Dealing with rust fiber glass vs sand blasting 64

[Garret Swanson]

I have a rust problem a lot of the rust is just surface but there is rust that goes right through the car for example in the trunk so what should I do? Should I sandblast all the rust or should I just fiberglass the rust holes?

This page contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated. As an eBay Partner, and Amazon Associate I may be compensated if you make a purchase at no cost to you.

 

[Zoopie]

As is typically done, rust is cut out in a uniform shape (square, rectangle etc) and a patch panel welded in. If you plan on keeping the car and improving on it, that would be the preferred way.

 

[jack-in-sac]

I have a rust problem a lot of the rust is just surface but there is rust that goes right through the car for example in the trunk so what should I do? Should I sandblast all the rust or should I just fiberglass the rust holes?

At the very least cut back the rusted area to unrusted metal. After that weld-in, screw-in, rivet-in and/or otherwise fill the hole left after neatly removing the rusted area.
QUOTABLE QUOTE: "RUST NEVER SLEEPS".

 

[HRUVDT564]

I have a rust problem a lot of the rust is just surface but there is rust that goes right through the car for example in the trunk so what should I do? Should I sandblast all the rust or should I just fiberglass the rust holes?

I sand blasted my 55. Looked nice.

I had sand everywhere!! In all gauges every crevice in the entire car. I just completely rebuilt my 292 as some joe it got in motor even though it was tapped well. All bearings had to be replaced. Vacuuming power washing did not get all sand ( actually was glass media)

I will never blast a car again

My two cents

 

[HRUVDT564]

I sand blasted my 55. Looked nice.

I had sand everywhere!! In all gauges every crevice in the entire car. I just completely rebuilt my 292 as some joe it got in motor even though it was tapped well. All bearings had to be replaced. Vacuuming power washing did not get all sand ( actually was glass media)

I will never blast a car again

My two cents

Writing from small cell sorry for the errors

 

[Garret Swanson]

At the very least cut back the rusted area to unrusted metal. After that weld-in, screw-in, rivet-in and/or otherwise fill the hole left after neatly removing the rusted area.
QUOTABLE QUOTE: "RUST NEVER SLEEPS".

Hey thank you for answering alright i have started sanding but what did you use to cut it out did you use a grinder?

 

[Zoopie]

I was wondering how you got Joe into the motor!

 

[jack-in-sac]

Hey thank you for answering alright i have started sanding but what did you use to cut it out did you use a grinder?

You use what you have;. a jigsaw or sawzall, a grinder with a cutoff wheel, a hacksaw, a nibbbler, Plasma cutter or torch, or what have you. I do not recommend using a hammer and chisel. It will work but it is brutal and not pretty as well as beating up the edges of the remaining metal. Use what you are comfortable with that will achieve a good base to continue the repair with. If you have doubts of your skill, practice on some scrap metal first.
good luck, J.

 

[Garret Swanson]

I have a rust problem a lot of the rust is just surface but there is rust that goes right through the car for example in the trunk so what should I do? Should I sandblast all the rust or should I just fiberglass the rust holes?

REPLY
Hey guys i was already ready for cutting out the rust in squares i am working on the brakes for right now! thank you all for your responses it means a lot

 

[Douglemmo]

W/r to sand blasting and getting sand into "everything", you are suppose to take things apart or remove items before you sandblast THAT would involve removing the engine and interior before blasting the engine compartment or the body. Or if doing small areas installing appropriate shields and deflectors to control the blast media.

 

[Dale Leonard]

As is typically done, rust is cut out in a uniform shape (square, rectangle etc) and a patch panel welded in. If you plan on keeping the car and improving on it, that would be the preferred way.

I completely stripped my 55 down to a body and a frame. all pieces and parts were dustless blasted. Best thing that I ever did for the car. afterwards I sprayed the car down with Ospho to keep the rust off the metal. This way I can work on the car as long as I want to before priming. The trunk trailing edge ended up having pinhole rust underneath the bottom edge. Instead of cutting this out I put duct tape over the holes and then mixed enough marine epoxy to pour into that space from inside the trunk lid. After it set up I removed the duct tape and sanded the outside area. Then some minor body puty and sanding restored the area. The epoxy effectively sealed the rusted area as the Ospho had killed the rust. By not cutting out the area I eliminated the warpage from cutting and welding and retained the original body lines and decreased my down time. This also strengthened the affected area and cannot be detected with a magnet. I may have misspelled Ospho. It is an acid that changes iron oxide (rust) into Iron Manganese and primer sticks to it with no problem. I have no problem with painting when using this product. I use it on all steel parts.

I did have a problem getting the sanding media off the car as it did stick everywhere but when the car is disasembled a pressure washer works wonders. after pressure washing you let the car dry and spray it down with Ospho. just my 2 cents worth.

 

[55birdman]

I completely stripped my 55 down to a body and a frame. all pieces and parts were dustless blasted. Best thing that I ever did for the car. afterwards I sprayed the car down with Ospho to keep the rust off the metal. This way I can work on the car as long as I want to before priming. The trunk trailing edge ended up having pinhole rust underneath the bottom edge. Instead of cutting this out I put duct tape over the holes and then mixed enough marine epoxy to pour into that space from inside the trunk lid. After it set up I removed the duct tape and sanded the outside area. Then some minor body puty and sanding restored the area. The epoxy effectively sealed the rusted area as the Ospho had killed the rust. By not cutting out the area I eliminated the warpage from cutting and welding and retained the original body lines and decreased my down time. This also strengthened the affected area and cannot be detected with a magnet. I may have misspelled Ospho. It is an acid that changes iron oxide (rust) into Iron Manganese and primer sticks to it with no problem. I have no problem with painting when using this product. I use it on all steel parts.

I did have a problem getting the sanding media off the car as it did stick everywhere but when the car is disasembled a pressure washer works wonders. after pressure washing you let the car dry and spray it down with Ospho. just my 2 cents worth.

I agree. I also had mine “wet” blasted while on a rotisserie. Frame in place but engine and running gear, interior, dash, hood doors and trunk removed. He actually DRY blasted all but the exterior and then washed it down with a rust inhibitor. I followed up with an epoxy primer after blowing all the sand (actually crushed glass) out of the nooks and crannies. I undercoated mine - some do some don’t - personal preference. The blasting will help reveal the rusty places and any previous repairs or bondo. But not everyone chooses to go this far or has the time or resources. There are small portable spot blasters available and this might be sufficient in your situation.

 

[Garret Swanson]

I decided to do dustless blasting because i hear a lot of great things about it! but I already did a half conversion from drum to disc brakes the only thing that i haven't done was hooked up the emergency brake and etc, but if i want to do the dustless blasting should i start getting it ready and taking everything out of the car? and do the blasting first or no. what do you guys think i should do? thank you so much!

 

[55birdman]

Wet blasting is a great way to strip a car down to bare metal. The cooling effect of the water eliminates distortion - this is it’s advantage over dry blasting. But it sounds like your call is assembled and I’m not sure how you could cover/mask vital parts of the car. When I had mine done I had the blaster avoid certain places like the underside of the trunk, hood and inner side of the doors.

 

[Dale Leonard]

Take everything out of the car down to the just the body. You cannot keep the media out of everything. My car was stripped down to just the body sitting on the frame and all parts except the steering collom removed. This way you can actually get 98 % of the media out of the vehicle. After they finish the metal has a light antirust film on the car. It will not last so when you presure wash the vehicle you will have to put something on the body to keep it from rusting. I also had them to blast all parts that was removed that was metal and I also did a few small parts myself in a sand blast machine like hinges act: I had my doors off and everything stripped out of the doors. I blasted under the hood and under the trunk and anything metal. No exhaust , no bumpers, no chrome ect; The more off the better and then you can wash everything off. I found that i had very little rust on my car and was really happy with the results. Really the best thing that I could have done. When I finish this car will last many years into the future.
Disassemble the car, Dustless Blast the car. Pressure wash it and when it dries spray it with a light coat of Osphyso and then paint it with a coat of rust preventative epoxy primer and then do the rest of your body work if it is not major.

 

[HRUVDT564]

I did the dustless blasting on my 55.
(He used glass media)
He taped it up but. Knowing what I know now the only way like these folks are saying is to remove everything which at the time I wasn't ready to do.
I tore it back down and started over. The cross brackets under hood and trunk, until lots of effort, was still dropping that media. I finally got it clean.
A friend of mine with a 57 actually sealed brackets to the hood and trunk with sealer so those openings are gone.
I learned the hard way by going the cheaper and easier route ( **** in **** out)

 

[HRUVDT564]

another problem I had was that media got in my engine and ate the seals up.
( laugh with me not at me) it ate my main and other bearings up. I had to go over the motor. I seen the tape job the blaster did... it LOOKED good 🙂

Pics àre of that 292 getting cleaned up. Yes I painted it blue. 🙂