11 replies to this topic

[tomkidd]

Hi guys. Has anyone got any advice or experience in sand blasting a shell? Im after someone who knows what they are doing in Preston, lancs kind of area?

[mk1leg]

Hi..!..Tom sandblasting is not the way to go as it bites into metal and you will have to put a ton of primer and rub and aton of priner and rub till you have a nice clean flat finish for colour respray I use Nitromorse auto paint spripper splash it on and see it work before your eyes it magic than wash off with soapy water dry with heat gun and use ech primer job done ..............

[Dan]

Crushed walnut shells make a good blasting media for bodywork, doesn't damage metal but eats paint. It will still blow seriously rusty areas to pieces though. Any good body shop should be able to get all kinds of different media for blasting. As above though paint stripping is simple and effective.

[BowersMini]

is sandblasting still bad if u get it done by pros and primed by pros?

[nurseholliday]

It depends what pressure you use, and how intelligent you are with the blasting gun.

Nut-blasting will be kinder to the shell overall, but if you use it at the low pressure required to save the shell you'll barely remove surface rust! A professional should know exactly what they're doing, I spent a long time sand and nut blasting.

[tomkidd]

Cheers guys. Im not after blasting the bodypanels, just the floor, the underneath, the boot and the engine bay?

[nurseholliday]

Sandblasting should be no problem for that dude.

[tomkidd]

Ive been quoted £220 for blasting the parts I want doing. The inside, boot and engine bay would be done using recycled media, and the underside would be done using un-recycled. Any thoughts?

[rsk289]

Sandblasting is not a problem at all for a Mini bodyshell, as long as the blaster knows what he's doing. I had my '68 Mustang fastback shell, roof, enormous rear wings and all, done a couple of years ago and there's no rippling, warping etc anywhere.

 07_Euroclassic_MSA_009c.jpg   652.95K   12 downloads

...so a mini shell should be totally safe. My MkII Cooper will be blasted as soon as I've finished the basic welding.
If it blows holes in the badly rusted bits, well, that's what you want, isn't it?

Roger

[panelbeaterpeter]

Yeah sand blasting is fine if done by the right person, but walnut shell is the safest media to use. If you attempt to blast it yourself with a hand blaster, be very careful as it's easy to warp the panels.

[tomkidd]

Cheers guys. The shell is in suprisingly sound condition and the blasting is only being done to tidy up the surface rust etc and show me what I have got underneath. The interior and engine bay are just being done so it can be keyed for paint etc

Edited by tomkidd, 08 January 2008 - 10:15 PM.

[panelbeaterpeter]

Wow that shell does look in pretty good nick!