How much do I really need to dissassemble things to have my chassis blasted?
Of course the engine will be out. My goal is to get the undercoating, engine bay, fenderwells and exterior panels stripped sterile clean.

I am concerned that if I don't pull the suspension all the moving parts will turn gritty.

Paradox in that is how do I transport without suspension...hmm

Tips from those in the know would be cool.

in summary
1) dissassembly, how much?
2) media of choice?
3) suspension paradox
4) anybody in tacoma/seattle done this? where?est. costs?
5) better way out there

Ask SirAndy. He'll tell you exactly how bad it will leach out for years afterward. If you're not lookat at stripping it down to a bare tub before blasting (yes suspension, wiring, the whole 9 yards), you're gonna have grit gumming up the works.

Don't have it SAND blasted. There are a host of other media that will yield a much more satisfactory result. If you can find one in your area, soda blasting is much better. My next choice would be plastic media or walnut shell.

Walnut shell. Stay away from sand and soda. The sand will constantly peek out from stange areas and unless you are willing to use something to neutralize the soda you'll be taking a chance on poor paint adhesion.

My painter sprayed a 356 a few years ago that had been soda blasted and, after a month or two the guy brought it back because the paint was starting to bubble on the hood. He said he pulled at a piece of paint and almost half of the hood peeled away down to bare metal.

Anthony mentioned undercoating...

Is there anything that will get that stuff off ? I was under the impression that, short of a tank, the only method was heat and a whole lot of scraping.

Well gents, thanks for the quick replies. I probably don't have as much debris to remove as blasting may necessitate. What I do have is surface rust(surprise) under the pan, tar(?) inside fenderwells and just debris in these nooks and crannies. I assumed that blasting would be the simple solution, and sure it would be if I wanted to dissassemble everything. But I'd really rather not. I just want the crap gone without crawling underthere and wire wheeling everything. Hmmm, talked myself into a corner. Does Walnut require suspension etc be removed? Wouldn't that lurk in nooks and crannies holding moisture(cause its organic)?Thanks Again

There is also dry ice blasting.

The dry ice pellets thermally shocks the the surface it hits, makes it brittle, and removes it. The dry ice pellets turn to CO2 gas and evaporates, leaving no gritty residue to find later.

They even list tar as a material that can be removed. Freezing the tar would make it brittle, unlike sandblasting.

Just don't tell yer global warming buddies

KensippingonaCO2impregnatedDietColabeverage

i disassembled mine down to a one piece chassis for the reason you stated. i wanted as least residue as possible.

mine was blasted with aluminum oxide powder. the shop that did it was recommended. cars in the shop at that time were a 550, 289 cobra, hemi cuda and about 10 others i don't remember, all on rotisseries.

the owner of the shop told me it's easy to warp panels with any media. to avoid this requires talent as well as the right choice of media.

remember, if you go all the way to bare metal, you shoud use etch primer immediately.

good luck with your project!

Mine was sand blasted in 1996, 11 yrs ago ,every time i go to clean the front trunk there is a little sand in the crevices. i hate to think what the areas i can't see or reach look like. not a big problem once you get it painted,but just think of
what could happen to your perfect paint job.
If i had it to do over are had the benfit of all the wisdom here ( which I didn't 11 yrs.ago) i would use dry ice,turning to CO2,seems the best idea so far. Cheep is rarely the best! Dave

Good day, I have been struggling with the pro and con of every type of media blasting and acid dipping for my teener. Just the other day a friend showed me this chemical he was using for rust removal. This stuff works like magic. Seems to be an excellent alternative to the other methods. I am planning to give it a shot for rust removal on my teener. Let me know what you think.

Rust Removal

I too have made the mistake of sandblasting. Never again will I do that. I have seen a 65 Mustang convertible that was blasted with plastic bead, and it was better. Sand will creep out of the cracks and crevices for ever! And panel warpage is an issue too. I guess there is not really an easy way to strip a tub completely, but so far I liked the plastic the best !

Rotisery, open air area and propane torch. Don't heat up the steel till it warps, just the apint till it bubbles and then scrape off. Does wonders on bondo.

this is what happens if you leave your suspension on for the sandblasting.
this used to be a perfectly good wheel bearing ...




read through the conversion thread in my signature to learn more about the horrors of sandblasting a chassis ...
Andy

Dry ice blasting seems ideal. Would this require that the majority of the car be dissasembled? The most I really want to do is drop the engine, remove the lids and lights, and misc. masking. Is this doable(sp)?
Would I have all kinds of residue in cravices to deal with? Thanks for all your help to date.