One of our private restoration clients did a bang up job not only of his 66 amazing OEM Ducati resto, but of his story of it!
Jim Cooper recently shared that he’d completed the restoration of 1966 Ducati Bevel Single 250 MK3 that he’d pulled from the depths of his friend, Jon’s, garage. It’d been housed there for 45 years!
As you can imagine, it came out a bit dusty and needing some elbow grease.
Regardless Jim set to work on the project, and made use of some terrific local experts in the process (see below). We were happy to provide blasting and powder coating for the frame.
Anyway, without further adieu, here’s the whole shebang. I am impressed with the seat rebuild — and of course the amazing and fastidious engine rebuild by Mohawk Motors that gets it running at the end.
Happy Endings for Ducati Rebuild
As we mentioned, we were pleased to be able to participate in a small part in this restoration. Italy made amazing bikes during the 60s and it’s great hearing one running again, restored to its original glory in the good old USA.
The final restoration of the bike took more than the predicted two years and included the work of many hands.
Here’s a list of the amazing businesses that Jim worked with (more info in the video):
The ShopCT – Sandblast and Fluid Hone
American Dry Stripping – Strip & Powder Coat Frame
Premiere Finishing/Dennis Mandu – Red and Silver parts
Reliable Plating and Polishing – Chrome, polish, zinc, etc.
The benefits of powder coating go beyond patio chairs and car frames.
More and more of our customers come to us with vintage items for powder coating. They have seen the effectiveness of dry abrasive blasting in removing rust and corrosion.
American Dry Stripping™ & Xtreme Coatings helps people with powder coating service needs. 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.
Dry abrasive blasting and powder coating vintage church bell in bronze
New Methods, Better Protection
When the original finish has gone to the dogs, there’s no good reason to stick with old or original methods of coating. Powder coating looks great, is extremely durable, and protects metal from rust.
Powder coating vintage items provides a true, lasting finish that brings out their beauty and will protect the historic items for years to come.
Powder Coating Saves You Money
Without a doubt, you can run to the Depot and grab spray-on rust protector and a can of paint to “get the job done.”
Not only will this approach incur the mess and stress that any DIY project brings, but remember: paint is wet. It runs, and it takes days to dry and cure.
Powder coating is cured within 20 minutes of removal from the curing oven.
From Blast to Finish
All of our jobs start with the correct and best method for surface preparation, including dry media blasting for total removal of prior coatings, using the right grit, angle and pressure to ensure no damage to the item.
In our 35 years in business, we’ve seen every kind of item through our doors… almost anything you can imagine.
Surface preparation to these Lexan boxes creates a frosted look.
In powder coating, we work with you to ensure you get the color you want. Powder coating uses electrostatic charges which attract the powder to the metal. This ensures consistent thickness and total coverage.
But it’s after you bring it home that you will see the real benefit. Powder coating stands up to environmental stresses and requires less touch ups.
In powder coating vintage items, the value is in the long term. Investing in a coating that will protect the item makes sense now, and pays off.
Do you have rusted vintage metal you want to protect from the elements? Let us know how we can help.
Back before petrol/gasoline became the main fuel for automobiles, there was plain old steam.
The first “substantiated” use of a steam “carriage” as they were called was a-waaayyyyy back in 1815. These would have been external combustion engines and for years were, by and large, experimental. That is, until the 1880s with the rise of large scale manufacturing.
So needless to say we were pretty happy to see parts of our first White steam car in the shop: a 1910 White Steam Model OO frame.
Frames are a tough part of restoration, because they are so awkward to handle. Plus, you need a BIG curing oven to get the coating on these large frames correct. Our curing oven at XTC fits frames up to 18 feet long by 7 feet wide.
1910 White Model O O Frame in our shop
History of the White Steam Car
The 1890s was the big decade for the steamers, with White Motor Company of Cleveland — a subsidiary of White Sewing Machine Company — being one of the bigger names. The steam engine cars were built through 1910 but petered out with the development of the electric starter.
White began producing gasoline powered automobiles in 1910, and stopped production of steam automobiles in 1911, after having made and sold 9,122 White Steamers. Only 9,122.
The company remained in business merging and under various names (CLETRAC, INC and EUCLID, INC.) until the 1985. The bulk of the White truck plants were bought in 1981 by Sweden’s AB Volvo.
What it Takes to Restore a Frame
The dimensions and the weight of these frames make them a bit tricky to blast and coat, but our team got the job done.
If you want to check out a complete restoration of a 1910 White Model O-O, here’s one from Jay Leno’s (very extensive) garage. Of course, Leno has his own fabricators in-house but we don’t. When something needs fabrication around here, clients get referred to Mark or Steve at The Panel Shop in Stratford.
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.
When you call American Dry Stripping (or stop by, email or drop us a note via our contact form), you might wonder what is the process from there?
American Dry Stripping™ & Xtreme Coatings helps people with sandblasting, media blasting, and powder coating 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.
Well, we are big on collaboration. So here is a little of what we do to ensure your project turns out exactly the way you expect.
We listen. We start with carefully listening to or reading your request.
We ask questions.
What is your overall goal?
DID YOU KNOW:Once you expose metal, all except for the highest quality stainless, oxidation begins. Getting metal in primer or some finish coating is critical, especially in the humid summer.
What material is your job made of?
What size is it? How heavy is it?
How will you get it to the shop?
What is your timeframe? There are times of the year when we are busier than others. We will let you know that and give you an honest estimate of how long it will take from drop-off to pick-up/delivery.
We provide answers. Sometimes our clients are not sure what the best solution for their job is. We offer our 30+ years of expertise to offer the best answers.
We draw up a work order. Our Operations Director, John Gurrieri, manages the shop and prioritizes jobs through the work stations.
We provide you with an estimate. In most cases, your final cost will match the estimate. If there is a change in the cost (because of some unforeseen issue with the job), we will call you to discuss how you would like to proceed. We will never move forward if the price becomes substantially different than the estimate. The choice is ALWAYS yours.
We contact you with changes to the job or with any clarifying questions, throughout the process.
We complete the job.
We place your item in appropriate storage until you pick it up.
We contact you.
We invoice you. Our admin, Sarah Granger, will bill you and ensure you are happy with the service you receive.
We will ask how we did. At any point, we welcome your reviews and feedback. You can submit a testimonial to us, or review us online and share your happy experiences with others.
At American Dry Stripping, we have served thousands of happy customers over the years. We are more than happy to serve you too. Let us know how we can help.
Nothing likes to gather rust and oil quite like the cast iron exhaust manifolds in your old car’s engine. So to make these look really great again — many times even better than new — bring them to our shop for restoration.
American Dry Stripping™ & Xtreme Coatings helps people with sandblasting, media blasting, and powder coating 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.
What to do when you are ready to restore exhaust manifolds
Burn off. We use our high-temperature burn-off ovens for items like these V-8 exhaust manifolds. Baking them at a high temp effectively removes all surface grease and oils and any that may have, over the years, soaked into the metal.
Prep is key to finish. To finish, we media blast the manifolds inside and out to remove years of rust and grungy and add a profile to the surface for optimal adhesion of finish coat.
More media blasting classic cars in the booth this week. For all our MOPAR lovers out there, take a look at this bad boy:
No doubt the owner of this ’69 Plymouth Roadrunner has plans for some heavy duty cruisin’ this summer. He brought this in, prepped and ready for media blasting recently.
A “Blast” from the Past: The 69 Roadrunner
The 1969 Roadrunner is such a fun story. First, it was the ultimate econo-racer, popular in its 1968 launch year, despite low sales projections.
Also, its name was cross-promoted using the famed Warner Bros. characters (apparently not a popular idea at first.) The Roadrunner’s image was decaled on the car, and the horn even imitates the bird’s famous “Beep Beep”.
Notice our media blasting suit? No that is not a Dr. Who character!
So, with over 82,000 units of the 1969 Roadrunner, this isn’t a rare car, per se. But the Roadrunner followed the GTO in mass production of mid-sized, econo street racers that followed the arc of the supercar boom.
Here’s a little Plymouth advertising blast from the past:
American Dry Stripping™ & Xtreme Coatings helps people with all of their sandblasting and media blasting service and powder coating 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’ve said it before: 32 years and you just never know what will come through the door.
This ship’s wheel was brought to us by a client this week. Our client’s father is a diver and recovered this 50+ year old brass wheel from the murky depths.
This vintage ship wheel is no longer rusting out in Davy Jones’ Locker. Our dry abrasive blasting techs brought the beauty out in the brass.
We often get rare cars in our shop. We often get art in our shop.
Every now and then we get a super-rare car that can only be called a work of art.
Such is the case with this incredible wrought iron Volkswagen Beetle.
This is the “Wedding Car” — a one of two VW car bodies built by a Mexican artists for VW to promote the brand at the Olympics Games in Mexico City. It is the property of VW of America. The complete car displayed publicly at the LeMay Car Museum’s 2014 exhibit: “VeeDub – Bohemian Beauties” in Tacoma, Wash. back in 2014 and at #VAGFair 2015 in York, Penn. recently.
“The Wedding Car” Volkswagen Beetle in wrought iron at #VAGFair 2015
The Oldbug.com website and Oldbug.com Facebook page are a great resources on the history of this vehicle. VW commissioned two Wedding Cars to be made to promote the brand at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. More were made and sent to dealers to draw people in. You can see how eye-catching they are!
Photo from VW fan Alicia Cambreleng’s grandfather, shared with VW USA
Warning: Loving old VeeDubs may lead to VW restoration
We work with #autoresto shops that bring us all kinds of rare and rusted vehicles. The cars are all different, but the one thing that is consistent: both the owners and restorers are mad about those cars.
If you’ve ever owned a VW or met someone who does, you probably know it’s a brand that people are somewhat… ahem … passionate about. I mean, it’s a car brand that doesn’t really go halfway, does it?
Tell us about your beloved VW Beetle, Bus (or any model). We can help when you want to start your VW restoration.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Steam heat is hot in renovating old homes. Bringing back the steam means cleaning and restoring old radiators to match the beauty of the room.
So when you want to get started restoring old radiators in your old home, here are a few things you need to know.
American Dry Stripping™ & Xtreme Coatings helps people restore their old radiators 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.
Click the link below to see our radiator portfolio!
Unless you are not living in the home, the best time to get vintage radiators stripped and refinished is spring or summer. Cold temps can pop up earlier than expected in New England. Expect a turn around time of about a few weeks or so for a full house of radiators, less for a one or two. Contact us and we can get you an estimate right away.
Cast Iron Radiators are Heavy
These suckers are HEAVY!
If you decide to go DIY, you will need to disconnect, drain and move the old radiators in order to strip and clean all the nooks and crannies of these old beauties.
If you decide to go pro, you must factor in moving and delivery costs for their restoration. Most places expect you to bring the items to them, increasing the cost of the project.
Radiators must be completely drained and dry inside. Cast is especially susceptible to oxidation so if any water is inside and drips out once the blasting is complete, rust will occur almost immediately.
Chemicals are complicated
Most states, including Connecticut, now have strict regulations on the disposal of toxic chemicals. So whether you decide to go DIY or pro, take this into account. Dipping radiators in an acid bath or using other chemical strippers is an option: one that requires the disposal of chemicals afterward.
Working with these chemicals on your own means investing in protective gear: goggles, gloves, suit and especially the correct breathing mask to prevent inhalation of toxic fumes.
Additionally, many old radiator paints contain lead, which makes working with chemicals and disposing of them even more problematic.
American Dry Stripping primary tool is air, contained in blast booths. We follow the strictest safety guidelines when it comes to blasting any surface with lead paint, including protecting our team with OSHA-certified blast hoods, body and hearing protection and using Grade‑D air supply. We use environmentally-friendly media whenever possible and ensure the proper disposal of blast waste.
Time is money
If you are thinking about restoring the radiators yourself, first do the math. Stripping and cleaning layers of old paint from ornate surface details and tiny spaces takes hours. Our method of dry abrasive media blasting (sometimes called ‘sandblasting’ though sand is rarely used anymore) radiators allows us to reach every centimeter of surface quickly, and cost effectively.
Any old paint won’t do
Cast Iron Radiators, after blasting & coating. This is a “Champagne” finish
Cast iron radiators reach temperatures of 180 to 250 degrees F. They need to be coated with the right paint to avoid peeling, chipping and noxious off-gassing. There are high-heat wet paints available specifically for the job. However, they take time to apply and to dry, and still off-gas for a short period of time.
For the best result, we recommend you finish the job in-house with our experienced powder coating team,Xtreme Temperature Coatings. In powder coating, an electrically charged powder is applied to the radiator with a special gun, reaching all of the surfaces equally. The radiator is then cured in a 400-degree oven. The paints are available in a full range of colors.
The result is an odorless, durable and scratch-resistant surface that will stand up to the test of time.
American Dry Stripping™ & Xtreme Coatings helps people restore their old radiators 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.
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
In 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.
(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.
Soft metals like aluminum can be tricky to restore. A client with these eagle ornaments brought them to us because our our know-how in abrasive blasting aluminum.
At American Dry Stripping, we use cutting edge abrasive blast technology to help restore many types of metalwork.
Recently, one of our customers wanted to restore some classic American eagle ornaments. The items were made of soft aluminum and needed to be blasted accordingly.
One eagle sits on top of a flagpole and the other is mounted on the house. From years of being outdoors, the eagles had lost their lustre and finish.
The first step was to carefully blast the delicate aluminum with a soft abrasive to remove the old finish.
Next, we blasted with a media that evenly polishes the aluminum and fully preps the surface to receive a new finish.
The owner of the eagles then meticulously applied real gold-leaf and mounted these beautiful classic pieces.
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.
to see our powdering coating portfolios!
Working with these chemicals on your own means investing in protective gear: 
