Frequently Asked Questions
Q1) Why should we use RestoPrep instead of the other blaster nearer to home?
A1) RestoPrep is an Automotive ONLY blaster. We only blast cars (as well as Motorcylces and small boats, as they are peoples pride and joy too and require care and respect). Most blasters are primarly Industrial blasters who don't care what they blast, basically it's all just a chunk of steel to them. Cars need to be handled completely differently to a trailer or 10 Ton of steel beams. Cars are generally made from .8 - 1.2mm steel and need to be treated with respect. As we always tell our customers, you wouldn't get an Industrial painter to respray your car, so why would you risk your car with an Industrial blaster? We may charge slightly more than an Industrial blaster, however a few hundred dollars extra with us could save your thousands at the panel shop.

Q2) I've heard that Soda blasting is not good for stripping cars?
A2) This is a several part answer:

1) RestoPrep DOES NOT use Soda blasting. The answers below to this question are for your personal information to help you understand all the options with blasting and what to avoid and why. Unlike other blasters who will just tell you a certain process is crap, just because they don't understand it, we like to explain our opinion. Also please note although this is our view it is only our opinion from our experiences. At the end of the day your vehicle should be restored in a way that you are happy with so feel free to do your own research and should you have any questions you are welcome to contact us and I'm sure we can help you out.

1.1) In our opinion Soda is not the IDEAL blast media for steel bodied cars and we DO NOT use it. Soda is great for a huge range of blasting processes, cars are just not one of them. Soda will not remove rust and is very slow to remove body filler. Soda is also very expensive when compared to fine abrasive blasting. We have refined our process to the point were we can blast virtually anything without any panel distortion, while still removing rust, paint, body filler and leaving a very fine profile ideal for paint adhension and without hardening the steel. So soda is of minimal use to us.
1.2) In sodas defense, there are many common misconceptions floating around about soda. This idea comes from two very different sources. Firstly from other blasters who don't have a soda blast setup and are worried about lossing business, the other is caused by soda blasters who don't understand vehicle restoration and the correct processes that need to be followed to ensure a quality finish. There are several points to take into account;

2.1) NEVER wet soda blast car panels, adding water to soda while blasting elimates dust problems but gives the blasting a polishing effect, therefor smoothing the surface of the steel and creating adhesion problems. RestoPrep never wet blast car panels. This is often a problem when mobile soda blasters come to your house and blast the car in your yard, they use water to stop the dust, but create more problems for you down the track, as well as the obvious issue of adding water to bare metal. Anyone who suggests this process for your car has no idea the amount of heartache it could cause you.

2.20) Laboritory tests have proven that soda blasting DOES NOT reduce the surface adhesion of paint (when blasted dry). However anyone repairing and painting a vehicle should know that all panels should be washed with a suitable wax & grease removal product, as well as sanded with the appropriate grades of sand paper. A soda blasted panel should be treated the same as a chemically stripped panel. Wash it, dry it, de-oxides it, sand it, wax and grease wipe, then etch prime. Many panel shops seen around the internet appear to soda blast panels, then prime directly over the bare steel surface. This is asking for problems. Panels must always be sanded for correct paint adhesion, this is common sense. You wouldn't chemical strip a panel and expect to paint directly over the surface without at least giving it a light rub.

2.3) Soda doesn't remove rust, this is correct, as a general rule think of soda as a blasting version of paint stripper, if paint stripper won't remove it, neither will soda (with the acception of body filler and sound deadener that IS removed by soda). Soda will not remove rust as it is Non-abrasive to steel, so it does not take any steel with it when blasting. This is the reason it is 100% safe on steel panels and cannot warp panels. RestoPre ONLY use plastic media for panels that cannot be fine abrasive blasted (some bonnets and boot lids, alloy, fibreglass and carbon fibre, etc).

2.4) Some soda blasters tell you that they don't need to prime the panel after blasting to stop rust as the soda leaves a residue on the panel. This is not true, the reason rust does not bloom on panels after soda blasting is because the panels original surface has not been broken. IF like most panels on older cars, there has been a repair in the past, then the panel will rust quite quickly after blasting (within a few days). Any panel that is soda blasted should be cleaned and sealed as soon as possible. Most blasters will use a regular primer that hides any rust and can leave people with the false impression that there panel is clean and ready to paint over. Again we would like to stress that we prefer our fine abrasive blasting process as it DOES remove rust.

2.5) Restoprep does not use soda blasting. Where needed we prefer Plastic media for selected panels, we can, but rarely plastic blast full bodyshells, in our opinion it's a waste of time and money and will leave a sub-standard finish. We ONLY use plastic on select panels that we feel require the non-abrasive propeties of plastic. IF however you insist on a full plastic media job we can do it and we won't argue. We will advise that it is against our personal opinion, but we are equiped to plastic media blast full cars should you require it.

Q3) I don't have a car trailer to bring my car to you?
A3) Imperial Blasting can either make arrangements to pick the car up personally from you, OR we can arrange a Tilt tray where required. Both serivces incur a cost but we are more than happy to arrange the transport for you.

Q4) I want my undercarriage blasted, but can't get the car to you unless it's still rolling?
A4) This isn't a problem. Give us a call and we can let you know how to best prep your particular vehicle, also see our page "How to prep your car for blasting" (coming soon!). In most cases we would ask you to loosen all suspension points so that when we get the car in, we can easily lift the body and remove the suspension before putting the car on the rotisserie. Some cars are able to be blasted with the suspension in while on the rotisserie. Alternatively if you do not have time to unbolt everything and would like us to, thats fine, we've done it numerous times before. We do charge $55 per hour to prepare the car, however in most cases if it's just the diff and front suspension to be removed, 2 hours would see most cars done. We do also offer a complete disassembly service, were all items are bagged, tagged and boxed for you. This service is ideal for anyone wanting to do a full restoration but not having the time or experience to pull the car apart. This service is $55ph, a normal vehicle takes approx 3-4 days from drive in to completely boxed and sorted ready to blast. However if you a considering this option please give us a call or drop by and we can discuss this in more detail.

Q5) My car is fairly unique and I don't think you have rotisserie brackets for it?
A4) No problem, we fabricate all the brackets in-house to suit each car. If we have already made the brackets for your model in the past, then we will have them on the shelf ready to go. If your car is a common vehicle, but we just havn't done one before, the bracket fee is just $55 to cover the materials. If you have a vehicle that we feel we are unlikely to blast another one and none of our current brackets are suitable, we charge $55 per hour to make the brackets, we cover the materials. Most brackets take around 1 hour for each end of the car, so the normal fee is $110. All brackets are made to mount from structural points, at no time will Imperial Blasting mount a car from a point that we do not feel 100% satified that it's able to hold the weight of the car without causeing any damage. most body shells only weight 300 - 600kg. Most vehicles are either mounted from there bumper bar mounts, or suspension mounting points. We have made brackets for all sorts of cars such as Falcons, Toranas, Lamborghini Urraco, Porsche 356 and many many more.

Q6) Do you put anything on my car after blasting?
A4) Yes, all the cars you will see pictured on our site have a clear coating applied to them. (Some of our early jobs are shown in black primer, we do not use that coating anymore, some blasters do however. Be warned MOST etch primers such as PPG CT Etch are not suitable to be primed or painted over and must be washed off before you prime your car, creating extra work, it is almost easier to reblast the car to remove those primers).

The clear coating we use is compatiable with all known paints, both 2 pack and acrylic. The coating does NOT need to be washed off. Most people like to repair the car while it is in the clear coating, then prime or epoxy the car as they finish each panel. The coating will protect the car as long as it's inside out of the weather and away from moisture. We have panels that have been coated for 4 years so far with no signs of rust. You can weld through the coating where needed and IF you have any concerns it will remove easily with thinners. We have coated 250+ vehicles with this product so far and everyone has been wrapped with it. We are proud of the finish we provide and the clear coating proves nothing is hidden, so no nasty suprises later.

We can also apply any other coating you desire, from acrylic primer, 2 pak primer or ideally 2 pak epoxy primer.

The clear coating is our standard coating and is included in any pricing we give. Additional primers will incur additional costs, which we are happy to discuss before comencing the job. Customers are welcome to supply the materials themselves, application is charged at $55ph.

Below you will see an XB GT Coupes under carriage being 2 pak Epoxied, then 3 engine bays, 1)Clear coated, 2) Arcylic primed, 3) 2 Pak epoxy

Got a question that isn't listed here? Please just ask and we will do our best to answer your equiry.