Blasting!

No doubt you'll get more informative answers from others, but I believe sand blasting is now seriously frowned upon as a health hazard.

Do you have a very big compressor and no neighbours? I had a go with my 2HP 25Litre compressor and one of those 20 quid blasting guns you get in autojumbles, but didn't get very far. It would do a couple of square inches at a time before running out of puff. A very nice job, but far too slow and frustrating for serious work. Also the sand (OK I was being naughty) got absolutely everywhere. I concluded that a (homemade) cabinet and much bigger compressor were essential, so resorted to drill mounted wire brushes.

There are many, many media used for blasting ranging from lead shot to walnut shells via plastic beads. Suggest you contact CCC in West Sussex on

01403 752347. Not as expensive as you might expect, and absolute specialists.

No connection, just a very satisfied customer on more than one occasion.

Geoff MacK

I'm now approaching the end of my 15-year rebuild, and must have spent a fortune on various wire brushes and rust removers. I shudder to think of the time it took as well. I am convinced that investing in decent blasting gear would have been cheaper. I did get some bits blasted by an engineering company but it was expensive and not all that good. So many of these outfits are accustomed to dealing with lorry trailers, bridges etc. You could get the stripped shell blasted but it needs painting very quickly - within a day. A good move is hot zinc spraying after the blasting - you more or less get a galvanised shell. But you have to have completed all the welding first. The dilemma is that you have to get it clean before you know what to cut out and weld - all very frustrating. So I think the plan may be to dismantle and steam clean the shell, do all the welding, then blast and zinc spray. But there will still be a lot of hand work in removing old underseal. One last point - highly abrasive blasting media can thin panels dramatically - just about OK for hefty suspension bits but dangerous for bodies.

Bead blasting is quite gentle. Sand blasting is only really suitable for chassis as it will rip holes in tinwork like car body work, mudguards, etc. Not really very practical for home use as some sort of cabinet is required to hold the beads so that they can be filtered from the debris and fed back into the gun again. What can be blasted is then limited by the size of the cabinet. As someone else has mentioned it's slow and expensive. At once place I went they let me use the machine for myself and I then discovered why it was so expensive as there's no such thing as a quick job. In England I found that the air so so moisture laden, even in summer, that items bead blasted were so clean that rust would restart again very quickly, even overnight indoors. Having spent (wasted) a lot of money on blasting, and still having rust reappear under paintwork, I came to the conclusion that simply a wire brush and Jenolite (see another item in this Group) was far more effective in holding rust at bay.

Peter C.

Hmmm. Interesting. I am going to make further enquiries into the cost of the equipment etc. I have a an MG which is going to need everything de-rusting and painting (see "Legal question - conclusion") especially the chassis which is box section in places.

Thanks for the answers. Pete W

Hi Pete

What area are you from ? What sort of budget have you to put towards chassis cleaning ? Let me know..

Art

Hi Pete,

South Leicestershire, is a long way from me. But there must be plenty or decent blasting companies not far from you or zinc dip company. See what I did to an Aston Martin

this should protect for about 40yrs from rust.That is if you feel it isworth doing. After Zinc dip then can have stove enamelled or powder coatedfor even more protection and looks. Love to see pics of car that you have as it goes thru new changes..

Art

When Practical Classics did the Herald restoration they used a mobile blasting company called T C Seamarks (01462 813254), at a cost of £150, if that helps.

Don't forget industrial grade baking soda too, for finer and more intricate work too.