Hi all, have stripped my Series 3, all body parts off expect the bulkhead which I hope to get off this weekend. Next step was to get it all shot blasted to remove old paint back to bare metal. This includes roof, rear sides, bonnet, radiator housing, rear tub etc and obviously the bulkhead. After stripping, the company who's stripping it will then powder coat paint it to the colours I want (black roof and sides, grey body). I will also get the chassis off at some point and shot blasting and then POR15 it. Has any one had a negative experience with shot blasting these body panels and then powder coating them? The company I plan to use seem very good and have a long chamber to shot blast in. They will turn down the pressure and stand at one end with the parts at the other. Many thanks for your experiences.

You don't want to shot blast aluminium panels with grit

They need vapor or ice blasting. Grit will heat the panel and they will distort.

Okay, great. Thanks for the advice. All the best.

Seems like soda blasting looks the better solution. Place in Bridgenorth (Shropshire) looks promising. Anyone had any experiences with it? Particularly with the post blast prep before spraying? Also, any recommendations for local (Telford or West Midlands) paint spray shops? Many thanks.

yourll just need to give it a good etch priming after blasting. It will be bare ali'

Great thanks. Yep, back to the bare metal. Starting to get expensive........