Media Blasting, the right way to prepare a car for paint

Todays subject ties into yesterdays you tube video.  Earlier in the week I received a 76 Mustang that had been modified with the ×Eleanor kit.  Unfortunately, circumstances had led the owner to let several shops work on the car and in the process it was painted numerous times.  I have operated ×Strip Technologies for 20 years and have never striped a car with as much paint thickness on it as this one.  I counted no less that 6 total paint jobs and there could have been moore.  I roughly guess the total paint material, not counting body work, to have bee almost 1/4 " thick.  It was soft and gummy, which did not allow my plastic to effectively remove the paint.  This project too 4 days to strip, but as it turned out the car is solid and now has a great foundation for the new paint. 
Starting the ×Media Blast process on the fiberglass hood. 
Note the paint thickness and poor adhesion.  As we begin to remove the layers of paint you could smell the solvent gasses and see the wet material.
 We also uncovered prior damage that had not been properly repaired.

 Once the paint was finally off, we mover the car into the ×Abrasive Media booth.
 The brown stain is surface rust that was painted over.
 From this picture you can see how we slowly remove the surface rust.  Using our method minimizes the chance of warpage and leaves a great anchor profile for the primer.
 Note how clean the metal looks after we abrasive media blast the metal.
 I have included the last two photos to reinforce my dissatisfaction with the ×Eleanor body panel kits.  

Car Poster #2

who has the loudest sound system in their car.....

Music is an obvious media however it is very interesting about the whole different experience music can bring to when you are in a car. My sound system broke in my good old car so whenever I had to drive it had to be with no form of music. It’s hard to imagine what it is like with no option of music in a car until you have to actually deal without it. Even if some people prefer to talk instead of listen to music, without the background music the car has a new quiet and awkward setting. When driving by myself it is miserable sitting in silence. It makes the car ride feel so much longer and it is way less enjoyable. Some people use music to display their interpretation of “cool”. They get expensive high tech speaker and sound systems in order to make their music be extremely loud. The video

2012 Los Angeles Auto Show Media Day

Wednesday was the annual media day for the Los Angeles International Auto Show. I had the chance to go down to the media day to watch some of the vehicle debuts and meet with customers. It is a great way to see the auto show since it always packed with people on the weekends.
Bentley GT



One of three vehicles from Jaguar and Land Rover being unveiled.




Porsche Cayman S

 Though it is far from new, this Porsche 904 GTS was one of the coolest vehicles on display. While everyone was waiting for the unveiling of the new Porsche Cayman, I was busy taking photos of this car.


 The Lincoln display was one of the more unique exhibits at the show. Instead of showing off a variety of new mobiles, it showcased the heritage of Lincoln and displayed a number of its classic automobiles.




 The Ford exhibit had a Ford Fiesta slot car track for people to test their skills on a mini race course.


 The Mopar booth had a number of SRT vehicles, like the Viper on display, plus a variety of Dodge Challenger vehicles in various trim levels.


Chrysler 300 John Varvatos Edition

 The Dodge Dart Rally edition and street version. I think I would take the Rally Cross model for a few laps.
Race Car in the Nissan booth


 It was media day so automotive media outlets and journalists from all over the world were on hand today getting a first glimpse of new vehicles for 2013 and beyond. There were video crews all over the event preparing video for their websites.


 Volkswagen unveiled the Cabriolet model of its popular Beetle.


Cadillac V Models

 The Cadillac V Models are pretty fast, but this CTS might be a little faster around the turns.
 The big news for Chevy was the unveiling of the Spark and the latest model of Chevy Impala.




Audi Display


Acura's unveiling of the new RLX



Lexus Vehicles


A specially designed Smart car. It might not be for everyone.
 The Mercedes SLS Black Edition. If you're into that high powered-ultimate sports car-limited production sort of thing.
 Why wait. Might as well use the media day to create a new video commercial for a car.


 The Jaguar unveiling attracted quite a crowd. The new high powered sport roadster and sedan from Jaguar do look pretty good.


VW sunglasses that Volkswagen was handing out at the show.



Bentley Booth



 Downstairs is the exhibitor's hall for local shops to show off their handy work. Our friends over at Galpin Auto Sports had an assortment of cars on display.
James Bond Aston Martin



Morgan Booth

Lotus Booth


Fiat 500 Unveiling
 It was a great morning at the Auto Show. California Car Cover is not exhibiting at the Auto Show, but keep an eye out for us at this upcoming weekend's Pomona Swap Meet and Motor 4 Toys Car Show and Toy Drive. Look for video highlights of the show on our You Tube Channel. Follow along here on our blog to see where California Car Cover is sending me next!-Tony
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