Restoration Order

[golf4283]

Ok so I'm about to start the full on restoration of my car. I have 5 months to get it complete so my sister and future brother in law can drive it on the day of their wedding from the church. I have gotten a budget list together and gone through the car 100% to document all the work I need to do.

Right now the car is a pure shell with all glass, fenders, interior, drivetrain, wiring out of the car. My plan of attack for the car is as follows:

I want to sandblast (Silica Sand) the entire car in my garage (I have read extensively on how to do it)
The problem is once sandblasted there's frame work that needs to be done with replacing various pieces that are rotted. The problem with the frame situation is I want to POR15 the entire underbody of the car but I'm pretty sure I need to do the metal work before I POR15 because it would be a waste to do it then try and remove and work. I think I should sandblast entire undercarriage area and do metal work on that then POR15 then sandblast the rest of the car once that's done so I don't backtrack with surface rust when working on the car.

This is a weird request but I really wanna get like a timeline of do this step then this step then this step. Anyone have a timeline they used in their restoration or can offer any tips to me? I'm going to have the car on a rotisserie so hopefully that will speed up my repairs but who knows.

Dan

 

[2+2GT]

Sandblasting will likely destroy the car. You need to use a less aggressive media, such as plastic. This should be done after all structural and body work requiring welding are done.

Plastic media will give you a finish like this, ready for a fine DA and prime. Sand will gouge and warp the metal.

 

[golf4283]

so where do I get the plastic media or whatever I need? Will this work with a sandblaster?

 

[horseballz]

POR-15 is not meant to adhere to clean-bare metal. Read some of the threads by rusty428cj and his escapades. I suggest (as I'm sure Rusty would) using epoxy primer instead of POR-15. Plastic media or walnut shell should be available anywhere that sells blasting equipment. I believe even Harbor Freight sells both, although it may be pricier there than otherwise available. I've not used plastic but have used walnut shell and I can say that while it works well and is less aggressive than sand, it does produce a BUNCH of dust. Plastic may put off a little less dust. FYI, blasting requires a massive volume of air and a SERIOUS compressor. Even my 175 psi 60 gallon unit allows blasting only a 6-8 square inch before allowing the air to recover and compressor runs constantly. If you are set on doing the blasting yourself, I suggest you start with a clean, semi-enclosed small work space so that you can use a clean shop vac (or woodworking dust collector) to suck up and screen/recycle the media, as it goes fast and is not cheap. Unless you are truly set up for it, I feel that it is worth every penny of the $700-$1100 to have the blasting done by a shop that IS set up and does it all the time. My apologies to 2+2GT for taking exception, but I think it should be blasted before starting the metal/welding work to help reveal ALL that needs to be done and then "spot blast" any areas that become exposed by cutting out rotted portions. Lastly, not to burst your bubble, but, unless you are otherwise unemployed and can devote "full time" man hours to the project, 5 months is pretty unrealistic. This stuff is VERY time consuming! My guesstimate of what you are undertaking would be 600-1000 man hours, depending on the amount of rust repair, welding, dent repair, etc. If you had a shop dedicated/equipped for this kind of work and did it every day for a living you might be able to cut the hours almost in half but learning/trial and error as you go takes a lot of time. Even if you had deep enough pockets and the inclination to have it all done professionally, 5 months is still kinda pushing it. A simple "scrape & squirt" would be a different story.
Just My $.02 or $.03,
Gene

 

[Flying Dutchman]

NO SAND call P&B mobile sand blasting they may be able to help get it done quicker than you can. Horseballz is correct por-15 will peal like a bad sun burn on bare metal, Blast first they you can see what welding is needed. As for time my last full resto took 6 months full time.

 

[zookeeper]

Wow, 5 months is gonna be a tight schedule if you're working alone and doing it nights and weekends. As for order, here's my line-up: first do all bodywork and paint. If you're car is a bare shell, this speeds it up since you don't need to carefully mask off detailed engine and interior stuff. Once it's painted, I'd move on to suspension. This will get the car rolling on it's own, which makes other steps easier. Next goes the plumbing (gas, brakes wiring). This is MUCH easier without the engine and trans in place as well as no interior. Now I'd install the engine and trans and do the exhaust and cooling systems. NOw it's time to go inside, and the headliner goes in first. Next I'd move onto glass installation since it's a whole lot easier without the dash pad in place and if you accidentally get sealant on something, just wipe it up. Can't do that on brand-new interior parts! Once that's in, move onto sound-deadener if you plan to install something like Dyna-mat, then in goes the carpet. Now it looks like a car again, and it's just a hop, skip and a jump to done. Do the dash, trim parts and small stuff, bolt in the seats and you're done. Detail it, drive it, repeat as needed.