SandBlast or not to sandblast 1938 Chevy P/U

[Street Surfers]

Hey... New to the site..Bare with me.. Ok I bought a 1938 Chevy P/U. the bumpers are the only things not there,, Its a little rough in the rust department, but not to bad.. there a very few holes just alot of surface rust, and some dents not bad ... the truck had been parked in a barn for the last 20 or so yrs.. Anyways my question would be, Do I sandblast with traditional sand and if so what grid. or should I concered using walnut shells?

Just Chop That Shit

[MagicRat]

Avoid sandblasting large areas of body panels. It tends to warp and distort panels.
Use walnuts or baking soda blasting instead.

[Omega_5]

every classic or vintage car i've ever done, i use good old sandpaper....
sure it's time consuming, but you get such a beautiful finish...
i tend to see snadblasting as a 'quick-fix', and try to stayaway from it, unless doing a frame, or other undetailed parts.

[Street Surfers]

Cool Thanx.. its great Info.. these are things I need to know...

[rollin_on13s]

magic is absolutely right.....modern blasting abrasives are great for removing rust from porous metal pits.
But, blasting with agressive abrasives (aluminum oxide or any type of Black Beauty) will most definitely produce enough heat to warp almost any body panel.
Baking Soda or Plastic media will do much better. The rough stuff is still great if you're blasting small areas that will need bodywork anyway.

[curtis73]

Where do you live? I found an acid dipper near me. I'm having my PA 66 bonneville dipped soon. There are two dips; one is a caustic tank to remove paint and bondo, then an acid dip to remove rust. You get clean, bare metal back.

The downside is that you have to completely strip it bare... and I mean bare. No plastic, rubber, aluminum, pot metal, or glass.

The upside is that dipping usually costs under $1000, so compared to the cost of good body work, its a pretty wise investment if you want to go that far.