JD Cruiser's 1981 BJ42 Body Repair & Restoration

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Initial Sandblasting Results

Yesterday I did my first session of sandblasting. I focused on the rear frame rails as this is the heaviest rust on the truck so figured if I could make it work on those sections would work on any are of the truck.

Below are some pictures of the results from my first session of blasting. I blasted for about 1.5hrs. My compressor is small (2hp) so I have to blast in short bursts, approximately 10 secs and then need to let the compressor catchup. Isn't that bad becuase need to change position frequently.

It took me a bit of trialing to get the right setting on the media valve so that you get right amount of media in the air stream. Too much media and it just "pukes" out onto the work piece rather than blasting. Too little media and you waste valuable air without efficient cutting. As well, I learned that I need to shut the media valve when pausing to let the compressor catchup. After about 5 to 10 secs of the media valve being open without blasting, it will fill the hose with sand which you need to purge prior to blasting. This is more annoying than anything else because the media can be easily recovered when the hose gets filled.

If any of you guys have experience with small pot blasters and advice, please feel free to PM me or add your opinion on here. Is always good to hear what others have found.

LC-20120222-004 - Initial Sandblasting Results 2 (Mud).webp


LC-20120222-006 - Initial Sandblasting Results 4 (Mud).webp


LC-20120222-007 - Initial Sandblasting Results 5 (Mud).webp
 
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Longhunter,
You should have seen it before I did a major cleanup just prior to setting up the sandblaster. That would have made you proud!!!

HesterSue,
Thanks for the encouragement. I took this week off to make progress on the truck, however, family stuff and husband duties keep getting in the way. Oh well that is life.
 
The only advice I can offer on those pot style blasters is a much bigger compressor. I've got the same blaster from TSC, and without my 2 stage 5hp/80 gallon compressor it would be a real pain to use. It is tough to get the flow regulated, but once set I just blast until I'm done or out of media. Since I'm outside I've been using bulk silica sand which is really dangerous and you have to use a half-mask respirator . Works very well and other than getting a lot of media down my collar results have been great . I wish someone would carry a carbide tip for that gun, but so far no luck but the cheapo ceramics .
Sarge
 
BTW...nice blasting work! I have read a lot on using soda, and might go that route this summer, but it looks like I'll need to find a house project to justify a bigger compressor ;)
 
"I learned a SWEET trick the other day. Take a extra 50' or whatever of air hose and roll it all up and put in a bucket of cold water and then put your (even a cheap one) water trap just out of the bucket and the cool water turns the vapor back into droplets and my trap caught it"
image-4162336803.webp
 
Weber Sarge,
Thanks for the advice. Yeah if I had to do do over again I would have bought 4 times the compressor. My compressor is 2.0hp and although it does go up to 220psi I only get about 10 to 15s of blast time with a 2.5mm nozzle. It is a bit of a pain but it is better than I thought it would be. Most people said it couldn't even be done with this compressor but with the right setup and media selection it is possible, just gotta take your time. Cheers, thanks for the advice. I am keeping my eye on kijiji though to see if a cheaper 80 gallon 6 to 10hp comes available.
 
Hey "My wife said no FJ",
The little propane heater is awesome. My wife got me that for xmas last year so that I could work in the garage during winter.... Awhhh isn't that nice, I know, that was back before I started spending every weekend working on the truck, now I think she regrets it.

Anyway, is great. throws off a ton of heat on especially on the high setting. I light it up and let it run for about 15 to 30mins prior to starting work in the garage and by the end of that it is comfortable to work in the garage even if it is 10-15 below outside. You do have to be careful to not run it too long in a confined space due to carbon monoxide. I have run it on low for a couple of hours in a 2 car garage without tripping a carbon monoixde monitor I have but ventilation is always prefered.

Won't heat up an entire house but sure does a nice job of taking the edge off of the cold garage. PM me if you need any other info on it.
 
Hey "My Wife said no FJ",
Thanks for the comments on the blasting progress, is actually very easy once you get the right setup. Media selection is key. I tried 4 different types of medias with small pot blasters without success until I consulted a local sandblasting shop and found someone willing to pass on advice. Basically with these things you need to have dense media, light stuff like glass bead or sand doesn't work well as it consumes too much engery to just move the media along rather than blast it. The heavier stuff works much better with applications where CFM is not huge. The aluminum oxide is the best media I have found and it cuts very fast.

I have never tried soda blasting, I looked at it briefly while sourcing my blaster and it looks impressive, however, had lots of trouble finding affordable and "non-commercial" grade soda blasters in my area so gave up. A big compressor 15cfm (around 7hp) is best but I am doing my blasting with a 2hp 7cfm, 220psi tank blaster from home depot. Just have to go slow. I find brakes are needed anyway to change posture, position, and angle so don't mind taking my time.
 
KY Longhunter,
That is a cool trick, just did some googling on it and looks impressive, concept should work as cooler air has less water capacity. I will diffinitely use this if clogging becomes an issue. I am surprised but I haven't had any issues with packing of the aluminum oxide media. It is winter up here so the air is very dry right now and even my compressor doesn't have much moisture when I drain it after a day of usage so that could be why I am not getting a problem.

One thing that I did find is that with the light medias such as glass, I did get some clogging. It could also have been from the fact that I was using cheap crushed glass as media which had particle sizes varying from 30 to 60 grit. In speaking with a sandbasting specialist he said that varying particle sized media is more prone to packing because of the different particle sizes. He compared it to paking gravel vs. ball bearings. The varying size particles kind of pack around each other whereas the spherical round particles of the same size won't do that. Not sure if that was the case or if it was just too light of a material to use with my small pot blaster but I scratched using that quickly.

Anyway, thanks for the tip, will give it a try if I get moisture issues.
 
One alternative to a bigger compressor is another tank used for extra volume. You'll have to decide on what you're pump is capable of , some of those small 2hp units have a really quick recovery time. If it takes more than 10-15 seconds to recover an additional tank isn't going to help. On my pot system I blast at 110-120psi and the big 2 stage pump will easily outrun what I'm using with the medium tip (I think 5mm). A single stage pump won't live long trying to keep up with a blaster, watch for excessive heat at the pump and tank and also check the pump oil often.
You could try going to a smaller nozzle/jet combo if it's available for you gun...
Sarge
 
Oil Change, New Batteries, and Cranking

I have been meaning over the past couple of months to turn over the engine. I am not sure how much I am over worrying, but I am concerned that if without turning it over for either the pistons to cease or for oil vanes to clog up due to an extended period of not running and oil flow.

On the weekend I bought 2 new batteries and some fresh diesel oil (10W30 was the lowest weight I could find with paying a fortune for synthetic). Tonight I changed the oil, charged up and installed the new batteries.

I twisted the key and she cranked very well. No weird noises. Did 2 very quick crank pulses holding for less than 2 seconds. Let the starter cool for a bit then cranked it for 5 seconds and the bloody think caught!!! I couldn't believe it, I haven't turned the engine over in approximately 2.5yrs and last time I cranked it the batteries barely turned it over. Keep in mind this trunk has no fuel tank in it so I was a little surprise that it caught. It only ran for a a brief second but was a good sign.

So hoping that has moved some of the fresh oil around and brought it up to the head.
 
The 3B is a GREAT engine. My truck was sitting outside for 3 years through -40c weather at times and when I bought it the PO put two old boat batteries in it and started right up (It was about 10c outside at the time... BUT STILL).

Great thread, it has less rust then mine but I'm working my way through it just the same.

Keep it up!!
 
Hey Shadow,
Thanks for the kind words on the thread. Yes the 3B is a great engine. I haven't run the truck too much as I only had a couple of light off road trips with it prior to starting the rebuild but was very impressed with the engine. Cool to hear that you had a similar experience and that the truck started so easily after so long.

Good luck on your rebuild as well.
 
New Rear Floor Has Arrived!!!

Well it is a good day! My new rear floor has arrived. I purchased it about a week ago and it arrived today. I bought it from EBI in BC at a great price and it was shipped via Greyhound. I haven't done a test fit yet but have put a tape measure to it and it looks like it has the overall rough dimensions so I don't expect any major fit issues. There is some minor warping on the front and rear ends, most likely from the die forming process. This is not nothing major and I will be able to pound it out and when clamped in place for welding it won't be an issue. Below are some pics of the panel top surface taken right after getting it.

LC-20120314-001 - New Rear Floor Top Surface 1.webp


LC-20120314-002 - New Rear Floor Top Surface 2.webp
 
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