To sand blast or not

[DaveK]

Bought a sand blaster a few days ago and it works great but, wondered how many folks use a chemical paint remover? The blaster does leave it a little rough and intend on hitting the parts with a palm sander and then use a self etching primer to smooth them out

Thanks for any thoughts
DaveK

 

[TWISTED]

After blasting I usually put on the primer and wetsand it. After you wetsand you can go on with the rest of the job. A good filler primer will smooth it out. The blasting also gives the primer a good surface to bite.

 

[Osh]

I would shoot a coat of epoxy primer then the filler primer. E coat is more water resistant whereas the filler primer tends to absorb water when you wetsand. it may take a year or 5 before you see the problem . why take a chance, I use e-coat on all bare metal and have'nt had a prob in a long long time.
Osh

 

[rex]

I use DP epoxy after I blast,the only benefit you'll get with a good etch primer is a touch of corrosion protection and a lighter wallet.I use 30/45 sand because that's the finest I can get here and it leaves a rough surface.If I have no mud work to do I use a primer surfacer over it after it's set a few days to shrink up some.Let the surfacer set a few days and sand it.If you push dry times or get too hot with the paint reducer the final finish will shrink up and have a rough look just like the blasted steel after it cures out.Usually if you sand and buff after a month it'll stay nice.

 

[DaveK]

Thanks guys

Although, not a word mentioned about chemical strippers. After body work completed, I was taught to bring it up with etch primer, primer filler, 600 grit sand and then bc/cc.

Thanks again
Dave

 

[TWISTED]

Chemical strippers are messy and dont get it all off. They can also cause problems with the paint if you don't get it out of all the cracks.
I take all of my stuff to get blasted by a local blasting company. They give me a good price because I am there every couple of days and it saves me time that I can be painting. I do this as a side job so anywhere I can save time is helpful.

 

[rex]

Yep,everyone but Twisted skated over the stripper.I use stripper often on repaints but as mentioned it's friggin messy and neutralization is a must.You have to be really careful to stay away from nooks and crannies and seams and crevices.I chemical strip the piece staying about 1/4" away from trouble spots and then blast and sand the remainder off,then I do as I said above.To neutralize the stripper I scrub it with a water hose and a red scuffy,let it dry then do the blasting and sanding.Where the stripper was used I prefer to DA that area with 180 instead of blast over that area too.