Sanding 81 truck frame?

[Bighead72]

Closest guy to sand blast my frame is roughly 2 1/2 hours away. (I live in a rural area) he said 350 for the frame. I was wondering what’s everyone’s thoughts on hand sanding and using orbital sander to sand the frame? Would I get a better finish product sanding?

 

[Randy and Easton]

we sandblasted ours.. it’s work, but nothing gets missed. That said, I’ll bet your method will be acceptable. Post some pics of the process.

 

[Bighead72]

we sandblasted ours.. it’s work, but nothing gets missed. That said, I’ll bet your method will be acceptable. Post some pics of the process.

What kind of sand blaster you have?

 

[Bennyt]

I paid $685 to have the frame, axle, brackets, etc. blasted and powdercoated in a nice semi-gloss black. I had another frame and suspension done in high gloss blacks and metallic silver on the suspension for less than a $1000. I don't think I could blast it cheaper and paint it myself for what a reputable powdercoater charges and it gives you a week or two off to deal with other things while they handle it.

 

[CalSgt]

Nothing wrong with sanding but I’d bet that will be quite the task, especially if it’s greasy.

$350 to blast the frame isn’t bad, if you could work it so you can pick on same day that would be a worthwhile day trip.

Once it’s blasted you should be ready to paint or coat it soon, blasted steel rusts almost instantly if it gets any moisture on it.

 

[Randy and Easton]

can’t even touch it before it starts rusting..
Easton’s uncle owns a sandblasting business about 30 minutes away so I figure these are good life lessons for a 14 year old to learn. He blasted, primed, painted and rebuilt it in about 8 months, little help from dad but his truck, his budget and his sweat.. nothing like sandblasting in Texas when it’s 100 degrees.

 

[Grit dog]

Closest guy to sand blast my frame is roughly 2 1/2 hours away. (I live in a rural area) he said 350 for the frame. I was wondering what’s everyone’s thoughts on hand sanding and using orbital sander to sand the frame? Would I get a better finish product sanding?

Depends what it looks like and what you’re after for quality of finish and how you’re going to store and use the truck in the future.
Any hand work I’d be thinking wire wheel wire brush.
Anything short of a body off rotisserie resto show truck or actual flaking metal, I’m in the camp of wire wheel what you can reach, clean it well and rust treat it if necessary or paint it.
There may be spots sanding will be more effective but unless you’re trying to bulletproof it for daily driving in the snow belt in winter, the chassis is all heavy steel. It’ll last.
Living in snow country for most of my life I’ve been rattle can painting chassis to keep the rust at bay for a long time. If it’s clean and not flaking rust, paint will stick and look good for quite a while.
More important is getting the spots you can’t see if it’s gonna be an all weather vehicle for the next decade. Or 2.
JMO

 

[Grit dog]

Remember steel needs oxygen to oxidize (rust). I’m oversimplifying it a bit and loose or flaking rust will obviously not really benefit very long from being painted. but generally the tough to reach spots are also not very subject to rocks and debris chipping the coating and providing a path for water and oxygen to get to the bare steel again.
And even at that, just getting wet won’t accelerate oxidation to near the extent if there are chlorides present (road salt).
Think why steel and wood pilings don’t rot out under the water line. Even in salt water. No oxygen.
Just some rambling.
And yeah if you can blast and powder coat or paint that is obviously the gold standard. But that is generally just preserving a perfect appearance longer (show type vehicles) as most who are going through that amount of time and expense aren’t building plow trucks!

 

[Ricko1966]

Nothing wrong with sanding but I’d bet that will be quite the task, especially if it’s greasy.

$350 to blast the frame isn’t bad, if you could work it so you can pick on same day that would be a worthwhile day trip.

Once it’s blasted you should be ready to paint or coat it soon, blasted steel rusts almost instantly if it gets any moisture on it.

Spray it A.S.A.P with a phosphoric acid wash in a pump up garden sprayer and let it dry It won't rust. If you need to remove it wet it back down with phosphoric acid, wash it with water and dry it.

 

[CalSgt]

Spray it A.S.A.P with a phosphoric acid wash in a pump up garden sprayer and let it dry It won't rust. If you need to remove it wet it back down with phosphoric acid, wash it with water and dry it.

Sounds like more work than just squirting it with coat of epoxy or one of the fancy frame paints the guys in the rust belt are so fond of.

 

[Ricko1966]

Sounds like more work than just squirting it with coat of epoxy or one of the fancy frame paints the guys in the rust belt are so fond of.

I meant spray it right then and there,the stuff is the consistency of water he could spray the whole thing in a couple of minutes to protect it from rusting until he can do whatever he wants to do.

 

[midwest]

Not sure what type of finish you are looking for (show truck v daily driver) but about 17 years ago I just degreased and pressure washed my frame to remove anything that would flake off. Once it dried I painted it with POR 15 and it has held up since.

 

[TotalyHucked]

If it's already apart and down to the frame or you're planning on a frame off build, I would absolutely get it blasted and painted (probably wouldn't powder just for grounding purposes). I didn't pull my cab or clip, so I did mine with various wire brushes chucked in the drill, hand wire brushes and lots of elbow grease. Then wiped down real good with degreaser and painted with VHT Chassis Black. Looks great, but the top side of the frame isn't coated. But for a hotrod/not a concours build, it works. If I every have the whole body off, it'll get blasted and painted nice

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[Bennyt]

If it's already apart and down to the frame or you're planning on a frame off build, I would absolutely get it blasted and painted (probably wouldn't powder just for grounding purposes). I didn't pull my cab or clip, so I did mine with various wire brushes chucked in the drill, hand wire brushes and lots of elbow grease. Then wiped down real good with degreaser and painted with VHT Chassis Black. Looks great, but the top side of the frame isn't coated. But for a hotrod/not a concours build, it works. If I every have the whole body off, it'll get blasted and painted nice

I powdercoat just about anything that unbolts, and yes you have to mask or grind after to get good grounds. I have ground straps on block to head, 2 from block to frame w/ 1 one running to battery as well, and then 2-3 from body to frame.

Lot of people don't know this but you don't have to actually put parts in oven to bake powdercoat, you can use infrared patio heaters. I did the back of a truck frame once with the bed off and some bleacher and stair handrails, and parts of a MMA octagon. The heaters used to be very expensive at $750+ but I saw some at costco for $100 recently. 2 of those w/ a HF gun and powder and you'd be able to powdercoat large items under $300

 

[TotalyHucked]

I powdercoat just about anything that unbolts, and yes you have to mask or grind after to get good grounds. I have ground straps on block to head, 2 from block to frame w/ 1 one running to battery as well, and then 2-3 from body to frame.

Lot of people don't know this but you don't have to actually put parts in oven to bake powdercoat, you can use infrared patio heaters. I did the back of a truck frame once with the bed off and some bleacher and stair handrails, and parts of a MMA octagon. The heaters used to be very expensive at $750+ but I saw some at costco for $100 recently. 2 of those w/ a HF gun and powder and you'd be able to powdercoat large items under $300

I didn't really think about masking off with powder but you're absolutely right. I just don't feel as bad about grinding on paint as I do on powder lol