Bay Area Media Blasting + build plan

[KJ74]

Hello all! I am diving into my Bronco project after owning it for almost 10 years. I am looking for recommendations for a good media blaster in the Bay Area (Santa Cruz or within a reasonable distance) to facilitate step one. To add some detail on the plans and what I am looking to do, here is my situation and plan:

I am currently stationed in Northwest Florida, the Bronco is an uncut, mostly stock '74 living in Santa Cruz, CA. It has been in the family since about '76 and in my hands since I was in high school. I plan to do it right the first time and keep it mostly original, with basic safety and drivability mods (brakes/steering) and a small lift. I had the 302 rebuilt about a year by a local shop, and installed a roll bar and power steering several years ago. The general outline of the build plan as it stands now is:

1. Tear down while home in CA. Have body media blasted and primed (to try and limit the corrosion once it hits FL).
2. Transport to Florida, source as many parts as I can afford.
3. Separate body from frame and put body in storage.
4. Build rolling chassis (rebuild transmission, transfer case, axles, blast and paint frame, install suspension and fuel/brake lines).
5. Wrap chassis in plastic, re-attach body.
6. Rust removal, body repairs, prep and paint.
7. Re-assemble.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. I have searched on the forum and Norcalbroncos but haven't found much in the way of current listings for media blasting in the area.

Thanks!

[welndmn]

Re: Bay Area Media Blasting + build plan

Media blasting never really seemed to take off here, but S and B in (Santa rosa?) I lve heard of people going do.

In reguards to your list, I'd not media blast a body and then put it in storage, no matter how good someone tells you the primer/epoxy they lay down will be. Do it all in one shot.

[70 Steed]

Re: Bay Area Media Blasting + build plan

Welcome to the forum. I'm no help on media blasters in the Santa Cruz area but I'm sure the guys in the San Jose area will chime in soon.

[jperry1290]

Re: Bay Area Media Blasting + build plan

I would think that it would be cheaper to do this in FL.

[KJ74]

Re: Bay Area Media Blasting + build plan

I will check out S and B, thanks!

It may be cheaper to do it in FL, and transporting an assembled, running vehicle would be easier as well. I have and still am considering that, but I am hoping to get a head start on fighting rust as it is so humid and salty out there. Granted, I already have rust and even being in the mountains, it still pulls occasional coastal duty, so it may be a moot point

I agree that primer is less ideal than complete paint. However, I don't really want to pull a completely done body off the frame to build the chassis, nor do I want to build the body on a jig and hope it lines up on the frame. Plus I was hoping to make my life easier by building the driveline with the body out of the way. Since I see a fair bit of grinding and cutting anyway, I expect to touch-up prime as I go, and may even sand and re-prime once all the metal repair is done for uniformity's sake. Any suggestions on a better course of action? This is my first such project so I am very open to ideas and have a lot to learn - this plan was developed with the help of a co-worker who is about 80% done with his '66 build, but I am not stuck to it.

Thanks all for your input!

[jperry1290]

Re: Bay Area Media Blasting + build plan

As being someone that added prime anf paint before cut and weld I would say do all the work now then prime. For some reason I put bedliner on the floor knowing I had to rip it up for a trans swap. Made the work messier and now needs to be re lined

[14Justice]

Re: Bay Area Media Blasting + build plan

When I did mine, I dissasembled mine and trailered it to a place in Lodi. They came highly reccomended as someone who knows how to media vehicles. Be very careful who you choose to do this as they can heat the metal up and warp body panels very easy. Make sure they know what they're doing so you get the best results. As far as others have said, I would make sure you do the media, primer and sealer all one after another. Once you expose bare metal to this enviroment, especially the coastal enviroment, you know what the result will be.

Another tidbit of info, my media guy also asked if I wanted a powder coat primer. He said it will get into areas that spray on primer wont. Sounded great to me. I'm happy I checked with my painter. He said that stuff is "very hard" to deal with and it takes a lot of labor hours in sanding it to do a proper/quality job. I declined the primer for that reason and let my painter handle the job directly when it was finished at media. I paid just under $1,000 3 years ago. Worth the drive and price in my opinion. Good luck with what ever you decide and welcome to the NCB! Brad