Art Vandelay
Full Access Member
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2023
- Posts
- 54
- Reaction score
- 58
- Location
- New England
- First Name
- Art
- Truck Year
- 1976
- Truck Model
- k10
- Engine Size
- 350
What is the best media for blasting the body of a 70’s K10?
Best media for blasting the body
- Thread starter Art Vandelay
- Start date
Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.
Doppleganger
Full Access Member
- Joined
- May 24, 2019
- Posts
- 12,707
- Reaction score
- 58,942
- Location
- OH-MI: Just like it sounds
- First Name
- Chris
- Truck Year
- 1985
- Truck Model
- K20
- Engine Size
- 5.7
Fella I use will do everything but the roof with regular sand (turns the pressure down) but prefers walnut shells. Did mine - gotta do it again to get all the zinc-phosphate off.
You must be registered for see images attach
Bennyt
Full Access Member
- Joined
- May 17, 2019
- Posts
- 1,202
- Reaction score
- 1,855
- Location
- Surprise
- First Name
- Ben
- Truck Year
- 1977
- Truck Model
- C10
- Engine Size
- 350
I paid $600-700 to have the C10 body dipped in Phoenix. Doesn't harm the metal. I did my Nova that way as well in Fort Worth but it was about $1500 iirc.
xpressmetalcleaning.com
Xpress Metal Cleaning
xpressmetalcleaning.com
You must be registered for see images attach
fast 99
Full Access Member
- Joined
- Dec 31, 2021
- Posts
- 2,029
- Reaction score
- 2,938
- Location
- Spokane, Washington
- First Name
- Brian
- Truck Year
- 81,85
- Truck Model
- K20
- Engine Size
- 350
If available slurry blasting is preferred. Water keeps metal cool. Some media will not remove rust if that is an issue.
Art Vandelay
Full Access Member
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2023
- Posts
- 54
- Reaction score
- 58
- Location
- New England
- First Name
- Art
- Truck Year
- 1976
- Truck Model
- k10
- Engine Size
- 350
Got a quote today of $700 for cab and $1200 for rest of body… and I’ve gotten higher than that. I can rent everything I need for a day minus the media for under $350
Bennyt
Full Access Member
- Joined
- May 17, 2019
- Posts
- 1,202
- Reaction score
- 1,855
- Location
- Surprise
- First Name
- Ben
- Truck Year
- 1977
- Truck Model
- C10
- Engine Size
- 350
If you plan on blasting it yourself, the biggest issue is the compressor.A normal 60-80 gallon compressor can't do it. You'll only be able to blast for 3-4 minutes at a time. You'll need to rent a trailer mounted IR screw type to be efficient. I'd use coarse stuff on the structural parts and switch to shells or glass on panels and blast at an angle across the panel so you don't warp it.
You could always DA the truck and blast little sections where you can't get the DA into. You also aren't going to bodywork the truck all at once, so you could strip sections as needed and then you don't have to worry about rust.
Fat 454
Full Access Member
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2012
- Posts
- 107
- Reaction score
- 184
- Location
- Australia
- First Name
- Andy
- Truck Year
- 1973
- Truck Model
- C20 Suburban
- Engine Size
- 454
Hi - really don't want to be the "safety nanny" here but... DO NOT use regular sand for any abrasive blasting. When the sand hits a surface it fractures and the resulting finer silica powder if inhaled can cause respiratory diseases like silicosis. Better options would be garnet ( silica free ), soda ( baking soda ), or walnut hulls. All these media types are readily available in bulk for blasting. there is loads of info on line about the advantages and dis-advantages of different media.
Any dust is "bad", however most of these media types can be collected, cleaned and re-used, as "less" dust is produced. Best bet would be to sub out to a blast shop with filtration and the proper equipment.
A couple of other ideas also would be to use a DA ( orbital sander ) to remove the bulk of the paint, and then just blast the difficult to get to corners and or rust patches ( helps prevent warping un-braced sheet areas like the roof, door skins etc. ).
Also, I like to try and retain the majority of the factory applied undercoat / primer layers. You will be hard pressed to replicate better conditions than the factory had when coating the original raw steel, so why remove it?
I also dont trust chemical dips or strippers, as I have seen bleed out from lap joints and box sections ruin a finished paint job months after the work was completed - and thats a real bummer...good luck,
Any dust is "bad", however most of these media types can be collected, cleaned and re-used, as "less" dust is produced. Best bet would be to sub out to a blast shop with filtration and the proper equipment.
A couple of other ideas also would be to use a DA ( orbital sander ) to remove the bulk of the paint, and then just blast the difficult to get to corners and or rust patches ( helps prevent warping un-braced sheet areas like the roof, door skins etc. ).
Also, I like to try and retain the majority of the factory applied undercoat / primer layers. You will be hard pressed to replicate better conditions than the factory had when coating the original raw steel, so why remove it?
I also dont trust chemical dips or strippers, as I have seen bleed out from lap joints and box sections ruin a finished paint job months after the work was completed - and thats a real bummer...good luck,
kkgp81
Full Access Member
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2023
- Posts
- 190
- Reaction score
- 310
- Location
- Texas
- First Name
- Kelley
- Truck Year
- 1978
- Truck Model
- K10
- Engine Size
- 350
I paid $600-700 to have the C10 body dipped in Phoenix. Doesn't harm the metal. I did my Nova that way as well in Fort Worth but it was about $1500 iirc.
Xpress Metal Cleaning
You must be registered for see images attach
Not bad considering. I may check that out on the next one. It’s priced higher than blasting but is probably worth it depending on how far you are taking the project.
I was watching a Cletus video the other day cleaning the paint off a helicopter. I’m not sure what they were using but I want some.
