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Stripping
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Media Blasting | Sand Blasting | Plastic Media
- Paint and Rust Removal
- Automotive Specialized: Full Chassis, Interior and Exterior Packages
- Experienced in Individual Parts and Pieces for Safe Blasting
Why does plastic media blasting work so well? In short it's because The granules are harder than the paint, but softer than the base whether it's metal, aluminum, or fiberglass. When the plastic is blasted against a painted surface with low-pressure air, its sharp, angular edges will cut, shear, and lift the paint without affecting the substrate.
There's no argument that the best way to produce a great looking paint job is to start with bare metal and work your way up. But, if you want a beautiful custom paint job, you'll need to strip everything away to get to the bare metal. How you get to that point can affect the outcome of your final paint job.
One of the biggest expenses in preparing a vehicle for repainting is the cost of labor. Stripping and prepping a vehicle for a complete paint job can often take two workers two full days using mechanical or chemical removal methods. Using plastic media blasting, the same task can be accomplished by one operator in as little as 3 hours.
Since plastic media blasting is a much less aggressive method of stripping, layers of paint can be removed individually, leaving the primer/or body filler if desired. Or everything can be completely stripped. When used on fiberglass, the paint can be removed without damaging the gel-coat. Plastic media blasting leaves the paint stripper more options and flexibility that other stripping processes.
We evaluate each job to determine the correct media for the application. It is also our practice to use the lowest pressure consistent with efficient removal, further protecting the substrate. Moreover, our facility is equipped to handle jobs of various sizes, both big and small and has no minimum charge.
The biggest advantages of plastic media blasting are that it can remove paint without affecting the substrate. It's easy to clean the plastic out of body crevices with an air gun or vacuum cleaner, and since it's a dry process, there's no flash rust after stripping. In addition, the plastic won't warp or pit hard metals; it's non-corrosive and safe for most fiberglass and metals (including anodized and galvanized finishes); and best of all, the procedure is relatively inexpensive!
Sanding is the most common method of paint removal. But it takes a long, long time to get through everything with a dual-action sander with some fairly coarse sandpaper. Sanding is a time-consuming job that doesn't do a very good job of getting into the tight creases and crevices, so a lot of handwork is involved to get all of the paint off, not to mention the mess from the dust.
Chemical paint removers are reasonably effective at removing paint but are a really sloppy mess. The most common process is to apply a strong aircraft-type liquid paint stripper with a paintbrush, let it soak, then scrape off with a putty knife. Anyone who's stripped a car this way knows why body shops charge upwards of $1,500 for the service. It's labor intensive, and makes quite a mess. Plan on using several applications of paint stripper and you'll still have to sand off some of the tougher materials.
Some companies will dip your entire vehicle body into tanks of chemicals to strip it. This is followed by high-pressure neutralizing washes designed to wash away the chemicals trapped in the sheet metal of your car. The downside to this method is that the vehicle must be totally disassembled to a bare body shell. A common problem with chemical stripping is that it is very difficult to get all of the chemicals out of the folded body seams. Traces of chemical will be trapped in nooks and crannies and later (sometimes years), it will eat away your beautiful paint job from the inside.
Sandblasting is too forceful (60-100 psi) for the relatively thin surfaces of an automobile. High pressures and hard-silica-sand parcticles can stretch the sheet metal or even remove pieces of material.
Plastic media blasting really is the perfect process for removing paint, primer, Bondo, and whatever else may be lurking below the paint surface. Low blast pressures (14 to 40 psi) and soft plastic parcticles are safe for the most delicate surfaces. You can use plastic media blasting on fiberglass, thin metals, trim, and more. So what are the alternatives? There really aren't any.