Cost to Sandblast a K-member

-
7

72BlueSwinger

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 23, 2008
Messages
144
Reaction score
0
Location
Western Kentucky
So, I've been trying to clean up the 74 K-member I have had laying in the garage for like, 6 months now.. I've degreased it and pressure washed it like 3 times, but it still isn't as clean as I'd like. I got a quote from a shop that said they could PROBABLY sandblast it for $75. Does that not sound high to ya'll or is that about right?
 
Doesnt sound too bad to me. Thats a nasty, dirty job. I did all my front brake parts for my Dart- not fun especially in a tyvek suit when its 90 degrees.
 
im not sure on a quote but do u have access to a gos compressor if so u can buy a sandblasting gun pretty cheap i think it just holds like 3 pounds of sand thats wut i did with mine and it did the job
 
Look into soda blasting. It uses baking soda and high pressure water and/or air. I am looking into it to strip a car body. According to the website, sodablasting.com, it only requires a few cfm's and is good for degreasing parts.
 
I just figured $75 for one piece was high, considering a local guy just had his entire car body SODA blasted for a little over $600.
 
they usually charge by the hour,the more I take at a time the less it seems to cost???but I'll go with it,I had my whole stockcar chassis done was 100$ top to bottom,they even blew it off pretty good when they were done and loaded it back on my trailer
 
Thank you for the welcome. Great site! I am close to getting a '69 Dart (and restoring it). I have a feeling I will be using the "hell" out of this site!
Greetings
 
Blue

Have you looked at the small gravity fed blasting guns? They are slow but work well.
If you have a pressure washer you have the ability to run a wet sand blaster.
These can be rented. I belive they will also run soda media also.
A lye wash will clean a lot of material but very, dangerous.( don't splash any anodised parts or you will have bare metal)
If that doesn't work, scream and throw it in the yard. About the second week of March go find the rusted K-Member and look up electrial rust removal. That works great.

Here is a site with basic information.
http://antique-engines.dickerson-design.com/electrol.asp

Whip
 
Before I bought my sandblaster I had called around to check on some rates and around here its generally $40-$50 and hr. So $75 doesnt sound totally outrageous, maybe just a little high.
 
I think my pressure washer is only about 1700 psi. I've called about renting a wet sand blaster, or even buying one around here, nothing doing. My car doesn't have anything anodized, it has rust, and then rust with paint on it, lol. OH, and rust with grease on it, too. If I just had one of those BIG compressors from Rural King or somewhere like that, I'd be set. BTW, my other estimate was $150.
 
Blue

What would it cost to have the part powder coated? That may be the better option because of the cleaning process the professionals would use.
I spoke with a buddy who used the lye wash to clean parts. He said that it removed grease and paint very well but the liquid had to be hot. It has no effect on rust. I have used a plastic kiddy pool for soaking large parts. I see no reason why the kiddy pool couldn't be used with the electrolysis process.

Joking aside I hope this helps.

Whip
 
Send that K-member off to cudachick here and have her sand blast it and powder coat that sucker so it stays nice forever.
 
Here is how I cleaned mine up - cost just a couple of bucks for the laundry soda. Already had the plastic tub and the necessary battery charger.

See the nasty scum building up on the surface? Electrolysis is a wonderful thing. Works wonders on disk rotors, drums, control arms, etc.

Jerry

K-frame_bath.JPG
 
cudaspaz said:
Send that K-member off to cudachick here and have her sand blast it and powder coat that sucker so it stays nice forever.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the referral Spaz, but my current oven's not big enough for a k-member.

Blue, you aren't that far away. I'd be happy to blast it for you with the big dog pot blaster if you care to bring it down. Since it's already had most of the crud taken off from what you've said, it can't be that bad and probably wouldn't take very long. Give me a call if you want to talk about it.

As an aside, judging by some of those blasting rates you guys have posted, maybe I need to raise my prices. LOL :dontknow:
 
uh-oh.. now we went and dun it.. err.... did I say $75? I meant $25 umm yeah.. I thought $25 was super-duper expensive.

J/K - and I may have to get with you on that sometime, CudaChick.
Although you're about 4 hours away from me, so I'd probably have to ship it. It would be hard to save any money that way.
 
Sooooo.. anyways... I decided to try electrolysis, I already had everything but the Arm and Hammer, so went and picked up some of that. Seems to be working so far. I am going to have to buy a bigger plastic tub, though. I bought some etching primer and some silver engine enamel. If this turns out good.. I'm going to have to figure out how to set something up for a rearend housing.. HMMMM.... And then there's the control arms and...and...and.....
 
You can see I had to do the K-frame 1/2 at a time in my tub. I just tied a wire to the garage door and balanced it on end. Leave your parts in the solution for at least 4 hours, more if they are really nasty and rusty. Heavy deposits of grease and rust should be scraped or brushed off first.
 
You didn't throw it out in the yard?:-D Aged rust is the best.

One "trick" that helps in the removal of rust from a object is to have
several positive electrodes. Like a block party. 3 is good, 5 is better, 8 is great, etc.etc. The rust removal is "line of site". That is the reason why
I use a kiddy pool. The major problen I have had is finding the washing soda product. Not many stores carry it. I contacted Arm & Hammer customer service and they found me a local store that sold the correct product. A very nice act just to sell a $4.00 box of soda.

Post your opinion of the process.

Whip
 
I made a "cage" of short segments of concrete reinforcing bars tied together with Romex electrical wire. The bars were spaced at 3"-4" evenly around the perimeter of the tub. The more surface area of the metal exposed, the better the results. Make sure this process is done outside or in a well-ventilated area. The bubbles you see forming are hydrogen.

Jerry
 
so for electrolisi lol you just mix the soap and water. then hook a battery to it? like both leads to the part? or how dose that work? and the soap needs to be baking soda? or what lol. this seems like a great way to do it i just respect chemicals and do not want to mess it up and have a nasty mess lol
 
I take my really greasy large parts to the "quarter car wash" and use
easy-off oven cleaner. Squirt it on let it sit for 10-15 minutes, work it over with a parts brush and then a light rinse to wash off the nasty chemical and not to get any splash back on my skin (also wear a face shield for added safety). Then I spray on some Castrol Superclean and a light brushing takes care of any residue from the oven cleaner. Hit it with a high pressure rinse and it should be clean enough for paint.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top