Cheap local sandblasters

[Uriel]

Anyone know any in the area?

When Wildfire moved back down south he had the remains of a 2.9 v6 from a Granada sitting in Minimax's garage he needed to get rid of. I took it and realising that it's no use to me (thought maybe some parts from it would be interchangeable with the 2.8 in the Wedge) I decided to do the wine rack/coffee table thing.

I spent yesterday stripping it and I now have the block and pistons sitting in my bathtub (can you guess I'm single ). I was planning on going at it with a bottle of Gunk and a lot of elbow grease, but figure it'll need something a bit heavier duty to get it clean.

[docevi1]

and while you're at it, anyone know of Alloy Wheel restorers in the area

[bilton_d]

SEM do alloy wheels in Sunderland and you can also try BetterBlast at Shiremoor

[grahamw48]

Have you tried Jif ? (bathroom,not kitchen)

Oh the advantages of being single.

I remember rebuilding the whole front end of a cortina in my kitchen, and my best mate always had at least one racing Kart on his kitchen table, and before he got the house - in his bedsit !! Happy days

[beastieboy]

i can vouch for SEM's work. everything i've seen from there has been like brand new and they have a pretty quick turn around.
which reminds me that i should get my wheels done soon !

[bigphil]

Have used both of the above mentioned companies and would concur both are good, although betterblast are a little more accomodating for unusual stuff as well as being cheaper.
Big Hiya to Beastieboy

[beastieboy]

Howdy phil. Hope the tuscan is coming along nicely !

[mawds]

docevi1 said:

and while you're at it, anyone know of Alloy Wheel restorers in the area

Romax in Stockton have a good reputation (near Asda)

[wedg1e]

mawds said:

docevi1 said: and while you're at it, anyone know of Alloy Wheel restorers in the area Romax in Stockton have a good reputation (near Asda)

Max is getting a little, shall we say, 'aggressive', in his choice of what he'll do and what he won't. Having used him for years at work, I turned up with a van load of bits for him to blast and paint, his declination included three expletives even before I opened the van doors.
So stuff him, we use Motorcool in Thornaby.

[britten_mark]

I have seen Romax's stuff, and must admit I found his attitude great in that he pays as much attention to the back of the wheels as the front, and treats them to the same finish to prevent future corrosion.

However the silver he does is not "glitter-factory" enough for me, so I used SEM. Trouble is they get so much work the quality suffers a bit. I tried in vain to say that my wheels were for my pride and joy and not to be confused with the vanload of repmobile Mondeo items clogging up the yard. I even offered to pay extra for the same finish inside and out, but was met with confused blinking. I was left with an orange-peel finish in the hard to reach bits which attracts just as much brake dust as before and is impossible to shift.

Any other suggestions???

[couger]

Mark
Apologies as this is completely off topic but saw your name..was in mcdonalds at the Arniston centre tonight and there must of been 200 cars in the car park was like something out of the fast and the furious, my car of course stole the show is this a regular thing??

Ian

[britten_mark]

couger said:

Mark Apologies as this is completely off topic but saw your name..was in mcdonalds at the Arniston centre tonight and there must of been 200 cars in the car park was like something out of the fast and the furious, my car of course stole the show is this a regular thing?? Ian

Yes, seems to be getting bigger all the time. Quite amusing sometimes, they seem to have developed their own early warning system for plod vehicles. I usually arrive in my Volvo estate which sets off a frenzy of beeping as if I'm an unmarked unit. Theres a lot of local grumbling about it though, and there's quite a lot of flashing blue lights so I don't know how long it will go on for.

Its nice to go past in the Lotus and see the reaction you get, good to know that wwer still down wiv d' kidz, innit??

I live about 30 seconds away from the Arnison Centre incidentally if you want to have a natter

[froggie]

um ive used boath romax and dave at motor cool for the street fighters ,romax is lot better quality but BAD ATTITUDE take em in 3"thick in siht or pre blasted and its the same price,so what ive lotsa work attitude.
motor cool coated a sub frame WITHOUT BLASTING OR DE GREASING it and a mates show bike frame also.BUT HE IS A1 with radiaters and oil coolers.
verry good selection of colors at romax.

[mawds]

froggie said:

take em in 3"thick in siht or pre blasted and its the same price

Helps when the spare set of wheels I took them was actually 3" thick in sh1t, though (after 20+ years in a barn) - didn't bat an eyelid.

[mawds]

And what a magnificent job they've made of them, too. 48 hour turnaround, blasted, powdercoated, then machined the faces and "turbine spokes" to almost mirror finish. They were by the door as I walked in, and I didn't recognise them. Even the tyre fitters, who (unknown to me) also recon alloys, were suitably impressed with the work (cue lots of "bl00dy hell"s as I take the wheels in.

Now shod with some 185/55 Yokohama A532's, look the business on the car (although adjustable height shocks are now a priority, as the smaller wheel diameter really shows up the "nose-in the air" look. Along with this in priority terms is recalibrating the speedo, as it read "slow" before (30mph on speedo = 34mph) with 80 profile cartwheels, and will probably read "fast" now.

Hold on, that's not so bad...

[selmer]

I've used Motorcool for a bike frame; an old Reynolds 753 one too, you have to be sensitive with that stuff, and they were great.
My mate used Romax for his alloys on his Yank and they turned out pretty good. I'll be following this thread as I want mine done soon-ish and I'll have to decide between the two places.

[craigturbo2]

Try Mark Beaver Powder Coat and Paint 01759318998
top bloke top work.He has done loads of bits for me both bikes and cars even on my present car.

[wedg1e]

I already have sandblast in the workshop, how much is a powder-coating setup?

Ebay-dot-co-dot....

[dexy]

i used Romax for the wedge wheels he made a good job on them and still in good condition 3nhalf years down the road

[phoenixblasting]

why not try phoenix shotblasting in darlington
there doing wheels from as little as £25 per wheel
blasted and coated....
ther in the yelowpages
thay can do as much as romax or motorcool can and more
but wont bull s"""t you eather if thay cant do it to your spek thay will tel ya