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restoring classic cars

Should I Restore that Classic Car, or Buy a Restoration?

restoring classic cars
Imagine the satisfaction after restoring a classic beauty like this one,

If you are dreaming about joining the summer cruises in the classic car of your dreams, you have two choices: restore a classic car or buy one.

American Dry Stripping™ & Xtreme Coatings helps people with car restoration services. We are based in Milford, Connecticut and serve customers in metropolitan New York and surrounding counties, Long Island, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. Contact us to learn more.

Click the link below ⬇ to see our media blasting and sandblasting portfolios!

We offer a pick-up and delivery service.

If you’ve been thinking about restoring a classic car yourself, take a moment. Finally owning and driving a restored classic car is like reuniting the with that gorgeous high school girlfriend that got away. And she hasn’t aged a bit!

Autoweek shared four excellent thoughts to ponder when you are considering a DIY restoration.  Not the least of which is cost: over time, you will more than likely spend MORE restoring the car yourself than you would if bought a fully restored car.

Done properly, restoring that six-cylinder ’Stang will cost almost as much as redoing a GT 350. In number terms, think about $100,000 in a car that on a good day might get $25,000.

Still there are at least as many good reasons to restore a classic car which outweigh the bottom line.

Not the least of which is the satisfaction of driving a beauty you saved from the rust heap.

If you have questions about how professional dry abrasive blasting gets your classic car restoration project done right, contact us today. We are the experts.

Contact Us

American Dry Stripping™ & Xtreme Coatings helps people with car restoration services. We are based in Milford, Connecticut and serve customers in metropolitan New York and surrounding counties, Long Island, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. Contact us to learn more.

We offer a pick-up and delivery service.

Should I Restore that Classic Car, or Buy a Restoration? Read More »

1966 Toyota Sports 800 at American Dry Stripping

Blasting a 1966 Toyota Sports 800

1966 Toyota Sports 800 at American Dry Stripping
Another super rare car in the shop this week. This time it’s a 1966 Toyota Sports 800, in good shape, just some rust and pitting on the fenders.
1966 Toyota Sports 800 at American Dry Stripping
This vehicle is special.

They only made 3,131 Toyota Sports 800s in total, from 1965 to 1969. Only about 10 percent of them survived. Most of the remaining vehicles are still in Japan, so classic car folks aren’t always familiar with it when they see it.

The production numbers on the 1966 Toyota Sports 800 model was  703. If we go by the estimates, that means the one that rolled into our shop is probably only one of less than 100.

1966 Toyota Sports 800 at American Dry Stripping
This particular vehicle is a right-drive model. Only a few left-drives were made for the Okinawa market. They were not imported or sold in the U.S. though a few of the left-drive cars were road tested in the States.

1966 Toyota Sports 800 at American Dry Stripping

Keep it Light

The Toyota Sports 800 was the company’s first production sports car, with aerodynamics in mind. After WWII, Japan had a serious issue with fuel, so they needed cars to be small and light.

The body of the Toyota Sports 800 is made of aircraft-grade aluminum and thin steel, with a weight of just 1,276 pounds. It has a targa roof that fits in the trunk and gorgeously designed fenders that flow into trademark Toyota headlamps.

1966 Toyota Sports 800 at American Dry Stripping
In Japan, the Toyota Sports 800, known to its legions of fans as the “Yota-hachi” is only one of two cars inducted into the Japanese Automotive Hall of Fame (an institution that honors the people behind cars more than the cars themselves).

We are always thrilled to work on classic cars. This 66 Toyota Sports 800 was no exception. Thanks to our great customers who trust us with these beauties.

An example of a 1966 Toyota Sports 800 from AutoTraderClassic.
An example of a 1966 Toyota Sports 800 from AutoTraderClassic

If you want to learn more about this gorgeous car, here’s Scott Sylvester at Petrolicious sharing the story of Japan’s “hero car.”

Thanks to Máté Petrány for research over at Jalopnik.

Contact Us

American Dry Stripping™ & Xtreme Coatings helps people with all of their sandblasting and media blasting service needs. We are based in Milford, Connecticut and serve customers in metropolitan New York and surrounding counties, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. Contact us to learn more.

Click the link below ⬇️ to see our car portfolios!

We offer a pick-up and delivery service.

Blasting a 1966 Toyota Sports 800 Read More »

Rusty 1954 Hornet Photo by John Lloyd on Flickr

Give Dad a Car to Restore on Father’s Day

Rusty 1954 Hornet Photo by John Lloyd on Flickr

If you can’t think of ANYTHING to get your Dad for Father’s Day, what better one-of-a-kind gift than a car to restore this Father’s Day?

You know Dad is always reminiscing about the Buick/Stingray/El Camino that got away.

And, no he does NOT need another golf-themed travel mug.

So what the hell? You are a grown up adult-y person now with your own savings account.

Do it.

Drop Dad a hunk of sweet rusty nostalgia in his driveway.

This is True Love

Truck a Love Story by Michael PerryIn Michael Perry’s hilarious book “Truck: A Love Story” (probably a much more reasonable last-minute Father’s Day gift), he lays it all out — the agony and the addiction of restoring his 1951 International L-120 in his brother-in-law’s Wisconsin barn. Late nights, loud music, smashed knuckles, a spouse who shakes her head.

It’s all kind of love story.

That same kind of love your Dad’s been telling you about since your ears started working.

Now you have the chance to impress him with a car to restore on Father’s Day.

Getting Dad Started

Maybe a better idea than springing it on him to make an “informed decision” together (don’t worry… that will be one of the last one of those you make.) Hemmings has some good advice on the Best Cars to Restore.

Dad might need to bone up, so start with Car Restoration for Beginners: 7 Easy Projects.

And read on a bit at Hot Rod about paint removal . You’ll see they agree with us that the kind of abrasive media blasting we do to remove paint from old cars is both amazing, faster than hand-sanding and, ahem, a bit tricky.

(A car’s old metal or fiberglass body can be permanently damaged by the wrong media, or by just not know what is under those many layers of coating. Important to get paint removed by American Dry Stripping’s specialists).

DIY is good for the most part, but for parts of the job, remind Dad to leave it to the pros.

Oh and make sure he has a good camera for before and after shots. That Polaroid is just not going to cut the mustard.

Want more? Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook. See you there.

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Give Dad a Car to Restore on Father’s Day Read More »

Plastic Grit Sandblasting CT American Dry Stripping

Our Go-To Green Abrasive Material Supplier: Composition Materials

We were blasting a rare 1954 Corvette recently, with the help of our go-to abrasive material supplier, Composition Materials, also in Milford.

Blasting a car like that is always a careful job. Our guys ensure we use the right combination of materials to get the vehicle down to gel coat. It helps that we have a great supplier right down the road.

American Dry Stripping™ & Xtreme Coatings helps people with all of their sandblasting and media blasting service needs. We are based in Milford, Connecticut and serve customers in metropolitan New York and surrounding counties, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. Contact us to learn more.

We offer a pick-up and delivery service.

Almost a Century as New England’s Abrasive Material Supplier

Plastic Grit Sandblasting CT American Dry StrippingIf you think we’ve been around for a long time, the folks at  Composition Materials have been in business for 90 years! Their mission is to help more companies “go green” (including us!) by pioneering the use of more environmentally-friendly materials. In fact, in the 1950s, they worked with the U.S. Navy to replace toxic chemical strippers with  Walnut Shell Blasting as an effective method of removing the paint from US Ships and Submarines.

Thanks for all the great partnership over the years, guys!

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Our Go-To Green Abrasive Material Supplier: Composition Materials Read More »

How To Protect Metal After Abrasive Blasting

Abrasive blasting is a safe and efficient method for removing old surface finishes like painting, powder coating or chroming, passivation processes such as anodizing, or plain rust or corrosion from all types of metal surfaces in preparation for a finishing application.

Abrasive blasting works on virtually any type of metal (or fiberglass) object: from patio furniture to car parts, to create a surface profile range from smooth to rough.

American Dry Stripping™ & Powder Coating helps people maintain their metal after blasting to look better than new. We are based in Milford, Connecticut with two locations to serve customers in metropolitan New York and surrounding counties, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. Contact us to learn more.

Click the link below ⬇️ to see our media blasting and sandblasting portfolios!

We offer a pick-up and delivery service.

The desired surface profile is achieved because of combinations of grit size, type and abrasive qualities of the media. Before abrasive blasting, metal parts must be cleaned to remove contaminants like dirt and grease that could end up in the blast media, embedded into metal surfaces, or could interfere with the final painting or finishing process.

Protecting Blasted Metal Surfaces

Here at American Dry Stripping, once the surfaces of your project are blasted clean, the metal is exposed to the ambient environment.

Over time — in an uncontrolled environment — exposed metal oxidizes (aluminum and stainless to lesser degrees). This jeopardizes the integrity of the newly stripped surface.

Once the surfaces of your project are blasted clean, the metal is exposed to the ambient environment. Over time — in an uncontrolled environment — exposed metal oxidizes (aluminum and stainless to lesser degrees). This jeopardizes the integrity of the newly stripped surface.

To effectively protect the integrity of your project, measures must be taken.

Protect metals after abrasive blasting with powder coating or ceramic coating
Protect metals after abrasive blasting with powder coating or ceramic coating

The clean, rust-free metal that remains needs to be treated as soon as possible after abrasive blasting. This prevents re-rusting (which will occur rapidly if any moisture is present).

Prevention is always better than a cure, and once we remove the rust, we always recommend taking the necessary measure to avoid a recurrence. By using a protective coating on your metal parts, you can ensure that they are protected from oil or grease.

You can apply the acid solution with an old paintbrush or rag. Just douse it on liberally, and let it run into seams and crevices. When the acid dries, the metal surfaces with have a dull gray color. If you need to store the parts temporarily before painting, place them in a dry a location as possible.

If longer storage is planned, the parts should be primed with a non lacquer-based primer. A lacquer-based primer allows moisture to penetrate the the metal’s surface, causing re-rusting.

American Dry Stripping™ & Powder Coating helps people maintain their metal after blasting to look better than new. We are based in Milford, Connecticut and serve customers in metropolitan New York and surrounding counties, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. Contact us to learn more.

We offer a pick-up and delivery service.

How To Protect Metal After Abrasive Blasting Read More »