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Technical Sand blasting a cowl panel for rust removal - question

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Barsteel, May 14, 2016.

  1. Barsteel
    Joined: Oct 15, 2008
    Posts: 732

    Barsteel
    Member
    from Monroe, CT

    Hello!

    My '65 Fury III was missing a cowl panel when I bought it. Skip at French Lake Auto Parts in MN came to the rescue with a replacement panel, but, as one would expect from a junkyard car, it has a lot of surface rust on it.

    It seems to me that a trip to the blaster would be the best course of action to remove all of the rust and prep it for paint, but I've also read (here) of the danger of warping large panels.

    Given that this is a small panel with lots of bends/creases/contours, etc, and no large expanses of sheet metal, do you guys think it would be safe to have the panel blasted?

    I could do electrolysis, but that won't remove the paint.

    Thoughts?

    Chris
     

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  2. scotts52
    Joined: Apr 7, 2008
    Posts: 2,725

    scotts52
    Member

    Use walnut shells, not sand for blasting.
     
  3. Jalopy Joker
    Joined: Sep 3, 2006
    Posts: 31,179

    Jalopy Joker
    Member

    yep, other media besides sand should be used - if the shop doing blasting is a good one for doing car sheet metal they will offer alternatives
     
  4. Sandblasting will be safe as long as a fine sand is used, not the semi-gravel some commercial blasters use. And sandblasting per se doesn't cause warping, that's caused by using too-high blasting air pressure on large panels.
     
    volvobrynk and F&J like this.

  5. go to Northern Tool and buy a small siphon sand blaster , along with a 50 lb bag of black diamond and do it yourself

    with a small project like that you can get by with a small air compressor...just stop to let it catch up

    like this: http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_33184_33184
     
  6. If you can get it in a blasting cabinet most use fine grade sand or glass bead.

    I wouldn't think warping would be a concern on that panel. HRP
     
    volvobrynk likes this.
  7. Be careful if taking somewhere to be blasted......as others have said, its not the sand being 'evil', but rather the pressure and technique.
     
  8. volvobrynk
    Joined: Jan 30, 2011
    Posts: 3,587

    volvobrynk
    Member
    from Denmark

    If you think that it will get warped, I surges something more sensitive: citrus acid, and water in a oh plastic container.
    Leave it in a day and check it.
    Wash, dry, paint and use

    Just an idea
     
  9. 1946caddy
    Joined: Dec 18, 2013
    Posts: 2,060

    1946caddy
    Member
    from washington

    It's not really the pressure that warps panels but the heat that is generated by holding the nozzle to close to the work and close to a 90 degree angle. Use a fine blasting medium with the nozzle at 45 degrees and keep the nozzle moving. If there is more than one layer of paint, remove one layer at a time. People sometimes get into trouble when there's one spot or area that seems to take forever and they get careless and get to close and concentrate on that spot.
     
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  10. jailbar joe
    Joined: Nov 21, 2014
    Posts: 415

    jailbar joe
    Member

    a bit of diluted phosphoric acid and wipe the rust of ...if it is only surface rust...then clean it up and paint it.
    or if rust is a little more aggressive than surface rust...a couple of days immersed in citric acid will have it clean as a whistle......and both methods....no warpage;)
     
    volvobrynk likes this.
  11. i use these guys and never had a warped panel. quite the operation. they have multiple cabinets and a "media" and a "grit" booth. DSCF3859.JPG
     
    volvobrynk likes this.
  12. Fortunateson
    Joined: Apr 30, 2012
    Posts: 5,331

    Fortunateson
    Member

    Reverse electrolysis, simple to set up, environmentally safe, cheap, in short excellent.
     
  13. I sand blasted the cowl panel on a Mustang last fall. Worked fine, because, like you said, the panel is small, and it has lots of strength from the vent slots. Mine was not surface rusted, but was coated in Imron and primer. I would never, ever sand blast, with sand, any other outer panel. Stay back from panel, pay attention and you should be fine. Surface rust should come off quickly, rusted deeply and I would think of other ways as have been noted.
     

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