sand/bead blasting bodyshell.

Can anyone recommend a good firm to blast a complete bodyshell?

I need a very thorough job doing by someone who has had previous experience of doing complete shells. I can travel a reasonable distance, but prefer to be within 50 miles of Sheffield.

Thanks in advance, Neil.

P.S. If replying direct, please remove the spam block from address.

Reply to
Neil Wallace
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Absolutely yes, although unfortunately it's miles from Sheffield. Called CCC (Cleaning Consultants Contractors Ltd) they use bead, plastic, shot, even walnut shells according to the requirement. They can take off one layer of paint at a time or go back to bare metal without damaging the panels (a real danger with the less experienced workmen).

Weird place - used to be a farm, now has many hangar-sized sheds and blasting is all they do. Based in Sussex, tel 01403 752347 / 752247.

Did my E-Type and I'm a fussy bugger.

Hope you can find someone more local to you, but do be careful. In a lengthy complete restoration I learnt that it's better to do it right than do it cheaply. And in this particular instance I had not previously realised just how specialised blasting is.

Geoff MacK

Reply to
Geoff Mackenzie

careful. In a

it right than

previously

Especially on things like bodyshells. They are so easily distorted by blasting. An aquiantance of mine had a Lamborghini shell almost scrapped by an incompetent blasting Co. Twas a very expensive lesson he learned. Mike.

Reply to
Mike G

Thanks Geoff. Sussex is perhaps a bit too far to travel, but at least if I can't find anywhere a bit more local I have them to fall back on.

I'm well aware of the dangers of blasting a shell, but I'm more interested in a thorough job of taking it back to bare metal rather than getting a concourse result. The shell is a Talbot Sunbeam rallycar and with the fancy rollcage fitted it's a very intricate job which will require a lot of care to get rid of every bit of paint. The thing is covered in dents and welding distortion anyway so I know I've got a job with the filler when it comes back :( I had a similar shell done a few years ago but they were a bit careless and they left areas untouched. To my mind, if they don't remove

100% of the paint there's no point in having any of it done.

Thanks again.

Reply to
Neil Wallace.

Geoff Mackenzie ( snipped-for-privacy@acsysindia.freeserve.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Again, miles from Sheffield, but a bit nearer than Sussex...

I've used Chiltern Blast Cleaning in some units at the back of Bovingdon Airfield near Hemel Hempstead in Herts - 01442 832262.

I used 'em for a complete tubular steel subframe off a Citroen Mehari, and the results were spot on and well keyed for painting. Like your Sunbeam, plenty of nooks and crannies, and no remains of old grot/paint. I've also seen a complete 2cv shell they blasted and primed (and you can't get much thinner steel than that!) with no distortion, and a very nice finish on the primer, ready for the paint shop.

Reply to
Adrian

Less exotic than a Lamborghini, but a friend had a Jowett Javelin completely ruined by an incompetent shotblaster. Looked like a Baghdad taxi which had been parked next to a suicide bomber.

Geoff MacK

Reply to
Geoff Mackenzie

I think that the danger is panel distortion due to spreading the metal. NGB

Reply to
No Good Boyo

Don't forget your body shell should be treated and painted immediately after bead blasting because bare steel starts to oxidize within seconds of exposure.

Steve.

Reply to
Stephen Hull

Talking of paint, what's best for priming freshly blasted steel? Is etch primer necessary? The last time I had the shell blasted I used Finnegan's No1 on the underside and it seemed to do an excellent job and painted over well with 2 pack.

all suggestions welcome...

Reply to
Neil Wallace.
[snip]

Applying a Phosphoric acid solution would be the first step when coating bare steel providing your not galvanizing the shell.

You can use acid etch primers on steel but acid etch is more suitable for use on Aluminium. Aluminium poses a problem when trying to get paint to stick because it is an oily metal so needs extra help with the keying process. Aluminium repels conventional paints so an acid etch is used to burn into the aluminium creating a perfect key for subsequent coats.

The shell must not be blasted on damp cold days either as this will only result in immediate surface corrosion defeating the object of bead/sand blasting. I presume you have somewhere or someone imminently lined up to undertake the task of painting the shell after blasting?.

The type of primers you choose would largely depend on what finishing substrate you want on your vehicle. If you plan to DIY then Nitro-Cellulose or Acrylic bases are ideal, Twin-packs however require specialised equipment if you plan on spraying.

Steve.

Reply to
Stephen Hull

"Stephen Hull" wrote

I had no idea you could get a stripped shell galvanised. What sort of company does this? Presumably you could repair a rusted shell, then shotblast it and galvanise it for longevity before painting?

Reply to
The Blue Max

Cold galvanise spray - do it yourself. Personally I'd just go for a zinc-rich primer, like David's 182. Brush it on for small bits, spray it for a large job (but it's a little fussy about viscosity, so be careful when thinning and use a proper viscosity cup)

If you have it hot galvanised you'll have no end of distortion trouble on thin steel bodywork, not to mention the problem of closed box sections. It could be useful on a Land Rover chassis, or a towbar, but the risk of cracking is rather high for suspension components.

Phosphoric acid is a waste of time on clean steel. If you're looking for a simple blackened finish that you're leaving unpainted (tools etc.), you'll either have to heat it or brown it (a controlled rusting) first. If you want to do a good job, try Googling for parkerizing.

-- Die Gotterspammerung - Junkmail of the Gods

Reply to
Andy Dingley

I have a zinc spraying gun, that melts a zinc wire in an oxy-acetylene flame, the wire being pulled through by an air turbine. This lets you zinc spray almost anything (including wood should you wish to !). To get good adhesion the surface needs to be rough (as in grit blasting) and the finish is never going to be like a babies bottom. Microscope individual globules of zinc splat onto the surface at just above their melting point, and coalesce into a slightly porous mass mechanically keyed to the surface.

The same gun can be used to build up worn crankshafts and the like by first spraying molybdenum as a key coat onto a roughened surface, then a carbon steel which is then ground back in the normal manner to size.

Andrew Mawson

Reply to
Andrew Mawson

I merely suggested that if you did have your shell acid etched you cannot apply a Galvanized coating over acid etch primer. I've no idea where you can get your shell Galvanized I'm afraid, You can however apply acid etch over a galvanized coating which is recommended to obtain sufficient key for subsequent coatings.

It's probably all academic because your body shell is more than likely steel and therefore won't need acid etching anyway.

Steve.

Reply to
Stephen Hull

"Stephen Hull" wrote

I've just ha a shell repaired and resstored and was wondering if I missed a trick to preserve it, i.e. dip it in something to put a coat of zinc on before painting it! Evidently not.

I've always wondered what happens to galvanaised cars (like Audis) that get dented. Do you get electrolytic corrosion where the zinc touches steel?

Reply to
The Blue Max

No, because the zinc (which is what galvanising is) sacrificially gets disolved even if not actually covering all the steel. This is why zinc (and some times magnesium) chunk are bolted to the keel of steel yachts to stop them rusting.

Andrew Mawson

Reply to
Andrew Mawson

BMC used to fit sacrificial anodes to most of their cars (i.e. they corrode rather than the body). Trouble is, they were designed to be doorhandles.

Geoff MacK

Reply to
Geoff Mackenzie

Not only BMC, Geoff. AFAIR it was standard practice at one time. Some designers used bonnet and boot hinges as well :-(

Ron Robinson

Reply to
R. N. Robinson

I'm thinking of getting a Mini's bodyshell shot blasted or bead blasted, and I'm wondering if you have to fix the welds first before you blast it or after when the zinc is on it. I did see someone of TV shot blast a beetles shell and then galvanise it then weld it. also does anyone know what electrolysis or something is, I think it's like hot galvanising. (complete novice so please be kind)

thanks jbug

Reply to
jbug

message news:...

I seem to have got involved with this, so here is my 2p worth. When something has been shotblasted it is in ideal condition to start rusting and it will if something isn't done about it immediately. If you have bits of your bodyshell that are protected from rusting by paintwork or whatever, don't remove it. Deal with the bits that are rusting. There is also the risk of mechanical damage if the shot blasters don't know what they are doing. But I think we have had this discussion quite recently, haven't we?

Ron Robinson

Reply to
R.N. Robinson

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