Just wondering what the best way to go about stripping my 79 F250 frame down to bare metal? Should I do it my self with a sand blaster or try and find a place that would do an acid bath? Also... I'm thinking of using a Rhino Lining as the final coating when its all said and done... any thoughts???

 

hands down sandblasting. You'll be wire brushing with a grinder for DAYS! And you still wont get it all. Plus when you sandblast it, it leaves a great surface for the paint or whatever to "grab" to. When you wire brush it you end up with a "mirror" like surface. Acid bath can get awfully pricey. I had my frame, cab, bed, and a bunch of small parts sandblasted for $300. I priced a acid bath for the cab and bed alone and it was $2500! Whatever you do don't ask about putting por15 on, there's a couple guys on here that go absolutly CRAZY when that question is asked! LOL

 

Thx, benmoderow, for the info... just cerious though, what is "por15"???

 

Oh boy, I don't know if I should do this..........ahh what the heck. Por 15 is the name of a product that is GREAT for protecting bare or sandblasted metal. It's like a paint, but ALOT tougher. I've used tons of it and have been extremely happy. Just my 2 cents, but if you're planning on doing Rhino Lining, spend an extra $75 and put a coat of por15 on, you will have a frame that will probably never rust. I did my frame with por15 and then went over it with a bedliner material also. Do a google search or search previous threads on here for it and you'll find tons of info. There's just a couple of guys on here that go crazy because they think that way too many threads are started on it. Excellent stuff though.

 

I'm pretty sure I'm going to powder coat mine. $750.00 and they do the sand blasting.

 

Sandblasting is the way to go!

had my chassis blasted for $250, and then painted it with Eastwood's chassis paint!

Most blasters can also either powder coat or paint the chassis for you.

 

Yup, gotta agree with the sandblasting route....much more thorough, and like benmoderow said, it gives a perfect surface for paints or coatings to bond to. I had the frame on Buford blasted and powdercoated with a multi-stage powdercoat called "silver vein". Kinda gives the frame a hammered metallic look which I liked. Those pictures are in my album if you're interested. Anyway, if you've got the frame bare, blast and powdercoat is the best option in my opinion.

 

I just sandblasted my own frame with the sandblaster sears sells for 60$ and painted it with por15. Turned out great considering its my first project, but I must let you know sandblasting yourself is time consuming and messy. I used playsand from lowes and turned my driveway into my own personal beach!

 

I sandblasted my frame with a 100lb sandblaster I bought from Harbor Freight. I have an Ingersol-Rand 5HP compressor w/ an 80 gal. tank. Never ran out of air but yeah, it turned my driveway into a poor excuse for a beach.
It took me 3 days, mostly non-stop and 1600 lbs of sand but the results was worthwhile.
I then sprayed the frame with two coats of Rustoleum red primer then two coats of Valspar semi-gloss black industrial coating.
I'm pleased with the results and in the end, I guess, that's what counts.

 

I started out basically the same way... but I got about 2 feet of chassis done in about 4 hours. After that I figured their had to be an easier way. I called the local sandblaster and he quoted me price that was well worth my time and energy!

weigh your options, if you have access to a BIG sandblaster and an even BIGGER compressor... go for it. My 60 gallon compressor just couldnt keep up with the blaster, Nor could the sandblaster remove the material fast enough.

I brought my partially () blasted chassis to the guys shop in the AM and picked it back up the next Morning! Worth EVERY penny!

 

Here's how my project turned out (this is obviously after I've started the reassembly). All done in my driveway over a three day period.
Sorry for the BIG pictures, computer crashed big time and I haven't put the pic resizer back on it.

 

here is a before pic of my frame(previous owner painted it orange, not me!)


here is the frame painted in my garage.

 

Nice job!

I think I lean towards taking it to a pro blaster when/if I get down to that level of restoration.

 

Hey thanks for the advice guys... I dont think im going to sand blast the frame myself, (nowhere that I can make that kinda mess...) But from the sounds of it it not to expensive to get it done at a shop. And I think i'm gonna go the POR15 route, sounds like a good product... havnt started my build yet, just gathering info, but when I do I am going to post every part of the build in the forums. Build is going to be a 1979 F250 SuperCab Short Box Conversion...

 

just an FYI, por15 can be sprayed or brushed on, making its application easy, especially in tight spots.