Question about Sand Blasting

I am getting ready to pay someone to restore a tractor. They sand blast and paint without disassembling the tractor. I have heard mixed opinions. Is this a good idea?

I want a 100% restoration performed on this tractor. Should I continue shopping until I find someone that will disassemble the tractor after blasting and priming?

Thanks for your advice.

At the factory they were painted after assembly.

A 100% restoration involves complete disassembly and then repairing or replacing any parts that are worn out of specifications.

If your main goal is to have a tractor with a high gloss, super shiny paint job, then let the person who sandblasts and paints without disassembly have at it, but you will not have a 100% restored tractored.

If you want 100% restoration you need to keep shopping. However, if you are paying someone to do all the work you should realize you'll have at least double what the tractor will ever sell for - if not more.

My question is WHEN to sandblast. Can you blast the tractor without disassembling? Does the sand work itself into everything?

Who can I call that does a "full" restoration?

I want a 100% restoration performed on this tractor. Should I continue shopping until I find someone that will disassemble the tractor after blasting and priming?

'Disassemble after blasting and priming' - just to paint isn't going to give you 100%. Disassemble BEFORE cleaning of any kind, i.e. blasting, acid bath, wire brushing, power washing, etc. Fellows w/shop in Wisc. gave presentation at RPRU and they completely disassemble for prep work/prime/paint. For benefit of the post readers, we/they want you to explain if you are inquiring about a paint job or 100% of 100% tractor restoration. I suggest you ask for references; then check them out! Don't be content that you were given names and think that is ok, unless this shop has a great reputation, but considering what info you posted, most on this forum will ? the restoration. Where are you located/tractor make/model in another post and this vast readership may have some good recommendations, including shops for you. Don't be afraid to post back before taking action and good luck. Not a good day to be painting a tractor in Wisc. today. Rain...rain...rain, but tomorrow...

Are they doing the mechanical work, too? It takes a great deal of prep and care to sandblast without getting any grit into moving parts, so the order of work is critical.

In a restoration I did of a real basket case of a tractor, I went as follows:

1) A hot pressure washing and sand blasting of the entire, assembled chassis and motor, followed by an initial light but full coat of a primer to stave off rust. Even at this stage, the usual precautions were taken to keep the abrasive out of the inside of the tractor.

2) A complete disassembly for all mechanical work -- bearings, seals, motor and head work . . . The cleaning of parts at this stage necessarily took care of any residual abrasive that did get inside. Any chunks or ridges of paint or grease left around bolt-heads and such during sandblasting were cleaned up and primed during this stage.

3) The mechanical work and reassembly.

4) A thorough prep for final painting, including a thorough cleaning, degreasing (from handling) and touch up, where needed, of the primer coat.

5) Final painting of the entire reassembled tractor.

You don't say what the tractor is, so the order may change somewhat. Mine was a Farmall BN, so it was relatively easy to paint as a whole as was done at the factory. If your tractor has frame rails, for instance, you might paint the chassis and motor separately before assembly.

The two most important parts in the order, the way I went at it, are:

1) If the mechanical work is all done, it is critical that your paint shop understands tractors and takes every care to keep abrasives out of the mechanical parts. This means SEALING all intakes and the exhaust, and any openings into things like the torque tube (there's a clutch, bearing and other things in there) and brake housings . . .

2) Painting before the mechanical work will result in breaking and chipping the paint during disassembly, scuffing up bolts and the like, all of which can only lead to a costly detailing once that work is done.

Maybe it's a nickel's worth, but that's my two cents.

That sounds like a very bad idea, Sam. If you are doing a 100% restore, why not have the engine rebuild to include new prime and paint? If you start sand blasting an older tractor engine, YOU WILL GET SAND IN THE ENGINE!!!! Thare is no "perhaps, maybe or possible" sand will be in your engine. I doubt that I need mention what will result from the sand in your engine. When I was at the engine shop in the Navy, we used a Tornado, which uses water to remove old paint and oils from the individual parts before reassembly. I think engine shops use hydro blasting to clean engine blocks etc. If you find that your's doesn't, use a different one.

The tractor is a 1952 Super AV.

I want someone to use the same process that you mentioned.

My problem is the guy doing the restoration is EXTREMELY knowledgable about Farmall parts, etc. My only concern is his process of blasting the entire tractor and then painting without disassembly.

In other words, he blasts and paints after the tractor has been mechanically repaired.

Thanks for all the great feedback.

sam, depends a lot on your definition of complete restoration. at my shop, i will do restorations on a limited basis. primarily classic cars, but on occasion i will take on a tractor. a complete will entail a complete disassemble of the machine, every component will either be repaired, rebuilt or replaced. the costs are astronomical. i recently did a freshen up of a farmall m for a customer on a running and driving m. not a restoration. new clutch, brakes, replaced leaky seals as necessary, cylinder head repair, new tires, and quite a few new trinkets for a nice parade tractor. final bill was a little over 12k. if your are looking for a full blown restoration, you are prolly in the area of close to 20k + or - depending on condition to have a shop do it. here are some before and after pics to give you an idea
<a href="http://s121.photobucket.com/albums/o234/glennster_01/?action=view&current=DCP02255.jpg" target="_blank"> </a>
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<a href="http://s121.photobucket.com/albums/o234/glennster_01/?action=view&current=DCP02257.jpg" target="_blank"></a>
and here are a couple after
<a href="http://s121.photobucket.com/albums/o234/glennster_01/?action=view&current=DCP02455.jpg" target="_blank"></a>
<a href="http://s121.photobucket.com/albums/o234/glennster_01/?action=view&current=DCP02456.jpg" target="_blank"></a>
<a href="http://s121.photobucket.com/albums/o234/glennster_01/?action=view&current=DCP02454.jpg" target="_blank"></a>
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Al, Bob Huntress and I are all on pretty much the same page.

Whether you choose to do as I did, blasting before any disassembly for mechanical work, knowing that I would have every piece of that tractor apart and cleaned/fixed/replaced, before putting it back together, or go as Al describes and disassemble first, then clean (blast if necessary and then reclean) every part or assembly, you will wind up with a clean tractor. It will depend on what mechanical work you plan on/the tractor needs.

Your shop can blast or otherwise clean it up as a whole or in sections as they tear it down but, as Bob points out, grit from blasting with abrasives after reassembly will most assuredly get into something, and you don't want to ruin good work.

Just as a quick example, I helped a fellow with the clutch on an M that he had paid for as having been restored. Crawling and groping around up in the belly of the tractor to get at the clutch, I found everything covered with a fine grit. I couldn't decide if it was broken sand or glass bead, but it was on everything up in there. Best guess is that it got in around the piping for the hydraulics where it passed thorugh from the belly pump to the outside. It wasn't pretty in there.

I have sand blasted a few tractors, one we did last weekend. The sand will get into everything. Its amazing how it works its way in tight spots. You must at least remove the head and oil pan and rear reduction gear oil pans and clean, clean, clean. I try to stay away from sand blasting the whole tractor. Some of the advice on this thread is very good.

My thoughts are sandblasting is never appropriate for an "assembly" that isn't going to be completely disassembled, degreased/cleaned, blown out with high pressure compressed air and then reassembled.

So..along those lines, it's great for body panels, hoods, etc, and parts like the drawbar or a frame-rail.

Anything that moves, spins, etc, will get the grit in it...unless they're blasting with walnut shells...a bad move IMHO. The grit has an amazing affinity for the least bit of grease or oil. It also has an affinity for rough-cast surfaces...only a powerful air blast can get it out again.

Sandblasting sheet metal with too much air pressure will stretch the metal and it won't fit like it did when new. Everything that's going to be blasted needs to be away from the tractor. I would never get a blaster close to an engine that has bearings, valves, and a hydraulic system on it. rw

Who would you guys recommend? Is there someone close to South Carolina that is a top-notch restore/refurbish person?