Restoration Tips

[Gas On]

Gday,

Yes blocker, blast the whole lot so you and other trades have a clean slate to work with. And make sure you get the upper & lower control arm mounts strengthened while you have a welder there!

Cheers

[Blocker]

OK thanks for the advice.

Blast
Primer
Rust removal, panel repair etc.
Paint

Does that sound right?

[jennie285]

Thanks guys very helpful info.

I do have a large shed to work in (ex- bus service buildings) I have two pits and enough room to do whatever.

The question I am asking is for me to keep things in perspective.

I visited an abrasive blaster yesterday, they use garnet and work with vehicles regularly. Got some tips, because this project has always been planned to be a bare metal - body off resto.

Noobie question.
Is the body and chassis blasted before panel replacement or after?
If it's blasted after rusted panels are replaced or repaired, how sure can you be all rust has been removed considering this car has been bog patched?

Rodney said (he lets me be is secretary)
My local panel beater and spray painter tell me not to get a panel van garnet blasted, or sand blasted (same thing) behind the doors, or on the roof, they recommend only soda blasting, because a heat build up can warp the panels. We are getting the yellow van soda blasted first, to see what panels need to be replaced, we know one door, bonnet, and a section of the front window sill certainly need replacing....We have a bloke who is taking some time of regular work, he is going to get the panels ready, he doesn't like to use bog, and we know this will be time consuming...after preparation we have a local panel beater who will spray it with 2 pack.....Jasmine Yellow

[Blocker]

Yea Jennie (and Rodney) They advised e the the garnet will heat up a lot and therefore they do not blast large panel areas.

They only blast areas that are difficult to sand manually. However I do have a contact here in Adelaide that does soda blasting and he has already done a HQ van and I have spoken with the owner who said he was more than satisfied.

[Absinth]

There is an awful lot of rust repairs to do to that body Andrew, add filling in the windows and the sunroof if you can't do it all yourself it is going to cost a fortune in body work.

Personally I would be looking at using the Aquarius HJ body you found at the wreckers as it probably has a lot less work in it. Either that or use the body from the HZ you got off Jason, you will have to swap out the firewall sections and use your HJ ones but again a lot less work. You will end up with a better car for less work and outlay if you re-body it. At least the HJ has th hood lining strips in it and if that body was up here I would use it to replace mine.

Some think a body swap makes the car no longer original..... pfttt.. The Sandman ID is in the chassis, plates and Sandman parts, the body is just another part and no different than replacing doors, guards, panels etc.

Get your body soda blasted... stay well away from sandblasting unless you know your blaster really well and have used him before for similar projects. Blasters will all tell you how good they are and by the time you find out they are not your car body is stuffed.

In answer to your restoration questions....

I do the major rust repairs before blasting the body, all the places that are obvious otherwise you will be doing a lot of priming, sanding, priming etc. Once you think you have all rust repairs done then get it blasted and primed, you will have a lot less work repairing the small spots you have missed that were covered by paint etc.

The rust along the seam of the side panels says to me that the top of the rear quarter panel will also need repairs so if cutting panels from another car cut along the quarter panel an inch or so below the seam, I would also cut along the roof an inch or so above the gutter joint. You can then unpick these sections and if needed have them as repair sections.

[Gas On]

Gday

Sand blasting has been around for donkey's, and is safe provided that the opperator has a sound knowledge of pressure, nozzle, grain size (sievage), technique / angles / distance etc... Would also be alot cheaper than soda blasting / chemical submerging. I would just like to keep that option open....

Cheers

[Blocker]

The rust along the seam of the side panels says to me that the top of the rear quarter panel will also need repairs so if cutting panels from another car cut along the quarter panel an inch or so below the seam, I would also cut along the roof an inch or so above the gutter joint. You can then unpick these sections and if needed have them as repair sections.

You are dead right! The inside 'ledge' where the seam is... That ledge has a few places where rust has gone right through it.
Thanks to leaky windows seals!

Thanks again, keep them coming.

[Blocker]

I hooked up my new (read cheap) air tool sander and took off a couple layers of paint!
But I'll need more than 80 grit cause it took too much effort.

[Absinth]

A 4 inch angle grinder with guard removed and a rubber sanding disc attachment is a better option.

If you have a decent sized compressor it is cost effective to buy a pressure blaster from Trade Tools (less than $200) and sand blast the hard to get at area's yourself. The ceramic nozel tips wear out quickly and are expensive to buy in Australia, can also be hard to find a supplier as Trade Tools don't sell the consumables.

You can buy packs of ten tip in different nozel sizes from the US on Ebay for $5 to $10 a pack. I buy 5 packs at a time and postage is less than $10 priority mail.

I have used my blaster on wheel rims, various panels, steel handrails, my work trailer and for frosting glass window panes..... it was well worth the money to buy it and has saved me ten times it's value.

[stickthis]

I hooked up my new (read cheap) air tool sander and took off a couple layers of paint!
But I'll need more than 80 grit cause it took too much effort.

"too much effort" that's half the fun isn't it? Looking back at the end of the day dripping with sweat having a drink and admiring what you have or haven't achieved for the day.

Absinth, I have often wondered about those blasters. Not to sure if I can be stuffed with the mess they leave behind.