the sandman

[ShApE]

this guy thats goin to sand blast my bumpers headlight rings and some other things said he charges $50 an hour to sand blast anything. would anything bad happen if i sandblasted my car???

[Racelook]

1 Warning: You can mass up hole your car with sandblasting... The iron can bend and then your car isnt smooth but bumpy..

But that depends on the force (Bar / Psi) where by the sand is blasted.

Grt. Wiebrand

[vujade]

I had my bumpers dechromed by a chrome shop.

They just dip it in some stuff that removes the chrome.
This is probably a better option then sand blasting them.

[Superman]

Sand holds moisture and will cause rust.

[ShApE]

hmm well i gues i won't get anything sandblasted. vujade, i don't really know of anywhere to look for a chrome shop.

[kdanie]

Look in the yellow pages for a chrome shop, almost every city has at least one.

Chrome is pretty hard to remove, even with a sandblaster. Vujade is correct, the chrome shop can do it. They actually de-chrome plate the parts. Chrome is an electropating operation and they just reverse the process so the plating leaves the part.

Most knowledgeable bodymen don't use sandblast to strip a car, the problem is the heat generated by the grit, it warps the sheetmetal. The good shops use plastic media or baking soda. The problem with blasting is it gets in all the cracks and crevasses and comes out when you LEAST want it, like in the middle of the final paint job!

If there is no rust and the original paint is still bonded to the metal there is no reason to strip it, in fact you should not strip it. If you have a few rusty spots blasting those is ok, just keep the grit from the rest of the car.

ken