I had my '57 300 body media blasted with plastic beads for $400 about 5
years ago. I had stripped the chrome myself and only had it blasted from the
window line down (I kept the original paint on the roof). I had sandblasted
the frame and undercarriage myself before the body got done.
While great at removing paint, these media blasting jobs don't do much with
rust. You'll also spend a creative day making new attachments for your shop
vac to pull all the old blast media out of the hidden parts of the car.
I think this blasting process is best for those "rolling chassis"
restorations where you just don't want to do a ground up job.
I've also had major car parts dip stripped and it works well. The key
points are the skill of the operator, a good rinse and a follow up
anti-corrosion bath. The guy actually working on the car can control a lot of
the side effects of this type of job.
In either case I personally think a professional rustproofing process
will also be required on these cars (AFTER it's finish painted but before
assembly) to coat all the hidden box and seam areas. Paint won't stick to
rustproofing materials! With the newer rustproof chemicals (light amber
colored and very thin, a penetrating type of material) no one would see any
of the material on the finished job. No holes would really be needed at this
assembly point either. Two rustproof materials to avoid for this level of
detail: 1- thick black sealant. Not needed on this type of job. 2-Any kind of
"fogging" or "misting" process. This stuff is all hype and no performance.
Don't waste any time on this material.
Jim (a Ziebart rustproofing dealer in a former life)
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