I wash just wondering what you guys are doing to clean up your frames on your trucks that your restoring or just working on. Last fall I took the bed of my 77 and sandblasted the driver side frame rail and then painted using KBS coatings rust seal. Then it got to cold to paint so i stopped sandblasting since i couldn't paint. So i started to use a air powered DA sander to knock loose some rust so when spring comes sandblasting will be a little easier. Just thought i would try to start some conversation about frames

 

You are already on the right path....

Sandblasting is about the best thing you could be doing in my opinion. Start with good solid clean metal.

I know not everyone has that option and they knock off as much rust as they can before encapsulating it with one of the many products out there, but that is just a band-aid if you ask me. Albeit a pretty good one that you will get some years out of, but if your going to do it, you might as well do it the best you absolutely can!

 

Oh...the other thing I wanted to say was, I notice when I see pics of what people sandblast, they often don't hit areas entirely. You can see black speckling in spots where if they had just spend a few extra minutes they could have had it entirely clean. Not sure why they do that. All you are doing is encouraging more rust when you don't do a complete job.

 

ya, im taking my time with sandblasting, i've went through about 300 pounds doing the engine compartment and the driver side frame. So in an effort to use less sand i used the DA sander, which has taken alot of rust off but its not bare metal yet so i'll finish it off with the sandblaster.

I've seen people use grinders and stuff on frames which leaves them smooth. To me thats not good, the surface should be ruff so the paint has something to stick too

 

Wire brush on a grinder is what I used. I just wanted to get most of the loose rust off as the paint I used wanted there to be some rust to stick to best. We'll see how it holds up. Brushed on Rustoleum Rusty Metal Primer and then sprayed it with the big cans of Rustoleum Semi-gloss Black.

 

I sandblasted the frame for my project ('73 F100 2WD) in my driveway. I used a 100 lb sandblaster that I bought from Harbor Freight and a 5 HP Ingersol-Rand air compressor with an 80 gallon tank to power it. I then sprayed it with two coats of Rustoleum red primer followed by two coats of Valspar semi-gloss black industrial coating.
It took 1600 lbs of sand to blast the frame.
This is the reults.

 

i would like to sand blast! but how did yall control all the extra mess? 1600 lbs of sand seams like alot i just dont want tons of sand on my grass or in my shop so i think im going to stick to wire wheel and grinder..

 

I did it outside, I live on a farm so we don't care about our grass. But on rainy days I put a tarp on the floor of the shop and the tarps all around the truck and blasted away

 

What would you estimate your final cost for the sandblaster, all 1600lbs of sand, paint, etc...

 

I'll give you my estimate but it won't be good, I used my dads sandblaster but there anywhere frome 50-100 bucks, then sand is about 10 bucks for 100 pounds around here so 160 bucks in sand, then I used KBS coatings for paint and a quart of there paint was 50 bucks shipped so around 210 not including the blaster

 

1600 lbs. sounds like a lot but it really isn't. After I finished I swept the driveway. I filled a wheelbarrow with the sand (several times) and then went around the yard spreading it around and filling in a few holes.
The soil in my area is pretty much sand anyway, in fact the silica sand I used in the blasting was mined only a few miles from my house.
Here is what my driveway looked like when I was almost finished blasting.

 

IIRC I think I paid $149.00 for the blaster, the sand was $4.30 per bag (32 bags). I can't recall what I paid for the paint. I got the primer at Lowe's and Northern Tool had the semi-gloss black.
I think I replaced the nozzle on the blaster twice ($17.00 ea). I sprayed the paint with an HVLP spray system that I bought from TP 11 or 12 years ago for around $600.00.

 

You can see how the sand piles up in Mike o0o0o's photo's. That COULD be swept up and filterd for use again if you want to go through the trouble. Putting a tarp under your work would make that job a bit easier. I would recommend sifting in a couple of times, but you can get it fairly clean. Most people I dont think do that however as the media is relativly chwap and not worth the hastle....

 

Yeah. I got a guy by me that charged me $97.50 to sandblast an entire truck frame for me, not quite sure how he made any money

And i know why you guys went thru so much sand. Your compressors are entirely too small and you loose pressure and are almost throwing sand at the frame and not blasting it. Once i got my 100lb sand blast pot and a good sized compressor(120 gallon tank, 10hp,and 34 CFM @ 90psi), I can do an entire frame with less than 400lbs of sand

 

I agree with Diesel_Brad about the size of the compressor. I've done lots of blasting over the last 3 years using various medias....walnut shells, baking soda, glass bead and aluminum oxide. All of them will remove material at a quick rate as long as you have a big air compressor with DRY air. My 7hp compressor is barely adequate. It took me a long time to discipline myself to stop blasting when the compressor is pumping up instead of continuing to blast while the compressor runs. Blasting takes mega CFM. Someday I will have a bigger compressor or an additional one but until now I will stop while compressor runs, besides it's a good time to drain the tank. I have an air/water seperator under my compressor that I drain often. Keeping the compressor constantly running produces steam when it gets really hot and the steam isn't easily trapped before getting to the blasting media and clumping it up. I use to think when it was cold I could let the compressor run and run while blasting without the moisture problems, but the compressor still can't supply enough cfm.

Blasting is definitely the best way to go. Because I only took the front end off my truck I high pressure washed it, then rust encapsulated it and painted it with semi gloss black. Looks pretty good but looking back I wish I had taken it all apart and media blasted. Even though it's only the frame, I think it would have looked better and been better protected in the long run, but sometimes you can only do what circumstances allow.