Sandblasting body panels

[Dave_F]

Hi ALl,

I am at the point of stripping all of the body panels down on my Series 1 and thought that there must be an easier way, such as sandblasting...however I know that you can really screw up the panels with the wrong media.

Has anyone done this and if so what media did you use.

Cheers,

[Greg S]

IMHO? Don't do it yourself. Take it to a professional and soda blasting is supposed to be the way to go. Ask the professional.

[Dave_F]

Hi Greg, that would be the plan, however with Birmabright being kind of "unique" I was hoping someone had already done this and discovered the correct media to use.

[Bill E.]

Hi Dave,
Can't really advise regarding blast media but I can tell you that factory paint and most other layers of aftermarket paint come off reasonably easy with a bit of elbow grease and hardware store/paint store stripper. A sharp edge putty knife removes the initial goo and I've found that 3M scrub pads by hand do a good job on what's left. Those pads are pretty abrasive when new but quickly lose their edge. Don't throw them out though because the dull ones are useful for the finishing scrub with water. Resist the temptation to use a disc or belt or orbital sander. It's overkill and can leave a pretty scored surface. One other thing to remember is that the early trucks have a yellowish primer on the birmabright. It's good stuff and if it looks reasonably intact, leave it on. I've noticed that weather blasted series ones are well protected by this primer even when the paint has long since disappeared. Your mileage may vary.
Bill

[mepham55]

I had all my body panels media blasted professionally here on the island. I believe they used garnet based media and used a low pressure. Nothing warped and he even mentioned he had a hard time removing a layer of paint on my door skins put on by the PO. This guy typically does huge projects for the oil fields but he did a great job on all my little stuff.

Matt

[Dave_F]

Bill - I have been using Aircraft paint remover and this has worked very well for the areas that I can get at. I must admit that I have used a orbital sander, but will finish it off with a 320 or higher...it's the only way considering how many layers of paint and filler have been used. If I had my "druthers" I would just order up some new panels from the UK, but alas...I have yet to win the lottery.

Mepham55 . Thanks for the info...I may go down that route if necessary. I recently saw a post where someone improperly used high pressure and the wrong media and every panel was warped and rippled. Thanks for that.

[Dave_F]

"One other thing to remember is that the early trucks have a yellowish primer on the birmabright. It's good stuff and if it looks reasonably intact, leave it on. I've noticed that weather blasted series ones are well protected by this primer even when the paint has long since disappeared."

Bill if I read this right the "primer" you refer to is actually semi translucent?

One of the panels I am currently working on it seems that the paint was sprayed directly on the metal as I can find no trace of above mentioned primer or anything else for that matter???? :?

[Dave_F]

Here is one of the outer wings I am working on...you can see the original faded LR Blue under 2-3 layers of brushed, sprayed green...looks like John Deere Green...

Tried the 3M pads but if the primer is what I think it is, these pads remove that as well.

[Bill E.]

Yes Dave, I should have been more specific, it is a translucent sort of primer. It may have already been savaged if there has been previous repainting. The 3M pads will take it off but if you have a light enough touch you can save a lot of it. Those panels look pretty nice.

[Dave_F]

Looks can be deceiving....or rather....looks good from far, but far from good :lol:

All of them have taken a pounding...my rebuild came from somewhere on the island called the "Rock Farm"...it was actually rolled onto it's left side.

I am getting pretty good at panel beating...at least I think so... :shock: :roll: :wink:

Won't be concourse, rather showing some of it's past hard life when I'm done.

Had a laugh today, when I went to remove the door bump stop on the wing, it turned out to be a piece of shaped wine cork...ingenious.

[Dave_F]

Anyone have any idea what is the original factory Primer? Cant find any reference to it

[Greg S]

Quote) Anyone have any idea what is the original factory Primer? (quote

Zinc Chromate