Anyone experienced with sand blasting?

[Rams]

Will be having one of my goose neck trailers sandblasted, primed and painted in the very near future.
Any specifics I should be aware of before it's too late?

Wiring will be protected.
Lights and lens will be either removed or covered as applicable.
Wheels will be removed and blasted, primed and painted off the trailer, axle bearings will be covered and sealed during the process.
The trailer will be raised up by fork lifts and the underside/belly will also be blasted, primed and painted.
Paint and primer will be Rustoleum two part, decided to go with an off white/almond color.

What am I missing?

Rams

[northernvalk]

Make sure you plug up any threaded blind or though holes to prevent issues....

[Robert]

Did you look into POR15 as a paint and check the medium you use some will leave the surface rough while others give a much smoother surface. Glass bead comes to mind as a good medium.

[Rams]

Gentlemen,

First, thanks for the responses.

This is kind of a long story but, I'll keep it short.   I've been looking for a vendor to get this done for a couple of years.   This trailer was really beginning to show it's age, wear and tear.  I really do try to keep my equipment in as good of shape as I can afford to.   As many are aware, I travel quite a bit and have always stayed on the look out for some place that could do this in my travels.  Seems that it was always too far, took too long or was simply unaffordable.

Obviously, time location and expense were major considerations.    Since I still haven't won that lottery, all were important.   Not long ago, some gremlins got into this trailer's wiring and I had to have a whole new harness built and installed.   Wasn't an easy or cheap endeavor.   Would have preferred to do that after the sand blasting/painting but, it is, what it is.   There are always those things you want to do but the things you need or have to do better be the priority.

Looked at several different vendors, some used glass beads, some used plastic, some offered walnut shells, even looked at soda blasting, most used different grades of sand.   Again, all those other previously mentioned factors played a role in deciding where to go.  Time and money were the biggest deciding factors.  

Obviously there are lower dust options but, those were not local and were much more expensive in their quotes.   What I think is ultimately important is rust removal to bare metal and good primer/paint coverage, to plug any holes you don't want the sand to get inside, to cover/seal anything you don't want to dust  to penetrate (specifically the axle bearings) and to protect that new wiring harness for lighting and brakes.    I have discussed this with the vendor.  

While there were no trailers at his facility while I was there, I did a long hard look around at the facility and the work he had on hand while I was there.   The facility was clean (would seem tough to keep that way in that business) and was well organized.   His equipment appeared to be in good shape.    This is a Father and Son company.   Son owns it, he's an engineer and Did is a retired LEO.   They have been one of those mobile operations but have secured a contract to blast and paint Conex shipping containers and decided to get off the road and are now in a large facility.

Probably a lot more information than necessary but, the original question is still applicable.   What else should I be looking for?   BTW, I appreciate the responses and suggestions.  

Edited: Considered POR15  but due the size of the trailer, it was a bit pricey.   Went with Rustolem two part primer and paint.   Might be a mistake, I guess we'll see.  

Rams

[JimC]

Ron,
As long as you take it to bare metal it will look nice. BUT, for it to stay looking nice I would make sure to use an epoxy primer. It sounds like you are going to do that with the 2 part primer you mentioned so you should be good to go.

Jim

[¿spoom]

If the wiring is external to the trailer frame instead of running through it, I'd pull it. I know it sucks, but as you said, the new wiring would ideally have been done after the paint job. For all the blasting and painting money to be best spent, the frame should be bare of anything that isn't going to be blasted and painted. Sorry 

[Rams]

Ron,
As long as you take it to bare metal it will look nice. BUT, for it to stay looking nice I would make sure to use an epoxy primer. It sounds like you are going to do that with the 2 part primer you mentioned so you should be good to go.

Jim

Jim,
Hopefully, the vendor will take it to bare metal.   He said he would.   I won't be there, the facility is near Nashville, TN, I'm three hours north in KY.   So I kind of have to go by the evidence I saw while visiting the facility.   It appears they do a pretty complete job.  

I know everything that mankind knows and understands about the opposite sex, (absolutely nothing) but don't know squat about sand blasting and painting admittedly.   So, I thought I'd ask here.

BTW, anyone that needs help understanding the opposite sex is free to ask for advice.   I figure I can't screw up your relationships any more than I have my own.  

Thanks for responding to this thread.

Rams

[Pete]

With sand and soda and any media that will hold/attract water, clean up before painting is a serious business. If you want it to stay rust free.

[Rams]

If the wiring is external to the trailer frame instead of running through it, I'd pull it. I know it sucks, but as you said, the new wiring would ideally have been done after the paint job. For all the blasting and painting money to be best spent, the frame should be bare of anything that isn't going to be blasted and painted. Sorry 

The wiring is run internal to the frame rails.   The only parts of it that are exposed are at the connections.   Pulling it would most likely require building a new harness.   When I had the new wiring built and installed this past summer, we encased every bit of wiring we could in conduit, to include where it must cross the trailer to the opposite side.   

Grounding issues seem to always be trouble spots in trailer wiring harnesses.   We attempted to install and ground every fixture to a main ground wire and also to the trailer frame at the closest point possible.   I've been pulled over several times over the years with my different trailers.  I have five trailers for different loads/applications.   It's always an issue trying to get that fixed on the road.   I honestly doubt this trailer will ever have a grounding issue.   IIRC, there are ten grounding points in addition to the main grounding wire that goes all the way up to the tow vehicles batteries.   Yes, I also ran an additional grounding wire from the trailer connection up to the batteries.   Getting pulled over for light issues sucks.   

Thanks for the response and suggestion.

Rams

[Rams]

With sand and soda and any media that will hold/attract water, clean up before painting is a serious business. If you want it to stay rust free.

Agreed, the vendor is very experienced and I think he's got that down based on what I saw when I visited his facility.   Obviously, my concern is what have I not considered or asked about.   As I said previously, I know everything that men know and understand about women but nothing about sand blasting. 

Thanks for the response.   



Rams

[signart]

My son works for a crane company that had a couple of their cranes blasted and painted in the Nashville area. If that is the same place, they did an excellent job. One crane, the paint was not satisfactory and they made it right without fuss.
I do smaller scale blasting and looks like you have most concerns covered, except on a trailer I would not use a light color, because rust will rear it's ugly head again eventually and look way worse than it actually is on any shade of white.
But of course with the big bucks you transporters rake in, you can afford to go through it again every couple of years

[Rams]

My son works for a crane company that had a couple of their cranes blasted and painted in the Nashville area. If that is the same place, they did an excellent job. One crane, the paint was not satisfactory and they made it right without fuss.
I do smaller scale blasting and looks like you have most concerns covered, except on a trailer I would not use a light color, because rust will rear it's ugly head again eventually and look way worse than it actually is on any shade of white.
But of course with the big bucks you transporters rake in, you can afford to go through it again every couple of years

Thanks for responding Art.  

I chose the lighter color specifically for that reason.   I'd rather address the issues before the trailer comes or falls apart traveling down the road.   I want to know if or when it's starting to corrode.

Reference your second remark.   Yeah, I'm rolling in it.  But it, ain't cash.   


Rams

[signart]

Like I said, sounds like the same place. Here's a pic of #1 son helping me on a job. This is a smaller crane they did in off white. Crane company keeps their equipment spiffy. Gonna try this postimage deal.

[Rams]

Well, I guess we know who's rolling in it now, don't we...................   

Rams

[signart]

Well, I guess we know who's rolling in it now, don't we...................   

Rams

I can tell you who's rolling in it, the guy that owns that crane my son is operating. The crane set there for 45 min. while I rigged it and unbolted it from the poles and set it on my trailer. Charged me 3 hr minimum @ $115 per hour.
Then after I changed the faces and converted the innards to LED's, another crane bill for $360 a week later for one hour service!    That's for their least crane.

[Rams]

OK, now that we know Art can pay big bucks for assistance, that question is settled.   

Appreciate all the responses.   The trailer is now at the sand blasting/painter's facility.
Just want to be  sure I asked all the right questions and didn't leave something out I'm going to regret later.   Thanks again.

Rams