Since I have owned three first gens I know many of you have dealt with rust issues. I have just purchased a 1974 REPU that has 'mucho rusto'. I have decided to do much of the body work myself, but I need advise on equipment. I plan on purchasing an air compressor, but what kind of sandblasting accessories will I need? What media have you guys used to get rid of rust?
I appreciate any advise/tips.

 

sanding disk are nice to have.... sand blasting is some times a pain. good luck with the REPU, I am going to start on mine in about a year hopefully (1974 REPU automatic)

 

i like orbital sanders! i just bought a new one tonight, works at 15,000 obm's or however they rate it. lol! right now i'm taking all the clear off my car and then just gonna shoot over that. thankfully the paint is not all that bad. but there are a couple rust areas where i will just go down to a beefier grit disc. something like 60 or 80. everything else is around 160 or so. anywho, sandblasters are hella fun and get the job done fast... but leave a big mess and can sometimes go too far. if you are getting a decent sized compressor i say get an air sander. WOOT!

 

Yep, I have a sears grinder that I borrowed from a neighbor..that thing will cut through metal in no-time..sparks everywhere! I got a paint stripper wheel for a drill, that works well, too. This REPU has large, but some very tiny rust spots and seams that I thought a sandblaster might be best for. Never tried bodywork before, I want to give it the best chance of rust not returning.

 

[QUOTE=FB II]sandblasters are hella fun and get the job done fast... but leave a big mess and can sometimes go too far.[\QUOTE]
yep....

 

I had a lot of luck with a sandblaster on my wheels, getting 23 years of worn clear coat off. That was a parts sandblaster though, but I have a pressure washer that can use abrasives. I think I might give that a try on my paint soon.

 

I have one of these that I bought off eBay:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=34202

The valve to the spray nozzle on the end will blow out in 2 days of use. The sand deflects directly into the side of the valve housing, and will cut a hole. The nozzle valve is useless after that.

Thankfully my brother had borrowed it for its maiden run, and he's pretty crafty, so he devised a better delivery system by using the spray gun and hose from an old one of these:

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...id=00916706000

We then installed a separate pressure regulator and filter assembly solely for pressurizing the tank, and ran a separate hose direct to main air compressor pressure for the spray gun. Using 90psi to the gun, and 30psi to the tank, it now works wonderfully and has no problems with bogging the hose with sand from overpressure to the tank. It takes paint to primer on one pass, but to metal takes quite a bit longer. Surface rust is gone in a single pass.

The moral of the story is these sandblasters have a defective delivery design, but can be modified fairly cheaply (regulator and filter assy. off of eBay looked like $5 when I checked) to be a solid workhorse.

A note on safety: sandblasting is dangerous for your lungs if you use the cheap and common silica sand media ($8 for 100lbs.--2 hours of solid blasting). Inhalation of silica sand dust causes silicosis, which is a cumulative scarring of the lungs that, from what I read, does not heal itself. In fact, it can develop in as little as 2-3 weeks, although that's probably from extremely heavy and completely unprotected usage. You must wear a cannister respirator or better--no paper respirators. In fact, most respirators that I looked at at retail outlets would not guarantee safety with sandblasting at all (AOSafety, 3M). One of the horror stories I read online detailed how several workers at a sandblasting shop used supplied air respirators and full suits during sandblasting, but ended up contracting the disease over a period of 10 years from sweeping up the expended sand after their shifts while using paper respirators.

 

Sand blasting is the way to go!! I found it to be the best way to be sure the rust won't return. Buy a cabinet and then you can use the gun outside of it, just by getting a bucket full of sand and feeding it from there.

googles/paper suit/gloves/filtered mask- a must if working outside of cabinet

 

Good info, he is right. Heed the wisdom here. NO SAND EVAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I use aluminum oxide, glassbead, and walnut shells depending on what Im working with. And I always wear breathing, ear and eye protection even though all my blasting is done in one of my cabinets.

 

i restored a 78 Datsun 280z, it was also mucho rusto, i bought a sandblaser cabinet for small and medium sized parts. The good thing about this is that it recirculated the media over and over. I used coal dust. The reason for this is that coal dust does not hold moisture so u are not blasting rusty parts with more moisture. i think it was about $10 for a 50lb bag from North Tool stores, u have to ask for it as they keep it in the back. its a medium abrasive.

 

For the big stuff on the body any blaster with a pressure pot. The ones that use venturi action to syphon sand suck(actually they don't "suck" the media well enough!) I ended up buying a cabinet big enough to put a horse in because I got tired of cleaning up and its safer.
Before you start, read hammmy's safety notes, then read them two or three more times. Sleep on it, then read them again. This is serious stuff.

 

Ok, upon advise from a very knowledgeable neighbor, I ordered this today.

*Won't let me paste the link for some reason..anyway, its eastwood company
(www.eastwoodco.com, then put part number 22024 in the search box).

It comes with aluminum oxide and glass bead media. With the cup, it should be great for those tiny spots that look like rust acne,,theres dozens of them.
Now, the stock wheels are rust covered, too. Would I use the glass bead stuff for that..assuming glass beading is less aggressive.?
After the rust sanding/blasting, I'm putting several coats of 'rustmort' on the metal to allegedly kill the rust. I don't know if it works, but it makes me feel better. Then, some good quality primer. Does this sound reasonable?
I appreciate the tips, I know zilch about what I'm 'fixin to get into!