Question: Our next project is my wife's 58 chevy yeoman wagon. I'm stripping it down to the brass tacks. Should I sand blast it with walnut shells,silica sand, grind it instead of blasting? Will any form of blasting warp the skin? What's the safest?

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Lance B.

IF ITS JUST PAINT REMOVAL AND YOU WANT TO BE EASY ON THE TIN, GO WITH WALNUT SHELLS. I KNOW PEOPLE ARE GONNA DISAGREE WITH THIS OTHER METHOD BECAUSE IT`S DANGEROUS AND MESSY BUT CHEMICAL STRIPPING IS THE EASIEST. WEAR LOTS OF PROTECTION ESPECIALLY EYES, GOOD RESPERATOR AND COVER ALL EXPOSED SKIN. WORKS LIKE A CHARM WHEN DONE RIGHT. USE LOTS OF WATER TO CLEAN UP. DISPOSE OF THE WASTE PROPERLY. JUST BE REAL CAREFUL WHEN DOING IT THIS WAY.

If your just removeing paint Get Aircraft paint stripper from your local auto parts store. Also buy a box of single edge razer blades. This stripper lifts the paint you scrape it off with the razer. Paint comes off dry, doesn,t make a mess just sweep it up. You can easely strip your wagon to bare metal in an afternoon. This is the way I do it. Only sand blast the rusted areas, Yes blasting if your not real careful will warp or blow away your parts. Regards,Honestfrank
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"VEO DINDICE"

I took my car to a blaster. The car was to be blasted with plastic. I told the guy not to use sand on it. Well you know what happened. They started out with plastic, it was going too slow for them so they switched to sand. The car was as good as junk when i got it back. Every panel on the car was warped. This car was a perfect body car, no rust or dents. Took my body guy about 6 weeks of working 16 hours a day to get it back in shape. Went I told the guy i was thinking about sueing his but off, He told me to take a number and get in line. My choice would be to use plastic or soda blasting. Have seen both and the result was what I wanted on my car. Who ever does it have them put what you want on paper including a statement about no warping of medal.
TOM
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That's my story and I'm stickn to it

Are you doing this yourself, or having it done? Soft media is the only blasting that is safe for body panels. Wallnut shells, plastic, etc. The only problens with soft media is that they won't remove rust, and most require specialized equiptment. They are used at a lower pressure and very high volume, requireing a huge compressor. Whatever you do, DO NOT BLAST YOUR ENTIRE CAR WITH SAND! . Sand should only be used for floor boards, door jambs etc... I agree with Ed about chemical stripers. They work great, but are messy. I recomend taping off all jambs, seams, and edges. The only draw backs to chemical stripper is if you get it into seams and areas like under doorskin edges it's hard to get out completely and to neturalize. You have a chance of it lifting the new paint. So if you use chemical stripper, Tape off about 1/2" from the edges. Seal off the jambs completely. After paint removal, and thourough washing, you will need to sand the panels with a D.A. I like to use 150 grit. Use the D.A. to remove the paint around the edges. If you are dealing with surface rust on the body panels, sand it off with the D.A. as good as you can.(keep the speed down, and change the paper often) Then use chemical rust remover. Same deal with the jambs, and seams, keep the rust removers out! As far as grinding for paint removal....NO! Grinding is for body work, not paint prep. I rarely use anything more course than 150 on a D.A for undamaged body panels.... So, Ed, what brand of stripper do you like. I use Aircraft. Have you found anything better?

Hi Eric, I use Rock Miricle, it is most powerful stripper I`ve found. man does it sting. Don`t get it near your skin. I bet it took out a few braincells over the years..lol It has the skull and crossbones all over the can. Nuff said.

I just have to say that blasting is probably not the safest way to do it but I had my 51 wagon done at my house. A friend of ours came out with his portable unit and did the whole body and frame in about an hour. None of my panels were warped or anything. I think it is great. No paint anywhere and it lifted all the old bondo out. Just another point of view.

Shane

We'll all hold our breath untill you get some shinney paint on it. Have heard that statement quite a few times.
TOM
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That's my story and I'm stickn to it

If you're just removing paint, use chemical stripper as others have said. Lay plastic on the panel over the stripper. This keeps the stripper from evaporating, and lets it stay wet and eat threw multi layers of paint.
After stripping everything I can with chemicals, I use an Eastwood stripping disc. It goes on a body grinder with a 5/8" arbor, and has Scotch Brite style disc that velcro to it. This will take it to bare metal, and leaves a finish a little finer than 80 grit. Works great, doesn't build heat or warp.
Any paint left you can't get to with the stripping disc, or any rust can be CAREFULY sandblasted with either silica sand or black beauty.
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Charlie

Thanks for all the advice. From what I can tell, there's 3 layers of paint. Think I'll try the stripper first then go from there. If I end up having it blasted, sounds like it would be worth the trip taking it to a REAL professional who's got one heck of a reputation for quality, which could mean a road trip. Better that than a warped mess. Thanks again guys!
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Lance B.