well i dont feel like sanding down the chasis, and sides of my case, and i have access to a sandblaster, has anyone ever done this? i think it would be easier than sanding it down to the metal by hand. i just have never done it, and i dont want to ruin my case.

Aluminum or steel case? I would be more leery of sandblasting aluminum than steel. I guess it all boils down to using the right abrasive and a light touch. Good luck.

it is a steel case, and what abrasive should i use?

I'm out of my league there - check with an autobody shop to see what they use and maybe use someting a little finer. The object is to minimize the ptiing caused by blasting.

this is about all I could find online:
Sandblasting

i used to do it for a job.
1,Are you going to do it yourself?
2,Dont get to close.{need to be about 2 feet away,at the least.Well depending on what grit is used}
3,Be very carful.{It makes things hot,enuff to go straght through,and or buckle to the masive style.}
4,And what kind of finish are you looking for?

1 yes
2 ok
3ok
4 pretty smooth, but i got primer that is also a filler.

what job? was it like an industrial strength unit or something? cos in university we had a sandblasting machine that was enclosed in sealed unit and you could hold the tip like 1 inch away from fairly thin bare aluminium and it wouldn't get hot or cut through or buckle or bend or anything...

it just got rid of the scratches and gave the surface what looked like about an 800 grit wet-sand finish...

is that a sandblaster or a bead blaster. a bead blaster is a sandblaster that uses glass beads instead of sand.
it sound like hardnrg is refering to a bead blaster and not a sandblaster and if that is what you have go for it.

that was a bead blaster.very fine and light,,normal sandblasters {manual} are at a bout 100 - 110 psi {or at around 550 - 600 mph}although the one i used most of the time was 150 psi {750 ish mph} yes industrial,i made the mistake of not usein enuff visors once, and i put an hole straght through a brand new westfield car chasis.

EDIT:try to use just the powder{old grit} and new grit it makes a nice smooth finish.bout 3 to 1 new to old i found worked best.

I thought i read somewhere that micro fine plastic media blasting took off materials well but was gentler to the metal underneath.

Yes you're right, but it takes special equipment and is fairly expensive.

depends on what you have to get of.only used micro once,to take 2 layers of paint of a jaguar ash tray,..mainly it was thick rust or powdercote paint ,aluminum spray,or normal paint oh and dirt.if your good and carefull enuff it will look sweet

well i called and they said its not a sandblaster, its a glass bead cabinet? witch is like a sandblaster i think. its only 15 per 30 min, everything included, so it sounds good, i can also use the paint booth for 10/hour hmmm thats about 15 for the glass bead, and about 4 hours painting time, im only wetsanding the side panels. i figure ill paint one, and sand one, kinda rotate them. ok maybe more than 4 hours, but im only gonna do 2 coats primer, 2 coats color, and 1 clear.

bead blasting will be fine,maybe take a bit longer to do,but it wont warp it..good luck with it , oh and do some pics if pos.

oh i will, i am documenting everything with this case, but im gonna post all the pics when im done, kinda like a unveiling lol.

egggggsseerrrrrrlent

Sounds great can't wait. Oh no that rymes.

If you have spray painted with a gun/compressor, it's around the same thing except the gun is a little smaller like,and no paint can and with two tubes just go as if you were painting and go closer till you get the sanding you want. >remember< start like a foot from the piece the thing might be set high so high=great amount of sanding stuff and high psi, better off like that than a hole in the case pannel loll.
So left and right or up and down like a paint gun, overlapping the previous pass and you'll be fine
Good luck you lucky jerrdogg this will be fun