Best course of action to take?

[Jim Baxter]

Ok take a look at these pics let me know what you think, Ive got some deep rust
should I bead blast it? Sand blast it? baking soda blast it? or what? Also what is the general feeling of powder coating? Is that a big no no?

[Dick W.]

Re: Best course of action to take?

As light a guage metal as a fan shroud is, I would be leary of sandblasting. If you are not careful you can warp it. I would be in favor of bead blasting if you have a cabinet large enough to get it in.

[Chuck S.]

Re: Best course of action to take?

Jim, from the pictures, it appears that your rust isn't as bad as you think.

Real rust is where you have rust scale falling off, with pits deeper than, say 0.060", or perforation, whichever comes first. If you have a bead-blast cabinet that would be the way to go from what I see in the pictures. Depending on how visible the parts are, you could prime with one coat of epoxy primer, then as many coats of sanding primer-surfacer as needed to reduce the pitting.

Sand blasting should probably be reserved for heavy rust on big parts like frames. Typically, sand blasting is too aggressive for small parts, but is good for fast cleaning of large parts. Depending on the media used and the pressure used, sand blasting can leave a heavy texture that is hard to fill by painting.

Powder coating will probably be detected in NCRS judging, and it will receive deducts for non-original appearance. I personally would not PC parts on any midyear that has any potential to be restored to judging quality. One of the downsides of PC is that it is pretty much irreversible once it has been applied.