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MG MGA - Dont Use Soda Blasters!

If your striping the paint off your car DON'T use Soda (baking soda)Blasters . Soda blasting is the new rage in auto body paint removal, but just like other media blasting it WILL warp your doors hood and trunk. I had taken my '61 roadsters doors, trunk, and bonnet to a one of these business in CT, and now I either have to find some way to re-skin them or replace them,(would take way too much bondo to make them flat again. I was going to use a normal sand blaster to do the whole steel tub but after seeing what happened to the doors I'm going to have it chemically dipped to get it down to bare metal. The body was almost in perfect shape before this. Makes me sick just thinking about how far back this has set my frame up restoration. I will put some pictures up on http://picasaweb.google.com/chrisvelardi/MGARebuild# on my MGA rebuild photo site
If any one knows of good body guy who could correct this or anyone with a pair or door, hood and bonet that are available for sale , contact me at trackside@sbcglobal.net or my cell is 203-499-9941 (USA)
TCV Velardi

TCV,

Thanks for the tip, Do you think it was the substrate or the amount of pressure the blast guy was using?

Either way sorry about your misfortune, You think the guy would have not continued on after messing up the first panel.

Looking at your pics it seems as if you are getting close. Chin up, hopefully someone here can get you some good used panels.

RDC Cribbs

The shop must have done something wrong. Did they really use the correct media? I had my doors soda blasted with no problems. I agree that chemical stripping can be a better way, but all of the liquid must be cleaned out of trapped box sections to avoid later problems after painting if trapped stripping chemical leaks out.
G Goeppner

Don't use soda blasters in any event.

We had a 20 story office building soda blasted for repainting.

Turns out that the soda collects in nooks and crannies and when mixed with rain and sunlight becomes caustic enough to eat through metal.

Just say no.
T McCarthy

As they say "Your results may vary" however, I sandblasted my entire car with a pressure blaster, syphon blaster and blasting cabinet, at home, and had no problems. I use white play sand and about 80 PSI. It was true that for the flatter surfaces found on doors, bonnet, boot lid, etc I used the 3M stripping pads. They are excellent.
There was a local outfit that was blasting with plastic pellets. The Corvette guys loved it, but it wasn't as effective on rusty metal.

Regards,
GTF
G T Foster

I basted the doors, bonnet and boot using galss bead media with no problems. you can warp almost anything if you really try as any media will create heat when shot against a surface at high velocity.
J Heisenfeldt

TCV,

I'm sorry for your experience, but I'm really glad you posted the link to your site. I've saved a lot of those pictures and I appreciate the link.

Was there a particular reason you blasted the frame with the rearend still attached?

Cheers,
Christopher
Christopher Wilson

This thread was discussed between 07/09/2008 and 11/09/2008

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