RJ
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Post by RJ on Jan 15, 2015 9:23:30 GMT -8
Now that I have the Shasta elevated a bit, I'm really gonna dive into cleaning up the surface rust on the metal frame, cross members, and brake housings. I'm currently armed with a wheel stripper on an electric drill, good old wire brush, scraper, and a few varieties of emery cloth. Wondering if it's worth the muss and fuss of using an inexpensive sand blaster attachment on my compressor for the underside work? Curious to see what you cats think, or, have you done the under the trailer sand blasting thing and how it worked out?... As always, thanks for your thoughts. RJ
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soup
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Post by soup on Jan 15, 2015 21:19:34 GMT -8
Done it.
Worth the effort but if you sandblast next to wheel wells the sand will blast holes in them. Better stick with the soda blasting. If soda blasting on aluminum, be careful not to hold in one place too long. The heat buildup will warp aluminum.
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Post by vikx on Jan 15, 2015 22:05:30 GMT -8
You could not pay me enough to sand blast again!! Took 3 days to clean the lean-to and me. Sand in the rafters, in/on the lights, pockets, underwear, ears, everywhere...
Also, you need a good water filter and extra dry sand. We had to drive a distance to get it. The cheap gun we bought failed, so we had to buy two. Sand blasting works, but is messy and very time consuming. You'll need a full face hood (which will be ruined), gloves and at least two bags of sand.
We tried a blasting tank from HF, but it plugged almost immediately. I thought the extra air pressure and tank would make the process a little easier. Not. The HF guy agreed that the cheaper guns are actually better.
Hope this helps. I would HIRE SOMEBODY ELSE TO SANDBLAST... a miserable job, to be sure.
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slider
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Post by slider on Jan 15, 2015 22:45:39 GMT -8
I found a local body shop that is going to do mine for $75/hr. I sent him a pic of the frame and dimensions and he said it would not take 3 hrs. He also said after blasting I could come inspect with him and he would make repairs to frame if needed.
That is low enough for me to completely forget trying to rent a blaster, purchase sand and clean up doing it on my own.
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John Palmer
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Hi, From a vintage trailer guy located in Santa Ana, CA. It's good to see lots of activity here.
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Post by John Palmer on Jan 15, 2015 22:54:54 GMT -8
Make sure the integrity of the frame is sound.
Use a scraper, wire cup brush on an angle grinder, to remove any loose rust and knock down the big stuff.
Use P.O.R. 15 on the rusted areas. P.O.R. will not hold up to any areas that will see UV sun, these areas need to be top coated. It's basically a primer that adheres to rust (iron oxide), and anything else that touches it. DO NOT GET IT ON YOUR SKIN! Use a throw away bristle brush, it's self leveling. DO NOT spray it, brush it, (due to health and clean up issues)!
It's not cheap, a pint is more than enough to brush a trailer. DO NOT open the lid and allow air inside the can, it will harden inside the can. Just poke a small screw hole in the can lid and pour off what you need, then immediately seal the screw hole.
I used it on my 1953 Mallard, it's amazing stuff!
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John Palmer
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Hi, From a vintage trailer guy located in Santa Ana, CA. It's good to see lots of activity here.
Posts: 1,638
Likes: 579
Currently Offline
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Post by John Palmer on Jan 15, 2015 23:09:53 GMT -8
I found a local body shop that is going to do mine for $75/hr. I sent him a pic of the frame and dimensions and he said it would not take 3 hrs. He also said after blasting I could come inspect with him and he would make repairs to frame if needed. That is low enough for me to completely forget trying to rent a blaster, purchase sand and clean up doing it on my own. I would NEVER sand blast a frame with the body attached! You will never get the sand out of all the nooks and crannies! They will cause more problems than you have with the rust. How can they blast the rust off if the floor is still attached? Your going to spend $300 to $400 and still get a crappy job, that still will need to be coated after it's blasted.
If the body is removed, just take the frame to a local powder coater, they will blast it, then powder coat the frame. Depending on the size, how much time they estimate to blast it, and how much competition you have in your area, your looking at $200 to $400 for everything. I have paid as little as $150 for a tear drop frame for blasting and powder coating. The blasting and coating has to be done at the same place, at the same time, because you cannot touch the metal after it's cleaned, before it coated.
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Post by bigbill on Jan 16, 2015 6:31:40 GMT -8
Sand blasting the frame with the floor attached can also result in opening up the plywood to water infiltration by damaging the surface layer of the floor.
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