Sandblasting

Anyone have any experiance with sandblasting an aluminum boat? I am restoring an old family heirloom from the 60’s with the heavy gauge aluminum and want to make sure it doesnt warp if blasted.

Find a place that uses plastic beeds, not sand that will not pit or warp your boat.

what you want is to glass bead blast it produces less heat than sandblasting but a good sandblaster can brush blast it without warping it. We have sandblasted lots of boats at work and never had a problem with warping especially on the older heavier built boats.

Hey there is a process called soda blasting. Insted of silica they use baking soda. you can blast the paint off a beer can and not damage it at all. I think its kind of expensive though. Restoration companies use it for fire damaged houses.

We have done several – plastic usually gets the job done – couple hundred bucks

A couple of years ago when I called around to have my aluminum boat done I was told ‘no’ due to worries about making pinholes/leaks. I don’t know if I didn’t call around enogh or just the wrong folks.

I wound up using an aluminum aircraft stripper from an auto supply store. Brush it on, wait a few minutes, used a wood shim to scrape it off and rinse with water. It took several applications due to several paint coats but I am happy with the results.

The name BobsBeaverLodge…by any chance a reference to a camp at the ‘Pout Festival?

Its actually from college (NDSU 1992). We had a lot of parties and thought we should name the house. Bob’s Beaver Lodge! We had a painted sign mounted on the front of the house. Ah the memories.

No more need to sandblast! I changed my mind! Thanks for all the info though!