has anyone had any experience with renting big tools, i want to get a sandblaster to strip my car with...im just so fed up with the tiny amounts of progress i can make with hand tools

i looked into it and did some searches, but didnt find too many things that were conclusive so id appreciate some reccomendations

thanks

your gonna need a huge compressor for big work like that. like maybe a gas powered unit or 3 phase electric

Im not sure if home depot carries them. You could try the one in newark or clifton; they're the bigger stores in the area, so they are your best bets

I personally don't recommend a sand blaster. I've stripped the outside of my car with 3M scotch brite pads that fit on a hand held drill. It took me 45 hours to complete. I have since found a very powerful stipper that I have been assured will strip ALL layers of paint off with one application. I haven't tried it yet, but will in the near future.

The main reason I don't use or recommend the sand blaster is that the sand can and will come out of the small cracks long after the car has been painted. Andy, you might want to add your personal experiences...

-- Rob

If your not careful you can warp the hell out of the panels.
Wet media blasting is a safer route or take it to get soda blasted.
I have heard of on site blasters, it might be cheaper to have someone come to you to do it.

A guy I know rented one to do a horse trailer. It came with one of those huge gas powered compressors you tow. It worked, but I bet there is still sand in the yard where he did it, and that was a good 7 years ago. I would just use a DA and get the paint down some. I wouldn't go to metal, unless you plan to have paint on it within some short amount of time. Otherwise, you will be fighting surface rust and contamination too.

Also, the friction/heat of sandblasting could warp your panels.

Like I said, I would just DA the paint down to where its manageable.

Wouldn't use sand - generate lotsa heat! Panels can/do warp. Go with a kinder media, like glass beads (not that much kinder). Could go the wet soda method, but I have no experience with it. The body is tender, so you need to be very careful. Suspension parts can be bead blasted/walnut shell blasted with impunity, because they are hard & thick.

I say no to sand for any blasting purpose (on a 914). Fine glass media, properly controlled, can work fine. Soda also, but it's extremely messy.

For my money, I'd grind it. Assuming you use proper grit.
Pat

thanks for the input, ive been doing the grinding, stripping, sanding method..and its just too much work....getting it stripped is the thing that is hurting this project the most...unfortunately i dont have the budget to get the car dipped, so im looking for something cheaper...


i konw it doesnt have to be sand...i should have used the title, media blaster, ive seen ones for rent that are the wet media, maybe i should look into those

as far as making a mess goes, i wont have to worry about that, it wont be done in my yard, i just want to get the car stripped quickly, for a decent price