Discussion Forum - Northstar Chevelle Club

Roger, I think most folks remove the rear axle from under the car and bast it that way as it would be hard to control the sand from hitting the area around the axle, as well as it would be hard to get to the top of it.

I'm sure others will chime in.

Your definetly going to want to remove parts like that before you blast them. Not just for getting in all the nooks and crannies, but especially when you dont want sand getting where its not wanted.

In order to really sand blast parts like that, parts most certainly have to come off and I also wouldnt even consider blasting parts like a rear end without dissassembling it first. Meaning, axles and gears come out and everything. You can seal it up as best as you can but when your sandblasting (key word is blasting, IE high pressure/velocity), those grains of sand will most certainly get where they arent wanted, namely, bearing surfaces.

I've had 2 assembled rear axles blasted with good results. I run all the lug nuts on backwards to tighten the drums and then triple wrapped the drum to backing plate seam with duct tape. Also wrap the yoke seal seam  and vent tube well and instruct the blaster to not blow thru the tape. I had a very small amount of sand in the drums after opening them back up and just blew it out with an air hose.

Trying to do this in the car would not only yield poor results but like Chris said, you'll have sand EVERYWHERE under the car. I have a pressure pot blaster and it is the messiest job I've ever done.