Why Sandblasting Is a Good Way to Restore a Classic Car

Have you recently purchased a classic car at a very good price due to its condition? You may have been on the lookout for one of these for some time, and while you realise that it has seen better days, you are looking forward to renovating this vehicle step by step as part of your new hobby. Due to it being vintage, you know that some of this work is going to be labour-intensive and will need special equipment or tools in order to proceed. In particular, you're going to find it difficult to remove old paint and corrosion unless you introduce some form of blasting. However, can you do this efficiently without creating even more mess than there was before?

Sandblasting Efficiency

No amount of elbow grease is going to get rid of some of the mess caused by deterioration, road salt, brake dust and a variety of other long-term issues. You will be surprised how much progress you can make, however, with sandblasting. This can remove all of the build-up and base layers of paint without damaging the material underneath, even if it's wooden or plastic. You will need to prepare properly and consider whether this is something that you can really do yourself.

How This Is Done

When you get the right equipment you simply blast tiny pieces of material through a fine nozzle under pressure. It's similar in many respects to pressure washing, but the projectiles are much more abrasive than water droplets and you can vary the pressure according to the challenge ahead.

Building the Enclosure

It's best if you can create an enclosure of sorts in order to contain the resulting mess and to stop fine portions of sand floating around your garage as you work. Most people will design and build a special cabinet that is essentially a closed box with access areas for the equipment.

Obviously, if you have some larger parts to work with you will need a more extensive cabinet, and you may need to consider buying such a structure rather than making it. However, you do need to take this into account as part of your overall budget and figure out whether it would be better to outsource instead.

Don't Forget the Compressor

Remember, you also need a compressor that can handle your workload, and you will need to bring in plastic sheeting and other protective devices before you begin.

Clean First

Finally, remember to clean the affected area very carefully to remove any grease before you begin. Otherwise, you will compromise your blast sand and end up with a sticky mess, instead of an acceptable result.

Is This for You?

As you think about your approach, get in touch with auto body experts to see how much they will charge you for sandblasting and then compare this to your budget and levels of patience.

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