To: Larry Snyder
Before starting to strip the car for repaint you should know a little
about the methods available. By media blasting I assume you mean "plastic"
media. Other methods include sandblasting, and chemical immersion.
Chemical stripping is very effective and cleans hidden areas of rust as well
as the exposed areas. It also destroys everything that is not good metal.
Rubber, plastic, vinyl, cloth, everything must be removed or it will not
come back from the treatment. This method is often costly as well.
Plastic Media blasting is really effective for paint removal but it's
lousy for rust. The plastic beads are too soft and applied with insufficient
velocity to remove rust. The advantages are that it's "cooler" and wont
warp long flat panels (like your bonnet) and that it's generally cheaper
than other methods (the plastic media is reusable).
Sandblasting is great for paint and rust removal but the higher velocity
of application generates heat, which can warp sheet metal. Also the sand
being what it is has a shorter useful life. It is recommended that blasting
sand be used only once (Unlike plastic, I can't be washed of contaminants)
leading to a higher cost. In actual practice most contractors do reuse sand
but only once.
So, what to do? My suggestion would be to strip the paint with plastic media
and have the firewall sandblasted. It has enough reeinforcement to resist
warpage. Alternatively, if you can find a really talented sandblaster, it
is possible for him to blast the entire car without warpage. I know. I just
got back several panels for my TR3 from a very good sandblaster named
Rick Madej (518) 842-5308. No warpage at all and all rust and paint removed.
He's quite reasonable on price as well. A professional restorer here uses
him to clean ALL of the cars he restores. He's located in upstate NY is
that's accessable to any SOLers. (End of endorsement)
Good luck, Larry.
Rik, you wouldn't happen to have a spare set of '70 Spit seats would you?,
Schlierer
|