kpowr82

Hey everybody. I've been surfing this board for awhile and finally decided to register. There is a ton of great information here.

I'm looking at a '91 Camaro RS with a couple spots of minor surface rust on it near the passenger rear wheel. I really do not want the rust to spread any further, but cannot afford to have a professional paint job done at this time. I've seen some coleman sandlbasting equipment being sold for about 120 bucks online, and am wondering if this is something I can do myself.

Do you guys have any tips or advice for me? I have never done this type or any type of body work before (except for rattle can jobs)

Any info would be greatly appreciated and I'm hoping to own a third gen f-bod real soon.

Thanks,
Matt (sorry for the long post)

BTW, the coleman equipment does not include an air compressor, but I have one.

Andy Fanshawe

iTrader: (1)

Hi Matt.
Sandblasting is an excellent way to get rid of rust totally and quickly, and in awkward areas. But, be warned, the grit will go everywhere! And I mean everywhere. Even places where you didn't think it possible! Like eyes, ears, shoes, socks, interior, engine,........ Use a full hood and a good filter mask (or an air fed mask if you can). Masking off areas with masking tape will obviously not do! I use Duct tape here in the Uk. It is a very strong sticky cloth(ish ) tape. Grit will just bounce off it. Tape everything else off with a good sheet/cloth. Which reminds me, wear some good gloves that cover up your forearms as well! Believe me, I know how painful it can be.
Then degrease and prime the area immediately afterwards-it will go rusty again very quickly.
I gritblasted the entire underside of my Camaro last summer (with everything removed of course), and it was hot and uncomfortable. Well worth it though.
Use aluminium oxide blasting media if you can. Various grades are available. Childrens play sand works also, but not as fierce! Although my son wasn't too impressed!

Good luck.

kpowr82

Thanks for the tips Andy, but do you think this is something I should tackle on my own given that I have no experience?

I've done a search on sandblasting and have read that it is not a good idea to sand blast exterior body panels because they may wrap. What do you guys think about that?

The rust is the only thing holding me back from buying this car. It is a 1991 silver (original paint) 5.0 RS auto with 156,000 miles on it. The car is fairly clean except for a couple of rust spots on the body. The dude is asking $1900. What do you think?

Andy Fanshawe

iTrader: (1)

Excellent point about warping body panels. In 1987, I was restoring a 1977 Trans Am. The hood was rusty so I bought a good secondhand replacement (quite a rare find in the UK I can tell you). The gentleman who was sandblasting the underside said he would blast it clean. I asked him not to. The following day I went to the garage, he had blasted it completely clear of paint on the top and the bottom. Unfortunately it had warped it so badly it was scrap. No amount of repairs were possible.
So, yes, it can warp panels. But only largish unsupported areas. Wheel arch lips or smallish spots are okay. I have blasted many areas now and have encountered no problems at all.

Andy.

85SportCoupeto89RS

You can blast body panels without warping them by blasting a small spot and letting everything cool down. IMO its just way better to block sand the body. That way you can find the little tiny dings and such.

Spdfrk1990

If the rust is in the wheel well lip u need to cut it out. You wont be able to get it all out between the 2 peices of metal by blasting trust me it will come back if u dont.

kpowr82

Thanks for the help guys, since the rust is on the wheel arch I may just cut it out. But the rust spot on the hood should be ok to blast.

I'm also going to try and repaint the car myself. I've never painted a car before, but do have experience with rattlecans. I'm buying a turbine sprayer for the job and using urethane base paint. Any tips for this job? Is it worth it to try and do the job myself? A lot of friends of mine have crotch rockets and are all about custom paint jobs, maybe I could do theirs too.

spartyon

make sure you cover up all exposed areas of the skin. i had tiny spots in between my mask and hood as well as sleeves and gloves and that crap hurts. i also used a really cheap coleman siphon gun. it worked great once i bought the really nice and fine silica sand.

HeavyBreathinRS

The reason panels warp when blasting is that the blasting itself creates compressive stresses in the material. This means that the surface wants to expand, but the underlying material won't let it move naturally, therefore it warps.

The key is to only use as much pressure as you need to pick up the blasting media, and NEVER dwell in a single area. It is just like spray painting...several very light passes are better than a single pass.

I have successfully blasted material as thin as 0.010" without deforming it...just take your time to do it right.