Im about to send my van off to have the rust cut out and a new paint job...

Should i "dip" the car or get it blasted (if so sand or soda or other?)

I wont be doing any of this work myself. leave it to the pro's

cheers cam

I've never had a car dipped in acid to remove paint, but have heard that it can leave acidic residue in hidden areas and in between joins, seams etc.

Having blasted a few cars I like glass or plastic bead blasting and have been happy with the results, but you will spend a lot of time blowing the last of it out from under the dash, around the roof and from under the floor's strengthening box section. Not hard, just a bit dusty.

Avoid sand blasting if you can. Sand blasting erodes and warps the panels unless perfromed very carefully. You can tell them till you're blue in the face how gentle you want them to be, but time is money and once you're out of sight anything goes....

Better to go with the soft media like glass or plastic or soda.

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

Dipping is not advisable as it will be able reach every where, a lot of places that you will not be able to paint (unless you dip it).

Soda blasting will only go places that you can paint and will leave no nasty residual like dipping would.

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Wasn't there a post on here recently about how soda can cause grief with paint adhesion, and possible corrosion?
Yes I know Anton did 2 cars with it without problems, great paint jobs too.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

I didn't actually see that post, but you do need to go over the body with some 240 grit (?) paper to take the sheen off the steel to allow for adhesion.

Corrosion can be caused by the guys doing the blasting doing it wet to keep the dust down. It is imperitive that it be done dry and the soda removed ASAP following the job.

I've had 2 cars (Gal Moke and a Mini) done this way and would happily go that way every time.

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I wanted to go soda with the last car, but after a few quotes of over 2K got a little scared off..went glass again instead @ 800 for the lot.

Maybe this is a question mokemania might ask anyway...but what exactly does soda do which other soft media cannot?
I'm not being abrasive (anyone see the pun? ) so don't blast me (har har, stop it! ), I just can't work out what the major upside is. I've heard that the environmental aspects for the blasting business is better...also anecdotally that it might allow the car to sitin bare metal for longer, but thats not enough for me anyway to explain the dollar gap.

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

I am not sure why the $$ gap. Perhaps it is that the glass for the most part is reusable and much quicker?? The guy I have used, doesn't re-use the soda and it is slow, but dosn't hurt the metal. The Moke was about $800 and the Mini about $1900. It was original paint on the Mini (a 76 clubbie) and he did comment that it took a fair bit of doing to get it off.

The moke had little paint left on it being Gal.

On both cars, any areas that were rusted, he went over after the soda with glass.

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One of the big advantages with soda is that its soluble in water. After the car is blasted you can pressure wash it and get rid of any left over media. You don't get the problem of grit re-appearing every time you blow the car, for example when you go to apply the paint.

The soda leaves a residue on the panel which is corrosion resistant, which is good when you aren't ready to repaint immediately, but it needs to be cleaned off before painting. My local guy recommends washing with hot soapy water and a green scourer, before applying a panel prep product. You shouldn't need to key the surface, it ends up with the same finish that it had when the factory painted it in the first place.

Soda costs more because its not very abrasive, so it takes a lot longer to do. I think it needs a gutsier compressor too.

Tim

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1951 Morris Commercial J Type Van
1955 BSA C11G
1961 Morris Mini Traveller
1969 Triumph TR6R
1977 Leyland Moke Californian

does any one have any good recomendations for companys in melb then?


cheers cam