Walnut blasting...

[71 Meep Meep]

If you're sending it out, do they not know what to use? Are you trying to get them to use walnut shells? I will say, Media Blasting is a very important part at the beginning! I did some Chevy truck inner fenders the other day, looked good...took the black paint off, rust, little pin holes developed right before my eyes! Would not have discovered this if the guy just 'sanded' and sprayed! It not only removed rust and paint, it tests the metal for you, meaning, finds the weak areas that you'll need to fix and pay attention to before putting paint down!

No thats not it , they at one time use to do media/bead blasting now they only use walnut. They said they would use sand on the engine bay,undercarrage,door jambs and walnut on all the exterior surfaces. And my question was to determine if that sounds like the correct way or should i look for another shop that uses media/bead blasting.

 

[Ron 73]

The idea of it sure sounds good 70redbee, Talking him into it? Ill watch from a safe distance, i think i may of done the "My bad" for this day with the black magic that i now think was something else, like maybe Black Jack maybe.. For that i apologize! My bad! Ive been wrong before but i hate getting that pitch fork caught in my own britches!

I still swear there was a putty called by that name years ago though.

 

[moparmarks]

Like Donny stated blasting needs to be done correctly and will open up all the weak spots.
Here is another member's car that just got blasted. Look closely. He has quite a few small patches to do throughout. Not too bad. Seen alot wrose.
http://www.forbbodiesonly.com/moparforum/showthread.php?34092-1972-satellite-sebring-plus/page2

 

[Donny]

Sand will work, but, the problems really with Sand is the vast amounts of Free Silica it releases when its smashes into your car. And, chances are if they are mixing medias for the task -- and what you indicated sounds like they are trying to do it cheap; and if they are trying to do it cheap, likely sand blasting outside, and, (this really is out of your car/concern lane as a customer) the blaster will likely be with minimal breathing air protective equipment. And, if they are headed down the cheap lane, chances are pretty good they will say "Good enough" on your car while leaving a patch untouched, or not touched enough? I'm just saying this from my observations and of course knowing what people do.

I use the same media for the entire vehicle; its all soft reusable stuff, with a touch of Staurolite to speed it all up a bit, and leave a nice profile for paint to stick. Yeah, I take a while, usually about 10 days for the entire car, but, I do it like I'd want my own done.

Thanks for the good words folks! That would be a helluva operation if I was mobile!

- - - Updated - - -

Sand will work, but, the problems really with Sand is the vast amounts of Free Silica it releases when its smashes into your car. And, chances are if they are mixing medias for the task -- and what you indicated sounds like they are trying to do it cheap; and if they are trying to do it cheap, likely sand blasting outside, and, (this really is out of your car/concern lane as a customer) the blaster will likely be with minimal breathing air protective equipment. And, if they are headed down the cheap lane, chances are pretty good they will say "Good enough" on your car while leaving a patch untouched, or not touched enough? I'm just saying this from my observations and of course knowing what people do.

I use the same media for the entire vehicle; its all soft reusable stuff, with a touch of Staurolite to speed it all up a bit, and leave a nice profile for paint to stick. Yeah, I take a while, usually about 10 days for the entire car, but, I do it like I'd want my own done.

Thanks for the good words folks! That would be a helluva operation if I was mobile!

 

[71 Meep Meep]

Sand will work, but, the problems really with Sand is the vast amounts of Free Silica it releases when its smashes into your car. And, chances are if they are mixing medias for the task -- and what you indicated sounds like they are trying to do it cheap; and if they are trying to do it cheap, likely sand blasting outside, and, (this really is out of your car/concern lane as a customer) the blaster will likely be with minimal breathing air protective equipment. And, if they are headed down the cheap lane, chances are pretty good they will say "Good enough" on your car while leaving a patch untouched, or not touched enough? I'm just saying this from my observations and of course knowing what people do.

I use the same media for the entire vehicle; its all soft reusable stuff, with a touch of Staurolite to speed it all up a bit, and leave a nice profile for paint to stick. Yeah, I take a while, usually about 10 days for the entire car, but, I do it like I'd want my own done.

Thanks for the good words folks! That would be a helluva operation if I was mobile!

- - - Updated - - -

Sand will work, but, the problems really with Sand is the vast amounts of Free Silica it releases when its smashes into your car. And, chances are if they are mixing medias for the task -- and what you indicated sounds like they are trying to do it cheap; and if they are trying to do it cheap, likely sand blasting outside, and, (this really is out of your car/concern lane as a customer) the blaster will likely be with minimal breathing air protective equipment. And, if they are headed down the cheap lane, chances are pretty good they will say "Good enough" on your car while leaving a patch untouched, or not touched enough? I'm just saying this from my observations and of course knowing what people do.

I use the same media for the entire vehicle; its all soft reusable stuff, with a touch of Staurolite to speed it all up a bit, and leave a nice profile for paint to stick. Yeah, I take a while, usually about 10 days for the entire car, but, I do it like I'd want my own done.

Thanks for the good words folks! That would be a helluva operation if I was mobile!

Sounds like I should look elsewhere.

 

[xj964]

I agree with 70redbee ^^^^^^^^ When ever I hear or see anything about blasting I wait to see what Donny suggests

 

[Donny]

There's just so many variables to weigh in on in this lane as a prospective customer looking to get your car blasted. Much of the time the customer is at a phase where he just doesn't know that much, and getting educated with hard and true facts and truths always is good to know. And, the bottom line is that if you're dropping your car off, you hope your guy will handle it at least at the 80% level of love you have for it! Media Blasting is hard dirty work, but, it yields a tangible net effect that is valuable. I've found no reason to discount this phase of your build, and I try to make it an experience that is remembered for the good. But, as this thread discusses, there are many angles people attack this beast, and, sadly, all think they have it nailed down solid and they're the right ones. (Speaking of media blasters out there, sad thing is many of them can't legitimize a sentence and spell worth a crap either). Good luck on your car, hope you get the issues nailed down solid!

 

[71 Meep Meep]

There's just so many variables to weigh in on in this lane as a prospective customer looking to get your car blasted. Much of the time the customer is at a phase where he just doesn't know that much, and getting educated with hard and true facts and truths always is good to know. And, the bottom line is that if you're dropping your car off, you hope your guy will handle it at least at the 80% level of love you have for it! Media Blasting is hard dirty work, but, it yields a tangible net effect that is valuable. I've found no reason to discount this phase of your build, and I try to make it an experience that is remembered for the good. But, as this thread discusses, there are many angles people attack this beast, and, sadly, all think they have it nailed down solid and they're the right ones. (Speaking of media blasters out there, sad thing is many of them can't legitimize a sentence and spell worth a crap either). Good luck on your car, hope you get the issues nailed down solid!

Well..... apparently quite a few body shops are sending their Resto jobs to this place. There are very few that do media in my area.
He did stress that walnut was to be used on ALL exterior panels as well as interior and trunk that will see paint. He said there was no real need for walnut on the undercarriage and that sand would be more effective on the undercoating.As for the engine bay is my choice if i want walnut there too.I mentioned that the undercarriage will also be body color and he said as it will not see direct sunlight, the sand will not make any real noticeable difference and will still take a good shine when prepped right.

Your thoughts Donny.. Does this sound right ? First time having this done so a second opinion is always apprceated.

Keeping in mind this will not be a show car.

 

[Donny]

Its a time-driven process, sand is fast and cheap, and, as I said earlier the concern is theirs for safety etc. My game plan when I do a car is if the guy wants a show car, it's prepped properly when it leaves me to be such a car! I don't treat the underside harder (or harsher) than the top side. Are they putting it on a rotisserie? And, how many restoration shops are you speaking of? I mean to be a dedicated restoration shop is difficult because you got tons of dreamers out there with little to no money. You should see some of their jaws drop when I say its close to 2k to do their car. I just smile, and say have a nice day and maybe they call back, maybe not. Getting back to undercoating, yeah, PITA, but, I scrape mine off with a scraper and propane torch. No need to waste valuable blast time and materials eating through that crap, plus I get to see the vehicle in a very close and personal inspection this way. This is why I take about 10 days to do your car, this is why I'm retired from the Army and can afford to take 10 days on your car, and this is why the sand blaster needs to move it out in a day or two so he can take in another job! Good luck!

 

[70redbee]

Taking 10 days and getting 2k for a job including labor and material is damn cheap if you ask me. That is only $200 per day, almost slave wages. You have to be doing other things in that 10 days to make enough to survive. I understand you get an Army pension, but you still would starve at this price. I know you love and respect this hobby but not to the point of spending your own money to support it. At the same time not everyone can afford 2k to have their car done, sad but true. So what else do you do to make a living? By the way, I applaud your dedication to the hobby.

 

[Donny]

Trust me, I don't bust my *** every one of those ten days, I have currently 2 paying resto projects ongoing. If I get at it quickly, I can get a car in and out in about 4 or 5 days. My biggest expenses are electricity, and blasting media. So, minimizing those expenses is done by scraping off the undercoating, and seam sealers, look for bondo and try to chip it out or off but usually that never happens. So, less time in the blast room is always best, plus, getting familiar with the car as I manually scrape it off helps me know where the bad areas are when I'm in my helmet and its a dust cloud in there while working. Good call, maybe a price-hike is in order?