Sandblasting A Car to Restore Its Appearance

Many times when you perform a car restoration, you will have a lot of corrosion occurring on your vehicle from years of being left out in the environment simply because the vehicle is older. In order to be able to restore a vehicle, you usually want to remove the existing rust and then repaint the car in order to get the highest quality finish. In this article, you will cover the important things to consider when using a sandblast pot to fix your car. The goal of sandblasting a car is usually to remove the existing paint so that a new paint job can be applied and provide protection and a high quality appearance.

Sandblasting Pot

When it comes to sandblasting your car, this will be one of three equipment systems that you can use to clean your car. First is the traditional sandblasting pan which comes in a variety of sizes ranging from 2 to 6 cubic feet. The size of the blast pan will determine the length of time you can blast before you need to refill the blast pan media, and also the portability of the portable blast pan. Common options for the automotive restoration industry include 3 cu. ft. pots and 6 cu. ft. pots. The benefits of the conventional blast pan are that it can be one of the most affordable options, secondly it can be used for many different applications, not just automotive restoration, and thirdly it is often one of the fastest cleaning options.

White Sandblast Pot

Notes on traditional blasting

If you will be using a conventional blast pan, you will want to evaluate between media that will strip the surface of the product and create an anchor profile versus media that only removes the existing coating. For both types of media, you will typically need to protect or remove certain soft parts to avoid damaging them

Common media choices for automotive blasting using conventional blast pans. To remove coated walnut shells only. For removing rusty glass beads or aluminum oxide that appears visibly rusty

You never want soda media to come in contact with water while blasting, as it will flatten, requiring you to manually remove all media from the blasting pan.

Equipment Setup

Depending on the type of equipment you are using, you want to be sure to use the recommended pressure for each type of blasting media you may use. For example, soda blasting and glass beads use lower pressures compared to other media such as cinder blocks. Therefore, when choosing the type of equipment for your automotive restoration blasting process, you should be sure to consult with your blasting media supplier to ensure that the settings you choose will achieve the results you want. They will be able to tell you the pressures and you can use different media to not change the surface or to change the surface as you need. 

In addition to the pressure of the blast, you should also evaluate the nozzle size of the blasting unit. A larger nozzle will allow for greater production, but will require a larger compressor, which will increase the start-up costs for automotive restoration blasting. Also, for most automotive restoration blasting, you will not want to use a large nozzle because you will be blasting in many smaller areas, which requires finer control that a smaller nozzle (such as a 4 or 5 size) will excel at. As mentioned above, make sure you consider the size of your compressor to be able to support any blasting equipment you end up purchasing.

5 Gal Sandblasting Pot

Conclusion

By evaluating the proper equipment selection, media options and proper setup for your blasting equipment, you will be able to select the ideal automotive restoration blasting equipment. If you have any additional questions or need further assistance in understanding if hobbyist or high-end equipment is a better fit for you, feel free to contact us.