I'm thinking of restoring a Mk1 Mini shell and before you say it yes I know it is a fairly stupid Idea since I'm only 17 and don't know how to weld. YET
The shell needs welding to the boot floor,doors, sills and well quite a bit but I was watching a TV program where they had a VW beattle shell and sand or shot blasted it to remove all the dirt, paint and rust etc. I talked to some people about this who said it would damage alot of the Mini's bodywork but some did mention other forms of blasting, like bead blasting, bicarbonate of sod blasting(?) and some others. I'm just want to know your views on this.
1) What is better shot, sand or bead blasting or are there any other methods not including blasting that you can use to strip the bodyshell? or is there no need to strip the shell?2) What is involved in blasting a bodyshell (i.e. steps) and is it possible to do it at home and if so what tools and safety equipment are required?
3) I'm worried about if I did get it blasted can I also get it coated with a layer of Zinc or something to stop it rusting and would it be possible to weld the bodyshell after this layer was applied? and will this protect the cars shell from rusting?4) What roughly would be the price to strip a small shell like the Mini's and are there any places in the London, Essex, Kent or within max 60miles from Greater London that would shot blast and also prime or coat the shell in a thin layer of Zinc.
I also need to know if coating the shell in Zinc will be any good to prevent from rusting because I don't want the car to get stripped down to bare metal get it back to my house and it going from a nice silvery colour to redy brown colour.
Thanks I know I've asked alot of questions but I'm a complete novice and need as much help as possible so even just answering a single part of a question would help enourmously.
thanks in advance James