Hi Vincent,
Media blasting is fine if done by an experienced person. There are several
kinds of media and you may want to look at the others such as Borax and Pecan
shells or similar organic granules which are less abrasive than aluminum oxide.
I have had two bodies (57 Dodges, same size as your Plymouth) media blasted and
they came out fine. Chemical stripping also destroys any wiring and any rubber
or sealant which will have to be replaced.
Brian
D500s in Michigan USA
Vincent Van Humbeeck wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> My restoration project has started over a year ago and it has been slowly
> progressing. But I am now at a crossroad for what concerns body's
> preparation. I have dissasembled the car to a bare body and I have now two
> options :
>
> Option 1 - Take it to a local shop that will do mediablasting
>
> I know a lot of people have warned me about mediablasting because if it is
> wrongly applied, it can warp body panels. I talked to the guy about that
> problem and he told me : "Of course, but you just have to know some basic
> things about mediablasting, like hitting the body at an open angle and not
> staying at the same place too long, and everything's ok". He told me also
> that he uses aluminum oxyde (corindon) which is a less abrasive than sand,
> though someone else told me that that stuff was still too much abrasive for
> a body panel. Anyway, he seems to be someone who knows the job, and someone
> else confirmed he has great experience on the subject of mediablasting
> (though largely on other jobs than cars). The bonus thing is that he can
> apply a zinc coat after removing paint and rust, which is very close to
> having a galvanized body.
>
> Option 2 - Take it to a shop that removes paint and rust through acid baths
>
> At first, I thought that such companies simply did not exist in northern
> France or in Belgium, but it seems I was not looking hard enough, because I
> found three of them within a 60 miles radius. The major problem is that none
> seems to have a bath large enough for a '58 Plymouth body, but I'm working
> on that. Those companies never treated a car body, so they are a little
> dumbfounded with my demand : they could not even quote me a price for the
> operation. The thing is that some of the guys I talked to told me that acid
> treatment may not be the best thing for a car body, because if you do not
> succed in neutralizing the acid in every part of the body after treatment,
> the acid will oxydize your good steel (mainly in spot welds area or in any
> crevices). I told them about the electrolytic process existing in the US,
> but they all told me that they did not know a company doing such a thing in
> France.
>
> What would you choose between the two options ?
>
> Vincent Van Humbeeck (France, 120 miles north of Paris)
> '58 Plymouth Belvedere Sport Coupe
>
> -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
> Calendars are still available. Don't miss the chance to get yours now!
> Details for ordering may be found at:
> http://www.forwardlook.net/calendar2002/index.html
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Calendars are still available. Don't miss the chance to get yours now!
Details for ordering may be found at:
http://www.forwardlook.net/calendar2002/index.html
|
|
Back to the Home of the Forward Look Network