media blasting the frame (truck)

[19slick66]

I have looked at the pictures at some of what y'all have done. AMAZING!!!
I may never get that far but I am curious as to how far down you took the truck and or frame before blasting and what the cost was. Did you remove the cab and bed, strip the frame of lines and attachments etc.? What about all the riveted items like shock and body mounts? I just thought it would be some good information to have handy.
Thanks

[Brian Taylor]

I have helped friends do there frames. Yes we took off all lines, clips and bolted on items. We left the riveted parts on and made any repairs needed to rusted or damaged areas. Removed all suspension either before taking it or kept it a roller till we got to the powder coaters and them removed the suspension.
It is a good idea to have the frame and many of the other items you wanted coated delviered at the same time to get a bulk price.
As for blasting PFM did his own blasting. It was messy but he had a good area to do it in. 1stslick sent his out due to living in a neighborhood and wanting to keep good neighbors. Maybe he will chime in with the cost, his was to blast and coat the frame and many other pieces.

[DukeRoche]

I have a balster of my own and have considered many times blasting my frame. Recently I changed my mind and decided to just scrape, wash, and paint it with magnet paint or something. My biggest concern is the sterring column. Even if you slightly raise the cab just to clean underneath, is it still a requirement to remove the steering column? Hope I don't steal the post, just curious.

[Anthony]

I pressure washed and scraped mine before I blasted mine.... I did not blast to bare metal as I used a siphon fed blaster from Harbor Freight. It took a lot of media to do but I kept sweeping it up and sifting it back into use through an old window screen. I also did all the under side of the truck... what I was going for was a good clean surface with no major areas of scaly rust before I applied the Chassis coat to the frame and the bedliner to all the under side of the truck. I did remove all the lines and fasteners.... I did the blasting on the frame before I put the body over onto it.... I rolled the cab onto its back to do the bottom of it.... hope this is making some sort of sense....



this is exactly what I bought and used.... not the most powerful but for the money spent, I am very pleased....

http://www.harborfreight.com/portable-a ... 37025.html

I put the chassis coat directly to the frame after cleaning as directed and on the under side that I used bed liner on, I used rustoleum red oxide primer...(Gallon size) before the bed liner ... hope it's not too many pics and I hope this is helpful... might not be for everyone, but this is how I did mine....

[unibodyboy]

I completely blasted every bit of my truck.

Blasted the frame (completely stripped) and then powder coated it.

Blasted the entire body, including the underside. On the underside I blasted, primed with DP40, painted with concept and then applied a bed liner.

Just make sure before you get that far that you've driven the truck and mocked it up running to determine which holes and things you will need so that you can fill the holes and make the fixes you need to.

I'd recommend the process to everyone.

[BackyardRest]

I have looked at the pictures at some of what y'all have done. AMAZING!!!
I may never get that far but I am curious as to how far down you took the truck and or frame before blasting and what the cost was. Did you remove the cab and bed, strip the frame of lines and attachments etc.? What about all the riveted items like shock and body mounts? I just thought it would be some good information to have handy.
Thanks

Its best to sandblast and powdercoat! Blasted frame myself in about 3hrs or less. Cost me 225.00 to have it powdercoated. You cannot buy decent paint and materials for the cost of the powdercoat. Easy to spot or touch up paint if it ever needs. End result is hard to beat.

[BigMike]

I think it depends on what you're going for. I want to preserve the underside of my truck and only do it one time. Powder coating is a good option but if you use a chassis coating, you'll never have to do it again. I don't plan to have mirrors on the ground showing the undercarriage of my truck because it's a driver. A lot of guys on my Jeep forums use POR 15 which I plan to use on the frame and underside of the body like Anthony did.

[kstones63]

I had my frame powdercoated. They did the blasting before the powdercoat was applied. It was very reasonable to do. What I paid for mine wouldn't apply today. Mine was done almost 10 years ago.
If you have the body blasted, try to find somebody that does media blasting with plastic or walnut shells. They do less damage to the outside surfaces. Sand blasting is fine on any other areas. Sand blasting is fine to use on the exterior panels if the person knows what they are doing. If they don't they can get the metal hot, warp it and and do irrepairable damage.

Kevin

[Thunderboy]

I stripped of all items that could be unbolted or removed. I left in the riveted pieces, and took the frame and had someone sandblast it. Bring all I-beams, bare rear housing, etc., as it will be cheaper to have it all done at once. I think I paid $275 for all the sandblasting. I could not have done it myself in my neighborhood, and you don't want to breathe that silica residue in the air while blasting, anyway.
I blew the frame carefully to get rid of excess sand residue. I brushed POR 15 straight on to the bare frame, and it looks great. It is tough as hell, and easy to touch up, if ever needed. Only thing about the POR 15 I used is that you can't leave the frame out in the sun, as I'm told it will fade very quickly. My painter friend and body shop owner is very impressed with the results I've had with POR 15.