Hi gang. I need some ideas on some tools. I want to get a tool to grind, sand, or wire wheel the frame and such, I have a drill, but its not very fast.
Im thinking mayby a 4" flat grinder and mayby a small die grinder.. I also need something to start taking off the paint on parts of the body.
Any and all sugestions are appreciated .
Also, air or electric?.

 

JimG,

Good question to be asking ...... I had to kind of sort it all out on my own, so maybe some of what I found out could help. I've had 4.5" grinders in use for several years, and have used wire cups on them, flap wheel abrasive disks, and ordinary abrasive disks. None of those options really did the best job of removing rust, old paint, or other crud. I finally purchased a 7" air sander / grinder. It's an Ingersol Rand, and runs at about 2500 rpm. I also found some 7" 3M brand Scotch Brite material removal disks that mount with their hook and loop system on a mounting wheel. Those 3M disks last longer and do better than anything else I've used. They do have them in the smaller sizes as well. Applied Industrial Technology has a branch here in Spokane that I get all that from. They also have a great website. Just google their name. They have branches around the country I understand. Norton sells some similar stuff in Home Depot now, but no 7" stuff that I've seen. The 3M disks are a little bit more expensive to buy, but I'm convinced that because I am able to use them a lot longer, the actual use cost is less.

I've stripped complete cabs with these, and still do frame clean up and even texturing of metal for some of the metal art items I make around Christmas time. Hope this helps.

Bob in Spokane

 

iffin' ya gotter all ripped apart & plan on doin a total strip of everythin'...tellya what i do...
i rent a bigass sandblaster setup for a saturday, (preferably a cold one)....the bigass diesel kind, get about 15 bags of sand , lay some tarps down so's not to have a permanent beach in the driveway when i'm done, getta helper, to keep movin parts or to hold smaller parts, inna couple hours everythin is freshn'clean and ready to start workin on. just remember the colder the day the better i like about -10 to -15c and don't blast directly @ sheetmetal hit it @ a good angle so's not to warp it.
rental & sand costs me between 350 & 400$$ but soooo worth it, saves sooo many hrs. of strippin, scrapin solvent washin , n' the like.
however....
iffin you are the kind that takes 4 ever to do a project (like years) best to havva gallon of etching primer @ hand and give er all a coat, cuz blasted metal will rust quick nuff when exposed to just plain ol' air.
Mikie
near ottawa canada
58 merc 100 panel, 64 econo pickup

 

Jim , If you"ve got an aircompressor ,you will find the smaller 5" air disc sander real handy.shop Sears ,Eastwood and suuh. You may want to have an assortment of different grit size"s also,36 grit can do some pretty quick damage ,240 grit for general duty ,also be sure and get the "Fiber-backed" disc"s ,See Eastwood"s restoration /metal working section ..Good Luck!!

 

robertr,


Found a AIT store right here in town. Been by it a million times, never noticed it. They were very helpfull, gave me there big catolog, and a 3m ,rustoleom and other assorted literature.. I will be checking out some of their stuff.

Thanks, JimG

 

cmoritz,


what speed of unit should I be looking at, and what type of CFM IS REQUIRED>

THANKS

jIMg

 

jIMg ,Speed?? Tool Speed? Something in the 3500 rpm range will probably work ,most air-grinders have an adjustable **** somewhere on the tool ,depends alot on what tpye of work your doing as to what speed/grit size ,they do consume alot of air , I recently purchased small 2 inch 10,000 rpm unit with a 90 deg. head ,paddle lever unit ,one of the nicest tools I"ve ever worked with..you can also get various size/type discs for it--real handy for detailing stuff ,.hope that helps..Good Luck!!!