Just blast it?

[jimmyleetn]

Attached below you'll see a few pictures of some window sashes out of a 1974 Blazer and Jimmy. You'll also see a picture of one of the four vent window assemblies I have removed. All are rusty but not rotted or busted. I felt like this was the correct forum to post this thread but my question is, is it safe to sandblast these? I'm thinking about buying a small sandblaster off of Amazon so I can do it myself if I can get an air compressor strong enough. I know that I've been told in the past thin metal doesn't do well with sand so I wondered if anyone had any experience refurbishing these. They don't make the window sashes anymore with the shark's fin so I really want to reuse these for my conversion. Any insight and help is greatly appreciated as well as any information on how to get these windows out of the sashes.

 

[joshuak]

Don't know anything about blasting, but an alternative is soaking those parts in Phosphoric acid for a few hrs. That along with a little elbow grease would probably remove all the rust.

Here are some clamps that soaked for a couple hrs, I'd take them out, hit'em with a wire brush and put back in every so often.



Relatively inexpensive at HD.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Klean-S...Metal-Prep-Rust-Inhibitor-GKPA30220/100406369

 

[jimmyleetn]

Don't know anything about blasting, but an alternative is soaking those parts in Phosphoric acid for a few hrs. That along with a little elbow grease would probably remove all the rust.

Here are some clamps that soaked for a couple hrs, I'd take them out, hit'em with a wire brush and put back in every so often.

Relatively inexpensive at HD.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Klean-S...Metal-Prep-Rust-Inhibitor-GKPA30220/100406369

I thought about doing that or using evaporust. A way to keep that bare metal look after that for you would be to use KBS Diamond Clear. I used it a bunch on little parts like brackets and u-joint straps. Even did some u-joints and wheel cylinders with it. It's brake fluid resistant.

 

[1300obo]

i've sandblasted alot of thin metal parts over the past year or so and haven't burned through anything yet. you can kind of play with the psi a little and try it out on some trash pieces first if your worried. you can also use different media(ie soda or walnut shells) for delicate stuff but ive never found the need to do that. i blast just about everything now just because its so nice getting stuff down to bare metal. if you don't have a big compressor, it can be kind of tricky finding the right size pot/nozzle combo to keep things going at a decent pace and it does make a bit of a mess. whatever you do, don't sandblast inside

 

[CharlieC]

I used glass beads in my cabinet, they weren't as abrasive on thinner metal. I've never compared the glass channels before, can you move that shark fin you commented on to a newer channel?

Good luck
Charlie

 

[jimmyleetn]

I used glass beads in my cabinet, they weren't as abrasive on thinner metal. I've never compared the glass channels before, can you move that shark fin you commented on to a newer channel?

Good luck
Charlie

One of the blazer doors was not the original so I laid them out side by side. The sash is quite different, don't think the shark fin will fit at all. Good thought though.

 

[imiceman44]

I thought about doing that or using evaporust. A way to keep that bare metal look after that for you would be to use KBS Diamond Clear. I used it a bunch on little parts like brackets and u-joint straps. Even did some u-joints and wheel cylinders with it. It's brake fluid resistant.

Evaporust.
I swear by it, and it's not acid so it won't eat up your metal.
I forgot my carrier in the bucket for 3 weeks, and it came out perfect and intact

 

[swettysblazer]

Evaporust.
I swear by it, and it's not acid so it won't eat up your metal.
I forgot my carrier in the bucket for 3 weeks, and it came out perfect and intact

This stuff is the real deal

 

[bp71k5]

This stuff is the real deal

I have to agree, it’s good stuff. Way easier than sandblasting if you can get it submerged and/or keep it wet.

 

[jimmyleetn]

Evaporust.
I swear by it, and it's not acid so it won't eat up your metal.
I forgot my carrier in the bucket for 3 weeks, and it came out perfect and intact

I've been tossing around buying the 5 gallon bucket. I mean the stuff never really goes bad. I wish it weren't so expensive. It'd be sweet to have a drum full of it to put big parts in. I would totally put my 74 windshield frame in it and then put Eastwood's cavity coater on the inside. The only thing besides the price I don't like about the stuff is that it takes water to clean the sludge off, which makes it flash rust quick so you gotta be ready for prep and paint immediately.