Technical Wire wheel or sandblast

Hmm, spend the better part of a weekend or two handling a wire wheel and NOT being able to get into the small areas, and then needing physical therapy to undo the damage to your arms and ears vs. paying $300 to have it all done for me while I tend to other more enjoyable tasks........I'd gladly pay the $300. That's just me though.

 

I'd gladly pay $300 too, but I suspect it'll be much more expensive around these parts.

 

You guys got me convinced. I have a small blaster. Would an 80 gallon compressor work good enough. I have only blasted at work with a large compressor.

 

If money is not the issue I would defiantly say sand blast.

I wire wheeled my engine bay and I pulled several wires that were 1/2" + deep into my arms. Just a little bit was poking out and I didn't think much of it until I started pulling and it just kept coming. I also have a nice scar where it jumped back and took out a good 3" swath of my forearm.. also pulled several wires out of by Carhartt pants. So if you are going to wire wheel good hearing protection, a full face shield, heavy clothing and a respirator are required.

My 2 cents.

Ryland

 

I would go the sandblast way. Picking wires out of my skin is no good. Send it out, pay the man, drink beer, smile when it is done.

 

Check with a local powder coater and get a sandblast/ powder coat combo price.

 

I have less than 3 feet between my dryer and compressor,,never ever had a moisture problem. HRP

 

I learned to paint with the regulator/dryer as far from the compressor and as close to the gun as practical. This makes the whole system more efficient. Also less chance of moisture getting through.

Regarding compressors, the bigger the better in general, but you can blast big stuff with a small compressor, it just takes days to do, and your stuff starts rusting again before you get through. 80 gallons tells you nothing about the capacity of the compressor itself, but generally a compressor with a tank that size could be anything from 4 CFM to 50 CFM and more.

50 CFM and above is generally suitable for a sandblaster for small work like a car frame or engine block.

Regarding safety gear, you'll need at least a face shield, ear plugs, heavy gloves/gauntlets, and heavy coveralls + work boots. This is true if you blast OR wire brush, if you want to be protected. You wouldn't want to pick wires out of yourself, nor would you want to sandblast your foot.

 

Spend 5 minutes sandblasting outside will determine weather you will do it, or you will pay someone else to do it.

 

Cartridge mask under the hood or face shield. Those particle masks are a joke.

 

There is no question that blasting is better. Wire brushing tends to polish the surface whereas blasting creates a rough surface that is better for paint to adhere to.

 

FWIW....I see quite a few mobile soda blast enterprises around now. Parked next to one in KY two weeks ago. Nice set up and supposedly the "clean" way to go. Guess they come right to your house with their set up and blast away. They say it takes an hour to do a 2 door sedan like an early Impala.??? Wonder what it would take to do a frame?

 

Had an O T 71 Chevy truck chassis blasted and powder coated for $500 about 6 months ago.
Only way to go.

 

Took me 4 hours to do a small car frame using a rented 100 HP compressor, so I'd be super impressed if they blast one in only an hour or two.

 

So I used my blaster Friday, it will work fine, I'm just going to do it myself. I figured out that the problem wasn't the moisture, it's the gun. It works great but every now and then I have to tap it hard on the ground a couple times to unclog it. After I was done I used a leaf blower to blow all the old sand into a corner and then shoveled it up and threw it out. Thanks for all the advice fellas. I'll post a pic when I'm done.

 

Running the sand through a fine screen will help you too.

 

I just discovered that I have a small sandblaster my father bought some 40+ years ago. It'll be OK for the little blast cabinet I'm going to build.

I could actually blast the whole frame with it, but it'll take a week to do. I'll have to paint bits as I go along so it doesn't rust in the process.

 

Wow, $300?!? we blast them for $25 per wheel. Way faster than a wire wheel and a much better etch for your primer to bond.


Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

blasting will leave a better profile for the paint. If you can blast I say blast

 

Having done both I would take the sand blasting route every time. Wire brushing is a dirty, time consuming job and is nowhere near as efficient as sand blasting. And also, if you've ever had a wire wheel get caught in your shirt sleeve or hit bare skin you'll never want to do anything but sand blast afterwards. All of the safety items that other posters noted earlier are spot on, particularly the one about wearing a respirator. Two lungs are all you get.

 

A wire wheel is never as good as a good sand blasting. I don't have any sand blasting services available here anymore thanks to the EPA shutting them all down, so I'm left with wire wheel, phosphoric acid and needle scaler for the heavy stuff. I loath removing rust anymore, since I have sand blasted stuff in a professional environment using an EPA approved containment system and fully enclosed, air supplied, OSHA-approved space suit. A high volume blaster will strip a frame in an hour or two. A wire wheel would take days and you don't get anything out of the corners and crevices like a blaster will. The custom shops around here just buy new frame rails and panels instead of rust removal! Their customers must have pockets a mile deep. Wire wheels also are too soft to break up the thick oxide layers that form on steel. If its just red powdery rust, a wire wheel works. If it's the deep, pitted hard iron oxide that forms over years and years, only sand blasting or a needle scaler are going to do the trick.