Reply to "Soda Blasting experience anyone?"

My friend recently restored an old Mini and we trailered the stripped body to a soda blaster. The cost ended up being twice what he was quoted as it required more sodablast material than the estimate. The surface finish after blasting was not as clean as I expected. It was not down to perfectly clean metal and required additional work in places. I was unimpressed by his experience and it left me not inclined to go in that direction again.

My Pantera was dipped. Car comes out really clean and is great foundation to work from. The challenge is that it really pays to know how the chassis is contructed as the dipping will remove protective coatings in body cavities that you may fail to respray with a protective coating and these areas will rust. One such area is the double panel behind the driver door jam in infront of the gas tank. In addition, a rotisserie would also help in getting your etching/primer/sealer coat into various nooks and crannies in the various frane rails and cavities.

Each has its benefits and disadvantages depending on your capabilities and knowledge.