Media blasting experience?

I'm currently about 80% done w/metal replacement on my Sprite. Soon I'll be ready to strip paint; I'll have no problem using chemical stripper on the large, smooth, exterior panels, but I'll need to media blast all the other areas- interior, engine bay, boot, etc.- that I don't want the agent to hide in (and reappear later). I'm looking for some feedback from someone who has stripped their shell themselves. Harbor Freight offers a pressurized can outfit for about $75. I'm not looking to make a living out of this, so I don't need the best of equipment (nor can I afford it). I could have it done professionly which is $$, plus buying a trailer hitch and rentals of a trailer. I'm willing to contend w/the mess and the plus of owning the equipment when I'm done. Any thoughts?

I suspect that you will always have some "sand" in you shell, even if you spend several days rotating the shell and rinsing and blowing it out. You should consider the cfm of your compressor before taking on this task yourself. You may find it frustrating to wait for it to catch up. Chemical stripping can be a mess, I've done it. I decided to use a stripper that doesn't use methylene chloride. This takes much longer and is more difficult. I also found that the purple "3M Sand Blaster" disc for a 4" grinder to be very effective . It doesn't "load up" and doesn't get as hot as 36 grit sanding discs. Last thought for the moment: On those large flat areas done with chemical stripper you may want to hit them lightly with the media blast to give the metal some tooth. Also consider the use of some self etching primer.

Here's how I get rid of sand & it works every time....put the stripped car on a trailer, get out on the interstate & run about an hour or so down the road at interstate speeds....pull off side of road & turn car around on trailer & zip home....never any sand left in crevasses - 70mph blows it out!

Interesting idea Tony. I'll have to try that next time. We usually put them on the rotisserie and rotate them as we blow them out with air hoses. Usually the bulk of the sand is gone by the time we get to any final finishes. I guess we could put the rotisserie and car on the trailer, so that we could turn it upside down for part of the trip! That would get some stares! ;-)

Actually, carrying a car on a rotisserie upside down is best way....my MGB rotisserie has a backbone that can be added to fit a Midget!

I've considered building myself a rotisserie before I take on the next MG. Unlike the cars that Tony finds down South, the "project" cars in the Great White North are all Scrap yard material that require extensive metal work. There are plans on the MGExperience site for one. Did you guys build your own? Any advice?

Ours was fabricated. The main frame is made out of 4 inch steel pipe. It is adjustable in all sorts of ways. It has been modified numerous times and sports a set of 13" trailer tire that make moving it outdoors a breeze. In the garage we sometimes put it on wheel dollies to allow it to be easily maneuvered. It is used mainly for budy tubs of muscle cars and street rods, but can also be used to hold unibody cars. The height is adjustable by use of a couple of old trailer wenches. It doesn't look like much, but serves its purpose well. Some one once mentioned using a couple of cheap engine stands to rotate a midget.

I purchased mine - professionally built

Thanks for the info,folks. I'll try to find some of the "Sandblaster" discs tomorrow; great idea on hitting all panels lightly for 'tooth'; been eyeing Eastwoods self-etching primer. $10K question- what's the min. I'll need on a compressor? May go to TSC tomorrow and see what they have and the prices.

I built a rotator from 2x10 lumber for my 75 B conversion to V6. It worked great. I have pics if anyone wants them.
The car is now off the rotator and on a simple rolling platform since I got all the panels in and the suspension mounts in place for a panhard and traction bars and painted.
As far as stripping a car, I have now twice used media blasting in combination with sand blasting of underbody, interior, and engine bay. Car's tub and parts go off on a trailer and come back epoxy primed looking like new! This one was $1,000 2 years ago and the guy uses baking soda.
Having done both chemical and 3M stripper wheels I will never go back to them.

Man...I tell you what, in an election year the media really needs to be blasted....they don't pay attention to the important issues while focussing on cosmetics. How sad. I say, blast the media all you want!!! If they're supposed to keep the politicians honest, who keeps them honest?



[ 01-28-2004: Message edited by: lawguy ]</p>

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