Summary of How I Removed the Paint and Rust From My Coupe

[BLB27]

The paint/rust inside and outside was removed by blasting cleaning. I considered other options, chemical paint striper or sanding, but I considered both not to be practical. However, I was concerned about the blasting cleaning causing distortion of the metal parts, especially the splash panels.

I became aware of a company that does blast cleaning using crushed glass or soda. I took two fenders and two plash panels to its facility, which is located about 30 miles from my place. The idea was to try both methods. However, I was told that soda would remove paint but not rust. Therefore, crushed glass was used on these pieces. The crushed glass did a good job of removing the paint and rust without any distortion.

I then hired the company to blast clean the entire body, wheels, and associated parts. It took five and half hours. I previously had the frame and axles sandblasted by a local firm.

I did not believe any media was embedded in the steel, but I decided to find out. I have a friend with an engineering/material testing company. I sent him the gas tank door and asked that it viewed microscopically to determine if any crushed glass was embedded. It was viewed by their petrographer, at 10x magnification, and none was found.

One half of the tank door was sanded with 220 grit paper. I wanted to see if the roughened, blasted surface was removed by the sanding. The petrographer said it was. We will sand the exterior surfaces of the body and the dash with the 220 grit paper. The other surfaces, such as the floor (top/bottom) and trunk area, will remain as blasted cleaned.

The first photo shows the crushed glass. The second one shows the half of the gas door that was not sanded, and the third photo shows the sanded half. The forth and fifth are before and after photos. Two more before and after photos are on the following post.

I hope this helps someone who is deciding how to remove rust and paint from their T.