Since I'm POR-15'ing the entire front end and the floor (not sure if I've mentiond that?) I'm not worried about a little surface rust. But I'll certainly be hitting the front end with a wire wheel or stripping wheel prior to paint because it's going to be a few months before it's time to paint anyway, and stuff is going to collect. Whether I will re-blast the floor sort of depends on how much punishment I want to put myself under.

 

Aaron, today i called a guy to see how much he will charge me to blast same exact area you blasted, and see how much he will charge me that i can determine if is cheaper to buy me a blaster since I have to use it over and over again, but the time ill be saving is what im looking at. He coming in a week to check it out, will see

 

You need a compressor to keep up. blasters a cheap. The aircompressor is key. For big areas i use play sand and run it outside so the cilica isnt killing you

 

The air compressor is definitely key when doing blasting or any sort of paint work. That's one of the main reasons I bought a huge 60 gallon compressor that is way better than average.

It's very cool to see the work progressing. Any sort of a timetable for completion, Aaron?

 

thanks guys I actually own a 60 gallon compressor with filters for painting and preventing water to go in tools, i love it . im cecking harbour freight they look inexpensive may have to check it out.

 

A sand blaster is a sandblaster(to an extent). Search craiglist for one. It dosnt matter if its antique ect. Alll it has to do is blow sand. My blaster is older than i am.

 

Wow thanks I am going to look into that . Cool

 

Since it can run paint guns you are probably fine, but remember that it doesn't matter that it's a 60 gallon compressor. What matters is how much continuous CFM it can push. For example, the local Home Depot sells a 60 gallon compressor rated at something like 18 CFM. However looking up the specs of the pump itself, the pump can only move 11 CFM with the 3HP motor included. So that 18 CFM is only when the tank is totally full, and only for as long as the tank takes to empty from 150 PSI (tank pressure) to whatever you have the regulator set at. Perfectly fine for a HVLP paint gun at 20 - 50 PSI, not so much for a sand blaster wanting 10+ CFM at 100 - 120 PSI.

With a pressure blaster it depends on the nozzle you use. A 1/8" nozzle is what I typically use, which is considered very small. But I'm usually only blasting individual small parts anyway. Up the nozzle size to one bigger and air consumption goes from about 10 CFM to around 14 CFM. Siphon blasters are weak, best used for a small blast cabinet and not a chassis/front end.

In blasting the front end, I used a 1/8" nozzle which had worn to just over 4MM by the time I was done.

 

I blast with a 1/2in nozzle or just use a air chuck. Air chucks are cheap (99 cents) and have pretty much the perfect size tip for blasting big areas. They also last a faurly decent amount of time.

 

hey Aaron I really didnt even have to use a grinder I used a razor blade scrapper all cleaned up pretty good and came out grind down some rust and sprayed some primer for now until I have all pieces put together to put por15 ,. check out my project . Tanks

 

The only problem is that now you'll have to strip off the primer completely before you apply the POR-15. With POR-15 it's best to just strip down the metal and let the surface rust form. As long as the rust isn't heavy it can be taken off quickly with a wire wheel, then when the MetalReady is applied the remaining rust will dissolve or simply stop. POR-15 needs to be applied to bare metal. A weathered or blasted surface is best.

 

Thanks I sprayed it since I was not sure how long it will sit Im in the process of buying a rx8 with a blown engine so thats going take some time away from my project, But por15 is the way to go I will strip and then clean up thanks

Aaron I just dropped this piece of to get it replicated since my skills are not like yours and i dont want to get stuck here I want my project to move fairly quickly since I been having my car for 3 years and finally doing some work to it,


If ok to ask I was going to replace this area with 16 gauge sheet metal Is my first weld project since I finish welding school and I only took a short welding basic class, I seen your videos and very helpfull ive learned alot.
steps im going to take.
im going to trace it to paper then cardboard then cut then compare to cardboard then make sure it fits but by the looks of it I may need to do in 4 pieces what would you do, thanks sorry to ask but guys in my town are what I call HATERS,, I dropped that inner fender piece to a classic resturation shop and they were cheaper than guys I was been recommended to, wow really, thanks Aaron,

 

Well i was going to say try and find a car to cut the section out of...but it seems its a rx3. My personal opinion is you have alot of work to do haha(as you know). I see the upper part of the rail is rusted out also. I think i need to step back and really think... and now im going to try and put my thoughts together.

 

Id make 2 diff pieces. I would do piece first. I would make the lower wheel well (the curved portion)) so it has a nice pinch weld on it to weld the new panel to. It looks like theres enough material there to bend it flat and make a decent pinch weld basically like whats right blew it directly behind the wheel. Then i would drill out all the pinch welds(Yellow markings, im sure i left a few out). Duplicate panel 1 first and seam it in (blue lines) and weld it the the outer edge on the insde of the fire wall. Basically the same thing with panel 2. drill all the pinch welds, fit it, tac it in a few spots and over lap it to panel one on the edge of the fire wall and weld it there. Weld all the seams up. sandblast, ect... then caulk it all up really nice. You must make sure the fender bolt holes on panel 1 are in the same spot. This is roughly probably what i would do.

 

It looks like the entire inner fender panel must be replaed, from the far right rust hole, all the way into the cabin of the car. The structure looks very similar to the Cosmo, though the Cosmo has a reinforcing panel spot welded onto the inner fender where the shock tower is located. This is the area I'm working on right now.

 

Pretttyyy much. You can butcher it up (as i stated) but that thing is wooped. in need of new one!

 

I will work on a 2 piece and seem it up where the struts are together it has a heavy metal support I will use, thanks I may even maybe do 3 since by door it rusty 2 so will see.,

 

Yea is pretty mest up and I will replace the whole thing, thanks for the info on my thread, I cant wait to see your next video on this area i know it will help me alot, I dropped off the 2 inner fenders to be duplicated and Im finishing 2 other paint project so I can finally have a chance to work on my 3, thanks

 

It may be a little while for the next video becuase I intend the next video to finish up the front structural sheet metal, so that I can move on to fun things in the video after.

 

ive seen your videos on youtube aaron it's cool to read your thread here.

 

cant wait,

O I go over his videos over and over when im in the house babysitting my kids, lol good stuff ,

 

This is so nice, i know its going to turn good. Cant wait to see it done. What color you planning to do on the car?

 

Happy Birthday Aaron!!

Cosmo is coming along nicely!!

 

Thanks for the birthday greeting!

And the colour will be Mazda Indigo Lights, code MC 38K.

 

When is the next video coming out? Been nearly two months now.