Vintage Car Sandblasting

Meticulous sandblasting is usually a first step in any car restoration project, but can you sandblast antique cars? Removing rust from vintage cars is a crucial task that must be approached with extreme caution to prevent damage to irreplaceable original parts. 10X Engineered Materials’ EpiX MP and LP offer sandblasting solutions to facilitate this delicate process, providing controlled alternatives to aggressive rust removal methods. 

Choosing the Right Sandblasting Media for Vintage Cars 

In vintage or classic car restoration, the value is often in the finest of details, and those details can be destroyed by using the wrong tools or blasting media. Whether you’re removing old paint, addressing surface rust, or preparing for primer, the media you choose can either preserve the integrity of classic sheet metal or ruin it beyond repair. Common blasting materials for surface preparation in automotive projects vary significantly and may include sand, glass beads, and even walnut shells. While each has value, these traditional products can deliver inconsistent results:

  • Sand: Highly abrasive on delicate surfaces and results in a significant amount of potentially harmful dust.
  • Glass beads: Gentler than sand, but can only produce a peened surface profile, which may lead to incomplete adhesion with your primer and coating system and premature coating system failure. 
  • Walnut shells: Effective for removing certain types of paint, but less effective on rusted sections.

10X Engineered Materials’ EpiX superoxalloy abrasives offer consistency, safety, and reliability for sandblasting delicate vintage car bodies. Available in Medium Profile (MP) and Ultra-Low Profile (LP) options, these patented products reduce dust and deliver desired finishes when sandblasting vintage cars.

How to Remove Rust From Antique Vehicles

10X Engineered Materials’ superoxalloy abrasives represent a game-changer in rust removal processes for vintage and classic cars. Our scientifically developed EpiX formulations offer the consistent strength and precision required to remove corrosion and paint from even the most fragile areas of the vehicle.

While every project is unique, some steps to remove rust from antique vehicles typically include: 

  • Preparing the car for sandblasting: Assess the vehicle for rust and surface damage. Protect delicate areas and ensure it’s clear of debris and unwanted surface residues. 
  • The automotive blasting process: Select the appropriate media for each panel. EpiX MP removes corrosion and delivers a uniform medium profile, while EpiX LP is the premium blasting agent for softer or thinner metal panels. 
  • Post-sandblasting steps: Brush away all media residue, apply rust inhibitor, and prime the surface. The final steps are to apply automotive paint and reassemble all parts to restore the vehicle to its original glory.

The Benefits of Using EpiX MP or LP for Vintage Car Sandblasting

Vintage car restoration is an evolving automotive specialty where precision, efficiency, and safety are essential in every process. 10X Engineered Materials offers the restoration business innovative abrasive media to achieve superior results on any antique vehicle.

Benefits of using EpiX MP and LP for vintage and classic car restoration projects include minimized damage, consistent strength, reduced dust, quality finishes

Benefits of using EpiX MP and LP for vintage and classic car restoration projects include: 

  • Minimized damage: Engineered to help you control cutting force accurately to reduce the risk of irreparable damage. 
  • Consistent strength: EpiX delivers consistent energy transfer, removing corrosion and coatings evenly and predictably, even in tight contours or fragile weld seams. 
  • Reduced dust: Improves visibility during blasting, because EpiX produces significantly less airborne dust than traditional abrasives, your chances of missing an important area or overblasting are greatly reduced. 
  • Quality finishes: EpiX leaves a clean, uniform anchor profile, ideal for primers and automotive coating systems, which helps prevent premature paint failures and ensures the highest quality paint jobs for long-term restoration success. 

Experience the EpiX MP and LP Safety Advantage

Traditional abrasives can generate harmful dust or be too harsh for delicate restoration work. Although users can reduce risk by wearing protective clothing, a full-face respirator, and ensuring proper ventilation, EpiX MP and LP from 10X Engineered Materials produce less dust, offering significant advantages for automobile restoration applications. 

In addition to providing precise control of abrasiveness, these safety-tested sandblasting media are biosoluble and non-carcinogenic. Reduced dust compared to other media allows for more detailed work to be undertaken accurately, with clear visibility during blasting operations.

Addressing Thermal Overload and Damaging Sheet Metal 

When restoring vintage cars, the stakes are high, and thermal overload on delicate metal sheets is a significant risk. Traditional abrasives can generate substantial heat, leading to warping and permanent damage. 

The following sandblasting strategies are ways to mitigate the risk of thermal overload: 

  1. Use vapor blasting: Wet blasting methods like vapor blasting introduce water into the process, significantly reducing surface temperatures and the risk of warping. 
  2. Follow a defined and strategic blasting pattern: Work in a strategic, alternating pattern to avoid concentrating heat in one area. Blasting in a planned sequence ensures consistent cooling intervals across the surface. 
  3. Lower the blasting pressure: Use the minimum effective pressure to reduce frictional heat generation while still achieving proper surface cleaning.
  4. Control Nozzle Movement: Keep the nozzle in motion and avoid any overlapping recent passes. For example, blast from the top left to the right, then move to the bottom right to the left, and alternate toward the center. This keeps your work away from freshly blasted, warmer sections. 
  5. Take regular cooling breaks: Short pauses between passes allow the metal to dissipate heat, reducing the risk of distortions. 
  6. Use EpiX LP: EpiX LP is a low-risk, high-precision, engineered superoxalloy abrasive specifically made for more delicate surfaces. It minimizes thermal load while still delivering effective coating, rust, and corrosion removal. 
Choose EpiX MP or LP  for Vintage Car Restoration - Contact Us<br />

Choose EpiX MP or LP  for Vintage Car Restoration

Make vintage car restoration less risky and achieve consistent sandblasting results with an innovative blasting medium formulated for delicate applications. EpiX MP or LP from 10X Engineered Materials offers a consistent advantage over traditional blasting media and provides a robust solution to counter thermal overload during delicate restoration work. 

Contact us to learn more about how EpiX LP and EpiX MP can revolutionize how you approach vintage and classic car restorations today!

Jacob Vaillancourt is the co-founder of 10X Engineered Materials. He is responsible for sales and marketing. Jake has eight years of experience in surface preparation and 13 years of experience in industrial production processes. He is also an active instrument rated fixed-wing pilot.