Sand Blasting of Body Shells and Components

		Sandblasting is an important technique used in both full and partial restoration, and is indispensable for a high-quality overall result. This technique involves a blasting process in which pressurized air is used to accelerate the blasting abrasive and shoot it against the surface to be cleaned. In practice, various abrasives are used depending on the surface. It should be noted that, as their name implies, many of these abrasives are designed to wear away material. Of course this is desirable in most cases, but care must be exercised because selecting the wrong abrasive or using excessive air pressure to apply it can quickly lead to unwanted damage.

The most common blasting abrasives used in classic car restoration are listed below.

Corundum	A sharp-edged abrasive, well suited to rust and paint removal
Glass beads	A gentle blasting agent. Creates semi-gloss surfaces. Effectively cleans carburetors, intake manifolds, cylinder heads, etc.
Plastic	Non-abrasive, suitable for cleaning and paint removal
Nut shells	Appropriate for cleaning surfaces that are heavily soiled or covered with resinified oil

When sandblasting a complete body to remove old layers of paint, expertise and experience are a must because large surfaces can readily warp if- for example - the wrong blasting pressure is used, one area is subjected to blasting for too long, or the blast gun is handled incorrectly. Heating caused by the blasting process also plays an important role and often causes the sheet metal to buckle.

Once sandblasting of the body is complete, it is very important to carefully blow out any blasting abrasive remaining in the cavities. Otherwise, when it comes time for painting, abrasive particles will turn up in the paint. The cleaned sheet metal must also be thoroughly primed, since it is naturally very susceptible to further attacks by surface rust. Our many years of experience in classic car restoration help us to safely avoid the potential pitfalls mentioned above. Still, we are selective in our use of this skill, targeting especially cases in which it makes good sense and is superior to other techniques such as ice blasting. Sandblasting is especially useful for work on smaller parts such as brake and steering components, stabilizers, mountings, chassis parts, or entire rear axles. In this domain its results are unmatched and it is so much a part of our everyday work that we cannot imagine life without it. Treating such parts is quick and completely safe, and the results that can be achieved are self-evident.

We stand ready to meet all your blasting needs, whether for an elaborate restoration project or simply treatment of a few component parts.