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Blasting and Primer

Fordication

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Ok, so I am going to pick up the car in the next few weeks. It already has a coating over POR15 but I want to take it down to the metal and put epoxy primer on it. I want to blast it and I have heard that nowadays they can blast the car without warping the metal. Anyone have a procedure I should follow to blast is and primer it. What media to use, What primer to use. Anything I should look at. The car has no engine and its gutted. I plan on taking off the doors and fenders prior to blasting so that there is no metal left untouched. I will then put it on a rotisserie for cleaning and painting primering. What steps do I take to do the job right so there is no rust that can ever touch it again?
 

Ele115

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I have someone that comes with a big truck and they blast with something the size of a fire hose. I move the car and any parts I want done to an area out back where there is lots of room and a storm drain and pressure washer. They use a fine bead with a coolant. Looks like sand but they are tiny round beads and they are wet when they go on. If he stays two hours it's around $450-$550. After he's gone I blow all of the media out THROUGHLY and then wheel it back in and clean it with degreaser and etch prime it immediately. I won't leave anything in bare metal. It rusts right now. A lot of people won't use etching primer because they tell you to go right onto the bare metal with epoxy primer but it works so well for me I am not changing it. The zinc and the acids are the key and I have been doing it this way for many decades. I know exactly what to expect.
 

Fordication

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Thank you. Just left one of the restoration stores here locally and they state they no longer blast. They use DA sanders with 80 grit. Said thats the best way. I just walked away shaking my head. Thats the best way to make it take too long and cost 5 times more. I do know what service you are talking about and that is what I was thinking too. I will look into that etching primer.
 

Fordication

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Ele115

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I checked. There is no chemical dipping and I am thankful for the dustless blasting links.
Prep all of your bare metal twice with Ospho. Follow the instructions exactly, then etching primer. After that, prime or epoxy seal and do all of your body work. If you go through to metal anywhere, follow all of the bare metal prep steps for that area and get it properly treated immediately. Don't leave bare metal overnight or anything like that. This is your chance to get all of the areas Chrysler missed. That's why they rusted so bad. Don't leave any areas, front and backside of every panel. Do every nook and cranny so it doesn't rust
 

Fordication

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Prep all of your bare metal twice with Ospho. Follow the instructions exactly, then etching primer. After that, prime or epoxy seal and do all of your body work. If you go through to metal anywhere, follow all of the bare metal prep steps for that area and get it properly treated immediately. Don't leave bare metal overnight or anything like that. This is your chance to get all of the areas Chrysler missed. That's why they rusted so bad. Don't leave any areas, front and backside of every panel. Do every nook and cranny so it doesn't rust
Oh, I know. I had every mopar made while I was in HS and College. Every single one of them rusted out from the back forward. Thats why it has taken me so long to do another one. Trying to find one with little to no rust is impossible. I found a Challenger in Tennessee for 7500 but man did it have a ton of corrosion. I mean every panel would have had to be replaced along with the hood and large holes in the roof on the side where that seam is at. This one has no rust but maybe a pin hole in the floor. It was in a barn so the lighting was not perfect but my magnet did not pick up any bondo and the headlamp I had on was pretty good. Building a swimming pool this fall so thats my priority but after the car is blasted I will instantly primer it with etching primer or epoxy primer. I have a 3 car garage and an extension to that on the side with a roof. I use that extension for painting. I enclose it in plastic and cover the floor. I have water running down the plastic and two large garage fans pulling air from the inside going out. Lots of lighting as well. I will do the primer and most of the body work there then take it to a shop for the final paint. I am good but this is my last build and I want to do it right. You would know, I have been looking for an 82 vette for a restomod build for a while. Everyone I have found has been a bit on the high side. I buy this Challenger and that 82 vette just showed up. Oh well. Focus.
 

scar426

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I checked. There is no chemical dipping and I am thankful for the dustless blasting links.
Don't know the name of the place off hand, but my friend uses a shop in Louisiana (right next door to you) that does the Chemical dipping/e-Coat on cars. Might require a little road trip, but I can assure you, once it is done, it is done. No hiding any rust issues and no sand or other abrasive residue left behind. Every nook and cranny is clean and coated. A bit expensive (I think he paid like $5k to get it stripped and dipped), but you have to decide for yourself what's it worth to you and how good of a restoration do you want.

Will
 

Fordication

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Yes, thats way more than having it media blasted. I think I will go that route. I have a shop by my house. Instead of me doing the primer, he is set up to do it with a booth. I already have the DP90 and a gallon of POR15 if needed. I am going to do the dustless blasting and let it dry then clean it and primer it the same day. I am buying a rotisserie to put the body on so that once its on I can do the work as needed.
 
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