Sandblasted...now what ?

[Menace]

Ok, I know I'll probably take some ribbing, but I can't do the rust thing. I don't want billet or a "trailer bitch" but man, this thing is 55 years old and looks great ! ! I am all about gathering cheap or free parts but I can't bring myself to leave this cab to the elements. I just brought my 54 Dodge cab home from the sandblaster's (had a bunch of crap paint on it from over the years) , now what ? My "vision" so to speak, is chopping it 6" and channeling it 4". I want a sealed cab, nice interior with an Ed Roth flavor. Maybe an open roof with the shifter sticking up through with a skull hanging in the breeze, no fenders,just the center section of the hood, with a 36 Dodge grill . I should mention that it will be sitting on an S-10 frame, 305, th350 and 10 bolt rear. Haven't decided on rims and tires but I'm definitly thinking wide whites. Gimme some opinions before it flashes !
Thanks, Menace

 

[Arkansawer]

If you are going with IFS then id run fenders. IFS out in the wind looks odd. Straight axle with no fenders is great.

 

[wrecker55]

run some trailer fenders on the front that turn with the tires, will b cool

 

[rustbucket49]

If it looks good in blasted metal, can you spray a flattened clear on it and leave it?? Then you can do your chop at your leisure, then re-clear the chop lines and still be able to blend it fairly good w/ the original clear coat. I am thinking out loud here.... I don't know enough about paint to know if you can flatten a clear coat.

You ever seen Jimmy Shine's ride?? That's what I'm talking about - really sweet. Here are two ideas for finishes - first two are Jimmy Shine's and third is a ride I saw at Niftee50tees - unfinished, but "refined", rust. I like the third myself - nice sled - but if you spent the time, effort and perhaps $$$ to blast it, I would think this option is out of the picture. I would do a flat clear (if that can be done......)

If you want to put color on it, easiest thing to do right now is either spray it w/ epoxy primer or acid primer (like PPG D8099). That is easy stuff to work with, it's a VERY quick process and you can leave it for months in acid primer (or the epoxy for that matter). Then you can do your body mod's and put the color to it once you've finished the body work.

 

[donsrods]

There are no clears I know of that will stick to bare metal. Shines car is bare metal that he cleans continually with either WD-40 or Gibbs, or something like that. What ever you do, you better get some sort of primer on that blasted body REAL quick, it will start to rust in a couple of days if not hours. Blasted metal for some reason rusts a lot faster than metal that has just been sanded. Some say it is the moisture in the sand, and some say it is the pattern the sandblasting creates, little hills and valleys that promote moisture entrapment. I have had parts blasted and by the time I drive them home they are starting to rust already.

Clean the metal very well with some metal dewaxer and shoot a coat of regular primer on it if nothing else. Do your chopping and all, then sand it back off and do your finish priming and painting when you are all done. I only had one car sandblasted in my life, a 68 Mustang drag car I built. I will never do another one.........sand was trapped every where, and kept finding it's way out of every nook and cranny for years. No matter how I vacuumed and air blasted it, there was still sand trapped in it.

Don

 

[Blue Eyed Devil]

If you are going with IFS then id run fenders. IFS out in the wind looks odd. Straight axle with no fenders is great.

x2 on that...

 

[Sam_Fear]

If you can't stand to let er rust, maybe coat it with a rust converter/preventer and leave it that way - not quite rust and not quite paint.

As for the IFS open fender look - ugly compared to a straight axle. Did have a thought though - how about the trailer fender idea with some kind of 'wing' over the IFS part to kinda hide it? Or something like a early 30's style open fender but smaller? Basically, something to cover the IFS but gives the open wheel look.

 

[sixtall]

Looking forward to seeing some pics of it.

 

[Menace]

I only had one car sandblasted in my life, I will never do another one.........sand was trapped every where, and kept finding it's way out of every nook and cranny for years. No matter how I vacuumed and air blasted it, there was still sand trapped in it. Don

Amen Brother !! I'll never blast another one. In fact I'm not blasting the doors on this one. What a pain in the ass ! Shop vac, air gun, shop vac, air gun...on and on stuff just kept coming out . Finally got it under control and shot a coat of primer on it. Here's shortly after...

 

[Menace]

run some trailer fenders on the front that turn with the tires, will b cool

Was kicking around doing something with these...