How much blasting media does a whole car take?
Most people budget half of what they need. Here is how to count bags before the first pass, using a real BMW 2002 shell as the yardstick.
Running out of media halfway through a shell is the most common way a blasting day goes sideways. The fix is to count before you start.
The rule of thumb
- About one bag per panel face. A door, a fender, a hood: one bag each.
- The inside counts again. If you strip the inside of a panel too, count it as a second face.
- Catch it and run it again. Sifted media goes back in the tank, so the real number drops on big jobs.
A real job: the BMW 2002 shell
The BMW in our projects was stripped inside and out with the Bag Rig and Black Diamond media:
- 15 bags of media
- About $350 in media
- 4โ6 hours of blast time
That is the rate we use for estimates: 15 bags โ $350.
Nozzles count too
Plan on a nozzle change roughly every six bags. A worn tip sprays wide and weak, so a job that suddenly slows down usually needs a fresh nozzle, not more media.
Plan yours
The media calculator in the blasting guide does the math: pick how many panels, tick "inside too", and it gives you bags, media cost and nozzle changes.
