Blasting media suggestions / Raleigh

Rich

Rich

Asshole at large
Joined
Mar 17, 2005
Location
Central PA
The chemical paint stripping idea was bad.. OK, it worked technically, but it's too difficult to get into the nooks & crannies of the cowl...

So, that said, I think I am gonna pick up an el cheapo blaster like this:
045564600631_4.jpg


So -the questions are, from a blasting nOOb - are certian types of media better at removing paint than others?
cost vs. performance of the different kinds?
How huge of a mess does this make, when doing something like my hood & cowl?

I think it may be time to bite the bullet and buy my own air compressor, so I can do the blasting this coming weekend...

Also, where to get the media?
 
My Experience

Rich
Have used Identical setup
1) It DOES remove paint
2) It is painfully time consuming (in the detail areas)
3) Uses more air than you would think.
4) Makes quite a mess.You would not believe the places sand can get!! We now have a sign that reads all blasting is done outside with shop doors closed (does wonders for the user as well, sand in hair, nostrils, ears, inside clothes and imbedded in joints around fingers, elbows ,knees, plumbers crack etc. and thats with an el cheapo hood! next time ghloves, long sleeves, and collar cuffs a MUST)
5) Have only used sand never any other medium. Also have been told "playsand" is just as effective and much cheaper but haven't bought or priced any since hearing this.

All in all, I hate it, BUT I do not know of a better, more effective, affordable option.
Just my .02 worth :beer:
 
Rich, I have a regular sand blaster that you fill with sand. I have used one like you pictured, it is slower by a good margin, but it will do the job. I use "playsand" because of cost, and it's the only other sand that I can find that is dry. IT HAS TO BE DRY! Blasting sand does a better job, is more course, but also more expensive. As said before, if you wanna drivemy way you are more than welcome to borrow mine, or bring your peices and do them here. Cost wise, you may be better off finding a place local that does blasting.
 
We use glass beads at work, it's a pretty fine texture and leaves it smooth. Sometimes with sand and a whole lot of pressure the metal will end up feeling like 80 grit. The play sands your cheapest route cause you can get it at Lowes/Home Depot/Toys-R-Us. The glass beads/sand/walnut shells/plastic media and the like at any industrial supply or some NAPA's and Grainger. Like upnover said DRY! I'll add, they use alot of airflow to.
 
A friend of mine suggested getting the parts dipped... any pros/cons of that?
 
I'd think dipping the parts would be expensive, but as always, if you know somebody you could get a good deal.

I second the play sand for price and ditto on the dry part. Get the kind in the sealed plastic bags from Home Depot.
 
You mean hot tanking like a engine block? That's good if you can.

Side story time;
Guy dipped some aircraft engine casings (recip) and came back the next day. GONE! Nothing but jug studs left. The casings are magnesium and the tank he was using the product (can't recall the chemical right now) ate magnesium. Bad, bad day cause they ain't cheap!
 
At our shop we have two washers. One for magnesium/aluminum and one for cast/steel. True, putting aluminum in the cast jet is a big no no. It does eat it( ask me how I know) it also deteriorates the chemical too. Foams like crazy. But you can put cast in the aluminum jet. The giggest thing I have ever put into one of ours was my skid pan, barely fit, But we still have to brush up the cast stuff and glass blast the aluminum and send it back thru again.
 
If you blast the body panels use walnut shells as they will not heat/ warp.
 
Franklin said:
If you blast the body panels use walnut shells as they will not heat/ warp.
Click to expand...

Was wondering when someone would bring that up... I've heard of it, but never seen it done, or done it myself.

Where do you get that crushed finely enough?
How does that compare to sand for getting everyfuckingwhere (like Chip said, up your nose, ears, ass, and tween toes)?

J
 
hobie said:
How does that compare to sand for getting everyfuckingwhere (like Chip said, up your nose, ears, ass, and tween toes)?

J
Click to expand...

I think it would itch more.. :p

Well, I stopped by a recommended local blaster.. he said ~$250.

Sorry, the compressor I want is $300. Gonna get a compressor, another 50' of air hose, the gun, and some play sand... I love having the "side yard" to play in, it'll be a sandbox now.. :D
 
Don't forget to get a hood too. Be forwarned, they fog pretty bad. Also, with a $300 compressor you will have to blast in stages, as said before, it does take a lot of air.
 
The heat should not be a factor. The sun on a hot sunny day heats the hood more than blasting it.


I use "fine" sand and it turns the steel out to have some texture, but not bad at all.

Remember when you blast, you need air volume, so get a compressor that will handle the volume you need.

I blast parts quite a bit, and can do it for cheap, but you gotta get the parts to Greenville, NC.

Sand is the cheapest and easiest to come by. a bag of play sand is too wet IMO for quality blasting in a time effecient manner. clogges up too much. blasting sand should be no more than $5 for an 80lb bag. And for a hood, you should not use more than 1.5-2 bags.

Rob
 
a grinding shield and long welding gloves work great and have awesome circulation versus the hood. I blast axles all the time like that.

Rob
 
careful using the play sand, it can cause silicosis (gets in lungs and is not abrobed by the body) so use good breathing mask.

I use black stuff from norhtern its about ~$6 50# bag and actually is more courser than the sand.

As far as doing it. My brother has a hand held gravity feed sand blaster with a small hopper on it. He swears by it for out door jobs. (looks like a HVLP gun)

Just lay a tarp out and collect what you can, else dont worry about it and just hit it...
 
yager said:
I use black stuff from norhtern its about ~$6 50# bag and actually is more courser than the sand.

Just lay a tarp out and collect what you can, else dont worry about it and just hit it...
Click to expand...

Aaahhh, good deal. I wondered if Northern had blasting media, figured they would, but the website didn't show any... I'll buy 4 bags, return what I don't open.

I think doing it where I plan on doing it means little recycling of the media.. (out in the back yard down by the trees)

BTW, I know the compressor won't keep up, but whaddya gonna do. IIRC (haven't bought it yet), it's ~25 gallon, around 6cfm@90psi. The jump to 11cfm@90psi is $120 more.
 
why not just rent a compressor???

They are fairly cheap for the day and it'll make your life much easier to have what you need.


Rob
 
Because I'd rather have a tool (the compressor) when I'm through..

Though, The compressors I've seen rented for the day are the little twin-tube ones that don't put out the CFM needed either... I'll call around though.
 
I'm talking about the trailered ones. Plenty big and I'm sure someone here has some type of connection for a decent price. Know anyone in construcion? Most construction companies own them (especially concrete construction and steel) and sometimes are willing to "rent" it for a day than let it sit idle making no money.

Rob
 
Rich said:
BTW, I know the compressor won't keep up, but whaddya gonna do. IIRC (haven't bought it yet), it's ~25 gallon, around 6cfm@90psi. The jump to 11cfm@90psi is $120 more.
Click to expand...

For reference, I went and looked at the compressor I was gonna buy... 22 gallons, 5.7cfm @ 90psi, but it did run @ 155psi in the tank. But, it's $379, not $299. The $299 one was an oil-less one that would drive me out of the house!

But, for $50 more ($429), step up to 11cfm @90 psi, and a 60 gallon tank. Ohhhhh, why not. I bet that fawker will run the blaster...
 
DAMN WHAT A PAIN IN THE ASS!! Now I know why the shop wanted $200...

Wound up buying the above gun with the 90lb hopper.. feeds pretty well when you elevate it.. Word to the wise.. if you're powering it with a home compressor, get the smaller, 7/32" air tip.. it uses "only" 8 cfm @ 80psi, vs 15(!) cfm for the one that came with it.

The compressor was an ordeal in itself... While poking around at Sears, they had 2 of the 25 gallon compressors plugged in.. a standard oilless one, and a 2-stage oilless. the 2-stage was quiet enough to stand next to and talk while running... I was impressed enough that I bought its big brother - the 175 psi 60 gallon one. BIG MISTAKE.

That fawker was every bit as loud as any oilless compressor I've ever used. Drove me nuts.. so much so, that I loaded that 200 lb POS back into the truck, and exchanged it for the standard belt-drive, 60 gallon one. MUCH better, and the compressor is ever so slightly faster than the sandblaster - Was able to run it as long as I cared to.

Anyway - for the blasting, I got the cowl/dash/etc done, and a tiny part of the hood. I've given up on going to bare metal, I just want a surface I can easily prep for paint... As I suspected, the rattle can paint was on there THIIIICK... took MUCH longer to get the blue off than it did to get the base color underneath off...

For safety gear, I used a 3M respirator, safety glasses and a full grinding shield, welding gloves, boots, a jacket, and long pants. yeah, it was warm. The stuff got in alot of places, but not too bad... Amazing that some of it STILL got into my eyes... through 2 layers of protection! And looking at what the respirator caught, do NOT try this shit without one.

Oh, a metal mesh colander from the kitchen works well for catching the big stuff out of the media when you re-use it... :D
 
sounds like you had an ordeal!!!


If you ever feel like not doing any blasting in the future, I'll be happy to take care of it, very quick and easily.


Rob
 
Back
Top