Hi Kevin,
I think you are going to find that most powder coaters will want to sand
blast the chassis themselves. The reason is that the chassis will start to
rust almost immediately and because of that, they will basically run it from
the sand blasting area directly to the powder coating area. It sounds like
you are planning on blasting it yourself so make sure you get all the grease
and sound insulating goop off the chassis before you start. Blast media just
bounces off that stuff. As far as media goes, from the most expensive to the
least expensive glass beads are great for removing paint but not rust, it
also works awesome on aluminum. Aluminum Oxide cuts fast and removes rust
(my personal favorite for steel). Sand and Silica work great too but they
have some safety issues. Silica is very bad for your lungs.
If you are planning on blasting yourself, you might want to check out my
website, http://home.fuse.net/davestr4a as I have a section on how I sand
blasted my tub in my garage. Look in the prep, prime, and paint section. If
I had it to do all over again, I don't think I would blast in my garage
again as it is VERY MESSY. At least my wife thinks so!
I am dropping my chassis off this Saturday to get blasted. I was going to
have my frame powder coated but reconsidered the expense as you can't really
see it once the car is back together. I am either using POR-15 or the
Eastwood stuff. Anyway, you might want to contact who ever is powder coating
your chassis to get their thoughts on blasting. You may end up having to pay
twice, once now and again when the powder coater gets it. Also, you need to
wear some kind of latex gloves when handling the blasted chassis as the oil
on your hands will leave marks.
I see you are in San Francisco, I grew up in San Leandro!
Best Regards,
Dave Connitt
'67 TR4A
http://home.fuse.net/davestr4a
Cincinnati, Ohio
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