>Date: Mon, 04 Aug 1997 21:16:40 -0700
>From: "Michael D. Porter" <mdporter@rt66.com>
>Reply-To: mdporter@rt66.com
>To: bwarwick@wcoil.com
>CC: triumphs@autox.team.net
>Subject: Re: Naive Sandblaster!
>References: <970804174944_-1974485221@emout17.mail.aol.com>
>
>ArthurK101@aol.com wrote:
>>
>> In a message dated 97-08-04 13:42:42 EDT, bwarwick@wcoil.com (Barry P.
>> Warwick) writes:
>>
>> > Somebody out there must be into doing their own sandblasting on body panels
>> > and frame. I have some incredibly,.....you would not beleive how...naive
>> > questions. Would be happy to "commune" off-list if there are any takers!
>
>> Barry, please don't go "off list". There is no such thing as a "dumb" or
>> naive question. No-one here knows everything so that is why we share info.
>> A lot more gets done, and done correctly, that way. And WE ALL benefit.
>
>I have done my own sandblasting on a `70 GT6 I have been working on (off
>and on, I should say <g>) for some time. I rented commercial equipment
>(125 hp compressor and commercial hopper and hoses), and the general
>rule of thumb is don't stay in one place too long, and don't get too
>close. The force of sand driven at high pressures can bend the sheet
>metal, particularly the large flat panels. Use a fine grade of screened
>and washed beach sand (I used what the hardware store salesman referred
>to as "sandbox sand." Keep the nozzle back about 4-6 ft from the metal
>and let the sand do the work. This protects the sheet metal from lapses
>in concentration, but uses more sand.
>
>If you plan to rent commercial equipment, some advisories: one needs
>another person to run the hopper (keep the agitator moving so the sand
>doesn't quit), so you're not stopping all the time, since the compressor
>is on an hourly rate, usually. Buy twice as much sand as you think
>necessary, and it will be just right. <g> I ended up using about 7 80
>lb. bags for the inside and outside of the GT6 and the frame. Have
>everything set up the way you want it before getting the compressor to
>save rental time.
>
>Finally, try not to do it on a hot day, for a couple of reasons. First,
>one has to wear a hood, and it will get pretty steamy in there right
>away. Second, in my case, the guy running the agitator on the hopper was
>also the person with the truck to pull the compressor. The ball hitch on
>his truck was probably a 1/4" smaller than it should have been for the
>tongue on the compressor trailer. But all of us, including the rental
>agent, thought it would be okay if we didn't get too wild with it.
>
>Well, the fellow running the agitator was hot (it was a hot day...) and
>was a bit bored just slapping the agitator handle, so he had to have a
>beer. And then one more, and then one more... not enough to be drunk,
>over the course of three hours, but just enough to be very slightly
>impaired in his judgment. And, on the trip taking the compressor back to
>the rental shop, he hit a set of railroad tracks at about 45 mph....
>And, yes, the tongue of the compressor trailer popped off the hitch (the
>trailer was not equipped with safety chains), and I looked back to see
>the trailer drifting on its own, veering in the general direction of the
>gas pumps of the local convenience store.... He did manage to get the
>truck in front of the trailer and slow it down before significant damage
>(with me yelling directions while mentally reviewing how I would explain
>to the insurance adjuster how I managed to create a holocaust of the
>convenience store with an air compressor <g>), but it caused some
>unnecessary palpitations of the heart. <g> Just another of those items
>to consider in doing the complete job. <g> Total cost with sand, about
>$150, including the rental insurance. Don't forget to buy the insurance.
><g>
>
>Cheers.
>
>--
>My other Triumph runs, but....
>
>
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