Which media blaster to use?

[nsmall]

Sorry folks as you don't live here and I know I ask a lot of questions that I should just decide on my own but I appreciate your opinions.

So media Blaster #1 has been doing it for over 35 years and uses a variety of media depending on the panel or job.  He doesn't use garnet and says he doesn't think it's the best media.  He will do my entire car and Underside and put it in PPG primer for $2,200.  I didn't have plans to do the interior...I could post pictures because it looks real solid.

Media blasted #2 is a powder coating shop that only uses garnet and will charge me $1,000.  The car then will go directly to my painter who will put it in primer. My painter prefers these guys and says they won't warp the panel or anything.  They seem less confident about how to do the underside and that's what kind of freaks me out about them as when I asked them they just said "we'll get to it" where as Media Blaster #1 explained exactly how you would blast Underside.

I guess get question to also ask would-be how much do you think I should have to pay for someone to Prime and the cost of materials to prime a car that's been totally media blasted minus  the interior?

Any advice would be appreciated as it seems like it's a difference of about $700 if I use media Blaster #1 and I'm more confident in him.

Thanks

[71GranCoupe]

Good question and I will be watching all the good advice on this one. I have heard that garnet is a good abrasive, but if in the hands of a novice warped panels are then a concern. With all the cars Alan has had media blasted, his advice may be hard to beat.

[B5Cuda440-6]

It sounds like blaster #2 is a better option, especially because their process will not warp the panels, and they specifically stated this. Plus, I would rather your painter apply the primer vs. the blaster. At least that way you know his techniques will be correct and there will be no complaints with application issues.

If the price difference such that you could have #1 only blast the bottom, then you can take it #2 for all the other items? If you end up being less that $2200 overall, I would say you are ahead. And you would have each blasting shop do what they are best at.

My thoughts...

[Burdar]

You're going to get different opinions on this.  I'm not a body man so I can only share what was done on my two cars at different shops.  Both my cars were sand blasted on the interior, engine compartment, underside, trunk and door jambs.  The outer body panels weren't blasted at all.  The outer body panels were stripped by hand with a DA sander. 

[scf100]

I just used a Dustless Blaster which I think is a franchise biz and he used glass beads on the bed of my 1963 Falcon Ranchero and did an awesome job.......really fine granules looks like sand........

[soundcontrol]

I just used a Dustless Blaster which I think is a franchise biz and he used glass beads on the bed of my 1963 Falcon Ranchero and did an awesome job.......really fine granules looks like sand........

Is that the water blasting device? How do they stop the surface from rusting right away? I got a blasted piece wet and there was rust on it the next day.

[RUNCHARGER]

I like sanding the outer skin as well. It's hard to sand stuff like the inside of the hood though and I've seen lots of those wrecked by blasting.

[anlauto]

First mistake is not doing the interior. All the old seam sealer/undercoating should be removed and the car entirely blasted inside and out. The interior is where most of the rust hides. Why do a half-assed job if you're going this far ?

Second...99.9% of any quality body shop would prefer if they start with a bare steel shell and place their own primer on it. Most shady shops won't care, because next year when their bondo work bubbles out, they can blame it on someone else's primer.

A quality automotive blasting facility will be able to strip body panels without warping and will most likely use different types of media to do so.

Tip: Don't make your decision based on price 

[Cuda Cody]

   Price is not going to be the factory that gets you where you want.  Talk to some of their previous customers and see what they say about the jobs they did.
'
Also, why blast at all if you're not going to get all the rust and material clean?  Blasting only the outside of the car is like only washing the outside of the dish.  You want to do this once right?  Blast all the car on a rotisserie or don't waste the money.   

[nsmall]

As always you guys are giving me good advice to think about.

The garnet guy only uses garnet.  He says he'll spend 2 hours on the hood and 2 hours on the roof alone as he has it on a very low setting so it takes a long time.

I like the idea of the painter putting it in primer so there are no excuses.

I don't have plans for a rotisserie as I'm not doing the bottom side body color and the bottom side is solid.  I'm going to do undercoating for the bottom side.

Attached are pictures of the passenger side and the driver side looks the same.

[nsmall]

I talked to the media Blaster and he said that he can use the garnet to get the undercoating off in the wheel well area but I don't know if that sounds crazy?

As for the interior I was thinking of just leaving everything besides the roof as I'm not painting interior body color besides maybe the firewall and it seems solid inside but maybe I don't know what I'm talking about.

Attached are photos of the roof...

[nsmall]

As for the rest of the interior, it's like tar underneath the sound deadener so that seems like a real nightmare too try it rip out.   I checked underneath it here and there and it seems really solid.

[nsmall]

Both painters want the car to be media blasted that I'm interested in using.

I'm doing a color change so that makes sense as does getting rid of any potential rust.

The doors and fenders and hood and trunk lid obviously will be off so I was thinking that would be enough to get the majority of the rust out.

As for the interior.   Im now getting your your point of going all the way. 

So if you do stripe the interior all the way bare do you just reseal all of the areas that were sealed by the factory?

Thank you so much guys for all your help and not kicking me off this site yet as I know I take a lot and don't give much.

Thanks

[Cuda Cody]

If you're not going to blast the whole car inside and out, then why not just sand the outside and paint it?  You can DA (Dual Action) sand the outside pretty easy or just have your body shop / paint guy do it?  Not sure there's much advantage to blasting if you're only doing the outside?      If your car is that super clean and you feel like you're not going to remove everything down to bare metal, just save yourself the money and only paint the outside.   

[anlauto]

  Exactly...do it all or don't do it at all