no way I could get this cleaned up and epoxied any time soon. It was going to take me days if I was going to do it with a drill and my drill wasn't sounding too good after the last pass with this stuff. This would all have to be blasted again. I had blasted too much area and the rust was coming in faster than I could keep up.
Tip#9 - Don't take the suspension off until you are sure you don't need to move the car again
#%^.
OK, so not only do I get to live the blasting hell all over again, but now I need to figure a way to get this thing back outside? Hold my beer....
Solution (minus one tow strap to keep it all together):
No I didn't steal it. A friend of mine gave it to me. (really!) It worked like a charm believe it or not. It rolled smoothly and the big casters allowed it to easily make back over the 1 inch lip to get back in the garage. And if I'm thinking positively about all of this, at least now I could take out the engine mounts that I left in place for some reason.
Blasting was considerably quicker this time around, so it allowed time the next day to clean up any rust formations, make the booth and get to painting.
Before:
After:
All dressed in
Nason 491-35 DTM Primer/Sealer
I must be getting better at something...this shot was NOT at 3am, (just before midnight on a Sunday) I might actually be rested for work in the morning. Wonder what that's like?
I wet sanded and painted all of this two more times (320 / 400) in the coming days just because I love pain. (and to make sure I had proper coverage and enough base to stand up over time). I guess we'll see.
In an effort to actually help someone, let me say I do believe sealer can go over those tiny rust formations and stop it from getting worse or ever coming through. It bonds with and seals the metal, much like the zinc chromate of yore. So yeah, I probably freaked out over nothing, but I wasn't gathering crystal clear information so in the wake of not being sure, I opted to play it safe. Probably should have asked a question here. I'm so stubborn sometimes.