cleaning, stripping the subframe

Hello all. I want to rebuild the subrame from my Nova and it needs cleaning. I want to clean it up before I rebuild it and put it under the car. It will either get painted or POR-15 on it. I want to media blast it for a really good cleaning and prep for paint. Could yall tell me which would be better to purchase to do this with, a siphon feed or pressure blaster, and which media to use?
Thanks in advance.

I've posted this before, but try sending it to a galvanizer. He will totally clean it and coat it inside and out. Looks neat and is the perfect treatment for subframes. It will also be cheaper than doing it yourself.

Here is a link to some shots of mine and other subframes:

http://rides.webshots.com/album/556508944ZUMpIF

The subframe finish and amount of detail it shows will be up to you. You can blast it or have it dipped. I chose to have mine dipped so that it was all clean, inside and out.
Once I got it back the center bottom portion was partially caved in from a floor jack and I spent time fixing that by cutting out the section, hammering it flat, and then rewelding it back in. I also did a lot of work removing welding slag and detailing out the original welds and then approached it like a body pabnel working the flat sections so they were flat, adding some filler here and there, and priming and blocking it down.

When I blasted my undercarriage I used a rented compressor and a pressure pot blaster. It worked very well.

Jim

i bought a potable sand blaster at sears and used black blasting sand from menards (like 5.00 a 50 lb bag) i used only 2 bags then i ground all the slag i could and painted it with por15 using a brush then used a semi gloss black out of a can and it looks great hell you cant see the brush strokes lol and it took almost a weekend

I couldn't blast because of my living location and lack of space, so I used several steel wheels, then coated with Eastwood 2-part converter, and then Eastwood Encapsulator.

I then painted it in Rustoleum Semi-flat in the engine compartment and ACE Epoxy Appliance paint Semi Gloss underneath. It looks great... will it hold-up... doubt it. ;)

But for my purpose, it worked very good. If I had the cash, I would have had it dipped and powder coated. Maybe the next time in 10 years.

Hope that helps a little.

DeuceWagon

I've Done Both. Had The Sub-frame Sent Out To Have Blasted And Powder Coated And Blasted The Belly Of The Car And Sprayed Por-15 Myself.
Having Done Both I Can Tell You The 450.00 I Spent To Have It Done Was Worth It. They Did Everything, Control Arms, Sway Bars, Cross Member, Everything I Could Un-bolt And Take To 'em.
However, You Can Hardly Tell The Difference Between Por-15 And The Powder Coating, So If You Have The Time, Equipment, And Patience Do It Yourself.
Project Nova

Thanks for the replies guys. I am not looking for a show quality subframe, the car is a long way from being show quality....read ************. I will knock the scale off and rebuild it myself.
As far as a blaster goes which would be better, a siphon feed or pressure?

Thanks again.

I use a siphon for parts in a cabinet but for something like that, Id probably get one of those portable pressure blasters. I think it was Tom on here that has one and said it works great.

A buddy of mine has the portable pressure one at his shop, we use it all the time , works great..

i used the craftsman cheapy like 40.00 it was a gravity kind worked good and it held 50lbs of sand they have a real cheap one at homo depot 12.00 and it aslo works good for a siphon kind

i did mine with the pressure blaster. it worked very well.

i then por-15'd it with a brush and then added rattle can top coat.

looks great and was easy, you just need a large air compressor to get it done relatively quick.

Eric