I have my car completely stripped down to body and frame, I have the front clip off (It is going to be replaced). There seems to be a black primer that was put on the car that has small bubbles in places. I am not even close to having the car ready for paint. I need to replace the floor panels and trunk panels. My question is, Should i get it sand blasted so I can work with the bare metal to clean up all of the rust or should I hold off until it can be painted shortly afterwards. I have the car in a very cold shop. It will stay out of the wet conditions that we have here in utah. But I don't want to create more of a rust problem than I already have. Is this something I should consider, This is my first attempt to restore a car and I am unsure on what to do next.

I'd pass on the blasting until you at least have the stuff together to lay down some primer. I usually like to shoot epoxy primer on bare metal, but etching primer will do as well.

The real problem is that surface rust can start with conditions that seem dry, why take the chance?

There really isn't any advantage to blasting early, except that it show all the flaws.

If you do blast, cover with something cloth every night, I got some morning dew on one of mine.

I'd pass on the sandblasting sheetmetal period. Of course unless you like a bondo covered car to repair warps. I'm sure many will argue otherwise. Don't buy it. I have a friend that does media blasting. I said "media" not "sand". He strips exotic sports cars, regular cars, fiberglass cars, aluminum...etc. The substraight on sheetmetal is perfect for adhesion after being blasted with ground glass.
I can give you the phone number to every bodyshop in town if you are a non-believer. Sand is for the beach, not your car. Here's one of many that he provides this service for. Call them and ask them if they sandblast thier cars.
http://surreymotorsports.com/

I've read a lot of previous topics about sandblasting. I'm interested because I hope to be at the point of blasting/ painting this summer. Almost everybody is negative about sand blasting and very little people talk about glass blasting. It can be even be used for stainless or aluminium parts. IMO the only negative about glass is, that it does not work so fast, it takes a while before painted parts are down to the bare metal. But this can also be an advantage because the metal will not warp or dent or whatever.

Sand blasting is prohibited over here in Holland (and maybe in other countries in Europe) because the sand cracks into such small dust that dust masks (even industrial ones) can't filter the microscopic dust and can't give the user the safety of not getting dust lungs (black lungs).
Glass blasting is a very common method in Holland and almost every blasting company has a glass blasting cabin, big or small. I have the luck the company where I work has a small cabin where I can blast small parts like control arms, tie-rods, sway bars, calipers, small body panels etc.

So my point is, isn't sand blasting forbidden in USA and is glass blasting not very populair in USA?? Or is it very expensive?

from what i have recently read and seen (go to Barefoot Dave's website), I have become an advocate for acid dipping (for body work not personal consumption). recommend you research acid dipping. good luck

I was reading about walnut shell blasting, and other types of media. I was just asking this because I know my car probably has filler in different places and other holes that might of been filled with filler. I can't find anyone locally that does anything other than sandblasting. I will stay away from sandblasting because of what I have read thus far. Maybe just getting the air sander out and attacking it that way would be a better course of action?

I sand blasted my entire body, hood, doors, and trunk lid inside and out with no problems. I took my time, backed off on the flat areas to keep the heat down, and it worked great. Maybe a larger compressor would have generated more heat, but the 12 horse gas job that I used worked fine.

There are pics of the whole process below.

Tom

I recently had some parts done, brackets etc., with "Black Beauty". It's what some states here require for "sand blasting". It's actually ground cinders. It avoids the silicosis (damaged lungs) that comes from using silicone based sand. However, it's very aggressive and leaves a pretty matted finish on the metal. Takes lots of primer and paint to fill it and smooth it out.

I think sandblasting is a common term for media blasting kind of like kleenex and crescent wrench. Sand is a type of media, so is glass, walnut shells or al. oxide. I can't believe there isn't a shop somewhere in Utah that uses somethings beside sand. Another popular media is baking soda. Works great, easy clean up, and won't etch glass, which most other medias do. So a search on soda blasting on google
Gary

I too am interested in the glass blasting process for my 67. It needs floor and trunk panels also. I saw a recent episode of some new muscle car show where they did the glass balsting to an older dodge car.

Anyone have an idea on how much this would cost and reputable places that do this?

As far as I know my area only does sandblasting. I worked for an oil field company that builds different equipment and they would always blast with quartz sand. I did it a few times but it was on a thicker metal, I don't recall ever using it on sheet metal. I want to get all the current primer off so I can see the spots that may have been filled. there is a spot above my rear window that has small indentations on it. It looks to me ( I am no expert ). That filler was used when they replaced the quarter panels. I want to sand the primer off and see exactly what im looking at. I don't however have a lot of time to primer after I fix all of these things. I have thought about buying an air sander so I can just sand the areas I need to work with. There is going to be a lot of sheet metal replacement on this car because of the rust problem. I have never attempted to do body work and actually have no clue on what I am doing, but I am determined to keep trying until I get it right. Any suggestions on what would be my best course of action to get the primer off in the areas I need to work it?

Don't blast with any media, be it sand, glass, or walnut shells. I makes a HUGE mess. Blasting smaller parts like a-arm or control arms is fine, but I recommend just sanding the body with a Dual Action Sander.

If they replaced the quarter panels I can guarantee there is filler in there. They came from the factory with filler. Where the roof meets the quarter is all filler, at least 1/8" -1/4" thick along the entire seam.

If you really need to see whats under the primer get a sander, or better yet get some Aircraft Stripper (brush or spray on, and wipe it away!).

Good Luck!

I know filler is sometimes a good thing, I am just saying there is small ripples and i would like to sand it down and maybe use some good filler to smooth it out. I am just trying to smooth out the car a little better so it can have a nice paint job. the out side of the car is in excellent shape. so i don't plan on getting too dirty into it...