Sandblasting talk

chrisf said
Bill. re read your post. my 2 cents. 30 mesh (36 grit) is something i would use on a horrid semi truck frame (and i dont go that coarse). its not for automotive stuff. set it aside and find yourself some recycled glass. preferably in the 50-100 grit (45-100 mesh) or 30-60. 30-60 is the coarsest i go. 50-100 works great. its totally white metal. clean, no ghosting. i run. 30-60 grit and 40-70 rarely. 50-100 most of the time 100-200 for sheetmetal. your stuff will not be "peppered" and you dont have to open the valve so far to make it flow (saving some air)

#1 thing for good trouble free blasting is picking the right media as one media doesn't do every job well.
"sand" please stop using it. you already have heard the silicosis lecture i am sure but stay away please. and...sand sucks up more water. your making mud in your pot/flow issues

I don't want to argue with anything you've said, chrisf, because you know more about it than I do. However, we need to bear in mind that you are working on rare and/or valuable cars. So, in defense of sandblasting with 30 mesh sand: although it does leave the bare metal surface a tiny bit pockmarked, one coat of primer levels it out perfectly and the slightly rough surface gives the primer an excellent tooth to adhere to.

I understand that using sand is not for everybody. For example, a restoration shop working on rare and valuable cars would never blast with sand because they feel it damages the metal too much. However, I'm working on an old Dodge Bros. car. These cars are not worth very much (about as much as a Ford Model T) because they are too slow and underpowered, so you can't drive them anywhere too easily. But the DB is one helluva car mechanically, and it deserves restoration for the sake of preserving history. For financial reasons, no DB car will ever be totally restored except as a labor of love, as I am doing. The steel used the DB body parts is extremely thick and hard, and can withstand sandblasting well. I think the sandblasted parts look pretty good after primer and paint.