? on getting body media/sand blasted

[35chevcoupe]

This is going to be my first complete one piece trunk pan instalation . My question is would it be better to have the body blasted before or after I put the trunk pan in ?     any input would be appreciated .

[cwmcobra]

Hi John,

My experience is small, but I can tell you that my body man, who is a professional restorer, always has the body media blasted as it is, before any repairs.  When done, it identifies all the areas that need attention, some that might have been hidden before blasting.  After return from blasting he sprays self-etching primer on the entire body, then proceeds to do whatever body work is required, including cutting out bad panels and replacing them.  As each area is repaired, he sprays it with self-etching primer to prevent rust and moves to the next area until all have been completed. 

There are probably different opinions, but this is the process that I'm familiar with.

Cheers!

Chuck

[35chevcoupe]

Chuck ,
Thats what I have decided too , especially after just spending a couple hours out there grinding and cleaning with the wire wheel .
The rust cloud was horrible ! 

[cwmcobra]

I can imagine you don't want to breathe that rust....

I was fortunate that none of my body panels had to be replaced.  Only one trunk brace and a few localized spots that were repaired.  And a bunch of pin holes, of course.

My painter's project is much worse.  A 68 GTO with rotted out trunk pan, package tray and lots of areas around the windshield. 

[schlepcar]

There is another very good product that you usually only see at the body shop end of newer car repairs. It is made by 3M and comes in a spray can. The label says Weld Thru Primer and it is the best that I have found for coating areas that you cannot get to later. Inside wheel well lips,patch panels,etc...any patch repairs that will be unable to paint once welded. It is weldable just like the label states and you do not need a lot of it. One coat goes a long way. A little pricey for a spray can but well worth the effort.

[Brian]

Just make sure you MEDIA blast and not SAND blast.  Abrasive blasting with sand will warp the sheet metal panels.  I told another friend this earlier this year and he would not listen to me.  Ruined a nice set of doors and a hood for a 69 F100.   I had my 65 GS media blasted with plastic pellets.  Looked like clean, new metal when I got it back. 

[35chevcoupe]

There is another very good product that you usually only see at the body shop end of newer car repairs. It is made by 3M and comes in a spray can. The label says Weld Thru Primer and it is the best that I have found for coating areas that you cannot get to later. Inside wheel well lips,patch panels,etc...any patch repairs that will be unable to paint once welded. It is weldable just like the label states and you do not need a lot of it. One coat goes a long way. A little pricey for a spray can but well worth the effort.

Dan ,  already got a can . That is great stuff , used it on my roof swap .
Thanks .

[35chevcoupe]

Just make sure you MEDIA blast and not SAND blast.  Abrasive blasting with sand will warp the sheet metal panels.  I told another friend this earlier this year and he would not listen to me.  Ruined a nice set of doors and a hood for a 69 F100.   I had my 65 GS media blasted with plastic pellets.  Looked like clean, new metal when I got it back. 

Yeah Brian,  my dad learned that the HARD way a long time ago not to use sand . He had a guy sandblast a 38 chevy OH WHAT A MESS that turned out to be .  We have used sand but only in corners,  NO flat surfaces .