Updated at: 27-05-2022 - By: Lucas

Imagine you have your favourite car in the parking lot, but it needs a new coat of paint. But when you think about what the whole process means for you, you get cold feet.

It’s not always easy to decide to take all the paint, rust, and body filler off your car. It’s very important to find out as much as you can about automotive sandblasting.

You can only make a good choice when you have this kind of information. When done to a car, sandblasting leaves the metal surface bare and ready for a new coat of primer.

If you want to refinish your car and make it look like it did when it came out of the factory, you can try this method. You can learn everything you need to know about sandblasting from this article.

What is Sandblasting?

It is the process of removing paint or rust from a surface so that it can be painted again.

It is a method that has replaced the old way of using sandpaper to get rid of paint or rust. When sandblasting, rough materials like sand are used.

shattered glass,

Broken up plastic

Aluminum oxide

Steel grit

Copper slug

The list goes on and on, and it’s not just the things above.

Why is the Name Sandblasting?

automotive sandblasting-1

Sandblasting is a general term for any rough, abrasive material used to clean. Stay with me, because now we’re going to talk about real stuff.

How to Sandblast a Car

As we’ve already said, the process involves taking off paint or rust from the car’s body or frame. It uses small, rough particles that are moved by high pressure. If you point the blaster’s nozzle at the surface, the paint or rust will come off.

There is a way to go about doing this.

1. Choose and set the area that you will use to carry out sandblasting.

Sandblasting should be done outside, away from your house. So, the medium you are using won’t have any effect on other people or even the areas around you.

2. Ensure you have all the safety clothing that you need when you start sandblasting.

Every job needs protective gear. Safety cloths are also used when sandblasting. Before you blast your car, you should have the following safety gear.

Clothing to keep you safe. It has long pants and long-sleeved shirts.

Dust mask.

Safety helmet /goggles.

Hand gloves

3. Choose the media to use for sandblasting.

How you choose the media to use depends on what you want to sandblast. Each part of the car can be blasted with a different type of media.

Take the case of sandblasting the underside of a car. Rough grit will be used as the medium. In the same way, if you want to sandblast the body frame, you should use very small pieces of sand.

Why? Because the car’s body frame is made of thin materials that can bend when there is a lot of pressure on them.

4. Protect and cover areas that can get damaged during blasting.

The pressure used to move the medium is so high that it can break weak parts on your car.

Some parts of the car, like the window pens, headlamps, and tail lamps, are easy to break. Also, if the blaster nozzle points at door handles or side mirrors, it can damage them.

It would be smart to put a thick, strong sheet over these spots. You can also take these parts off to keep them safe.

5. Ensure you adjust the sandblaster pressure

Pressure needs to be applied at different levels in different places. You won’t use the same amount of pressure on the windows to get the paint off as you will under the car.

These parts are made of a variety of materials and have different thicknesses.

Technicians say that you should start with low pressure and work your way up to higher pressures. It depends on what you’re painting on.

6. Blasting the surface

After you’ve made sure you’ve done all of the above, it’s time to get to work. Watch out for the different surfaces you are working on. But when the material on a surface is thin, you lower the pressure.

The recommended pressure should be high for the harder surfaces. Keep doing that until the whole car is blown up.

7. Inspection

Do a random check of the work after you’re done to make sure it meets the standards.

When you look at the whole sandblasting process, you might ask.

Is it Safe to Sandblast a Car?

automotive sandblasting-2

How you look at the pros and cons of sandblasting will determine how you answer this question.

Sandblasting is a general term, as we already said. So, when sandblasting, you should think about the media you will use. That will help you decide if the process is safe for your car or not.

In general

Sandblasting makes sure that all of the paint and rust on your car’s surface are gone. So, you can start painting on a clean surface.

In plain English, it makes sure that the surface is profiled.

But because sandblasting is rough, it can cause the surface of the car to wear down.

It could happen if not done very carefully. It could cost you more to fix the broken parts of your car.

Most importantly, how safe your car is will depend on the media you use to blast it. So, it’s important to pick the right media.

Look at each form of media, compare their pros and cons, and then choose the one that has more pros than cons.

All of these things are part of the process of sandblasting. Before you decide whether to do it yourself or hire a professional, you should ask yourself a big question.

The question then is,

What is the Cost to Sandblast a Car?

Several things will affect how much it will cost to sandblast your car.

Will the blasting cover both the inside and the outside?

Is it only going to cover the outside?

Are you going to pay a technician to do it, or will you do it yourself?

What kind of media will you use to blast your car?

If you answer this question, you should be able to figure out how much it will cost to blast your car.

You can do it yourself or hire someone to do it for you.

If you hire a technician, it will cost you between $1,000 and $1,500. Think about everything else that goes into sandblasting.

But the cost will go down if you do the sandblasting yourself. The price will be between $600 and $800.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is sandblasting important to my car?

It is important to sandblast your car. Why? It makes sure that all the paint and rust are gone from the surface. So, painting will be more even and last longer.

2. Is sandblasting dangerous?

Yes. It makes a lot of noise and a lot of dust, just like any other abrasive blasting process. Also, don’t forget the surface that has been blasted.

The surface can give off dangerous chemicals that are bad for you.

So, you might want to put on safety gear before you start revving your engine.

3. How do I choose the right media for sandblasting my car?

How you choose the medium will depend on what you’re painting on.

Use the most abrasive media when sandblasting under the car. But if you want to blast glass or another thin surface, choose a less abrasive material.

Conclusion

You should now know how important it is to choose the right automotive sandblasting media. In the same way, sandblasting is also an important step.

You can choose the right media for sandblasting if you know enough about how it works.

You don’t want to be sorry that the work wasn’t done to your standards. If you don’t know what to do, use the services of a qualified technician.

In the end, it’s important to make sure you give your car the best care and do it the right way.