sandblasting

[Vic]

Helping a friend rebuild his FJ40 (one that I might ultimately buy) and have another friend whose business repairs and repaints its fleet of trucks. So he has a sandblasting capability; I can get the body done for free if I want to. Question is, do I want to?
These guys do this for their own vehicles so I assume they're experienced. But is there a downside to sandblasting to remove all the paint? Have no experience myself but it seems that the metal would not be left all that smooth. Does it have to be sanded afterward? Are there any parts of an FJ40 body that are going to give me trouble? I was thinking of the hinge for the windshield mostly. If hinge area is sandblastd will it damage or clog the hinge itself w/ sand?
In theory it sounds like I should take advantage of the free service but don't want to if the result is going to be less than ideal. TIA for any insight and your experience.
Vic

[Sloan]

I know that sandblasting larger sections of metal can cause warping. I don't think the cruiser has any panels that big though.

[Sundance]

Dry blasting is probably better....Stay away from wet blasting, surface rust occurs real quick unless you dry and prepare what has been blasted imediately.......imediately. Sand is a pretty harsh on panels, you might want to consider bead blasting.

[FlattopBob]

All the paint/body guys I know say the same thing- never take a vehicle down to bare metal unless the paint job is completely screwed.

This treatment will be a timesaver on rusted areas etc, but never do the whole body. That factory base coat adheres pretty well, and you would be amazed how fast freshly-blasted surfaces will rust.

[FlattopBob]

All the paint/body guys I know say the same thing- never take a vehicle down to bare metal unless the paint job is completely screwed.

This treatment will be a timesaver on rusted areas etc, but never do the whole body. That factory base coat adheres pretty well, and you would be amazed how fast freshly-blasted surfaces will rust.

[Land Crusher]

I own a cheep blaster bought it from harbor freight. 40lb preashure tank.

I have used it alot and had no problems.

after blasting I use hammer right
smoth finish paint It has worked well
for me. I use hammer right because you
dont need a primer. it is available
in spray cans or you can use a paint gun.

[ironpig70]

WHAT LITTLE I KNOW ABOUT THIS FROM HELPING SOME BUDDIES IS THAT IF YOU GO TO BARE METAL YOU SHOULD USE A SPECIAL METAL ETCHING PRIMER. THE SPRAY BOMBS AT THE LOCAL HARDWARE STORE DON'T HOLD . <IMG SRC="smilies/fj.gif" border="0">

[jchio]

I took my cj7 to an industrial sandblast, the hose has a 2" tip... It CLEANS the metal awesome, they work great and wont leave 1" of paint.. here is the picture of it sandblasted then primed., you MUST use a universal primer or so, its a special primer that goes to naked steel and should add it within 12 hrs to avoid rust. DAMN PRIMER IS TOXIC!!!

<IMG width=640 height=480 SRC="http://www.pirate4x4.com/ubb/uploads/priimed.JPG">


<IMG width=640 height=480 SRC="http://www.pirate4x4.com/ubb/uploads/blasssted.JPG">

[Land Crusher]

at the risk of being ignored.

hameright paint in spray can or in bulk
works great over bare metal.

it is made diferent than most other paint.

and might have compatibility problems
whith various other paints.