Sandblasting pot metal parts?

[Omie01]

I want to start stripping some of the pot metal parts on my car like the rear quarter extensions, front fender moldings, hood molding etc. Is it safe to sandblast these items?

 

[delawarebill]

pot metal is soft so i would not use sand.. maybe peanut shell would be better

 

[mustang7173]

Another solution maybe

http://www.kleanstrip.com/product/aircraft-paint-remover

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

Use caution with the liquid stripper might eat up the Pot Metal which is really Zinc alloy, Zamak 3 or 5 usually. 3 is used in most trim and 5 is used where extra strength is needed. 

You might check in your area if someone has plastic media stripping that does not warp even the outside sheet metal parts. Will not remove rust.

When you do strip them do not leave them bare long. Check with you paint supplier for the correct pre treatment before primer. The oxygen in the air will deteriorate Zinc fast. Can cause the paint to lift.

 

[MikeGriese]

You can try soda blasting too. Are you removing paint or plating?

 

[mustang7173]

Here is a Mobile Media Blasting -

http://www.sandblastinginminneapolismn.com/

https://www.glassblastermn.com/

See if they local to your area!

 

[mustang7173]

Use caution with the liquid stripper might eat up the Pot Metal which is really Zinc alloy, Zamak 3 or 5 usually. 3 is used in most trim and 5 is used where extra strength is needed. 

You might check in your area if someone has plastic media stripping that does not warp even the outside sheet metal parts. Will not remove rust.

When you do strip them do not leave them bare long. Check with you paint supplier for the correct pre treatment before primer. The oxygen in the air will deteriorate Zinc fast. Can cause the paint to lift.

David,

Yep, it is some gnarly stuff there!

 

[MikeGriese]

When you are picking a chemical stripper, always Always ALWAYS look at what substrates are safe with the chemical. That information will be on the container or you can look up the chemical safety sheets online. Something that is safe for bare aluminum or steel may not be safe for pot metal.

Or just google paint strippers safe for pot metal.

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=paint+strippers+for+pot+metal

https://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/2228546/re-best-way-to-remove-layers-of-paint-from-pot-metal.html

https://forums.aaca.org/topic/276138-cleaning-paint-off-of-pot-metal/

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

I posted up some pictures of a Buick in my friends shop that just came back from Chem Strip in North Carolina. I think they have facilities in other areas also. This body was dip stripped. They first bake in oven to melt paint and sealer then in chemical tank to remove the rust. He was going to plastic media blast but when they started there was too much rust under the paint that the plastic will not remove. The entire body doors, fenders, hood and trunk included was $3,100. The sprayed phosphate on it to prevent flash rust that is why it is so dark. He has done several cars this way for over 30 years and never had any bleed issue like some say. Depending on how you value your time if it is worth it. It will come back like a screen if really rusty. 

I think it was three days in the process but had to get in line for months before it went in. 

This car has a full boxed frame so he just sand blasted it and it is already restored and ready.

 

[mustang7173]

Looks good! I took mine to the Burlington, NC site I had my fenders, and hoods stripped. Sure saves the elbows!

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

Looks good! I took mine to the Burlington, NC site I had my fenders, and hoods stripped. Sure saves the elbows!

That is where that one went. They stopped doing them in S.C. location after they scrapped one of my friends cars a GTO they had to pay $67,000 for the body they destroyed because they ran over with fork truck. The 72 vert I have was also there and no signs of any weeping from the seams and been years.

The best way to kick start a project for sure saves you weeks even months and you can never get to the places the chemicals do. Just sand and epoxy prime.