Datsun Roadster Forum-311s.org

I went to Harbor Freight to buy a little 20 lb. sand blaster. On sale for $54, sure they had bigger ones but I had a small project on my 67 Saab. Places I couldn't get to with sand paper. Forgot you need media while I was there. Went to ebay looking for media , sand was $40 for 25 lbs. 10lbs for $20 "Holy crap Batman" that stuff isnt cheap. Went to a rock and garden place. They didnt have any but said to try Myrtle Creek a small town 50 miles away. So I called them, they sell to another local rock and garden place. They had loads of different media for sale. He showed me some artificially made from the Myrtle Creek plant. OK how much, well we only sell this in 100 lb bags. What? OK how much. $11.46. Now were talking I can afford eleven dollars. Ill take 100 lbs worth. I got the blaster set up and seems to work OK. I ll try it on the car next.

Twocams

I use 30 mesh (medium) sand in my sandblasters. About $5 for a 50lb bag and can usually get about 3 runs with it before it is just too dusty to use (please use a minimum hepa rated respirator while sandblasting. Dust masks don't cut it). Running at 90 psi it works well without being too aggresive in these non commercial sandblasters.

Mark

Thanks Mark that is one thing I need to get before I start blasting.

Richard

I use this from Tractor Supply, lasts forever and really cuts fast. With aluminum, reduce pressure and increase distance. It's made from coal slag. Also, I hooked up a small shop vac to the cabinet, it picks up all the free dust flying around in there
http://www.tractorsupply.com/product__1 ... 0051_14286

Dont hold the parts in your hand. use a vice grip or a clamp. The cabinet gloves arent cheap and the constant abrasive blasting will deteriorate the gloves quickly.
If your compressor runs for 25 minutes or more (easy to do its really exciting to see the transformation of old parts looking new) the warm air will cool as it passes through the lines creating some condenstion, causing the media to cake. I run 25 ft of hose from the compressor to a water trap and then another 50 ft to the blaster cab.

this is the next thing I want to buy .. sand blaster ! this can remove just about anything rite ? paint ,rust ,etc?

Not that you need to go crazy and buy the most expensive media, but a bit of discretion is good. Some media isn't meant to be in a sandblaster and can cause lung problems. I believe play sand is a huge no-no (even though it used to be standard practice), as it it has silicates and can lead towards respiratory disease.

pebbles wrote: ↑Sat Aug 31, 2013 12:28 am Dont hold the parts in your hand. use a vice grip or a clamp. The cabinet gloves arent cheap and the constant abrasive blasting will deteriorate the gloves quickly.
If your compressor runs for 25 minutes or more (easy to do its really exciting to see the transformation of old parts looking new) the warm air will cool as it passes through the lines creating some condenstion, causing the media to cake. I run 25 ft of hose from the compressor to a water trap and then another 50 ft to the blaster cab.

Definitely gotta keep the air dry. I bought an additional water trap and mounted it to the outside of my blasting cabinet for an additional chance to remove moisture (currently tank -> big regulator/water trap -> hard lines -> flex line to cabinet -> water trap -> short length of blasting gun hose)

I buy my media at a foundry supply distributor. I have tried several different media (all designed for blasting), including sand, cut glass, and glass beads. It's been a while since I've bought any, but the sand was the cheapest at about $10 followed by the cut glass at less than $15 and the glass beads at about $30. They all came in 40 or 50lb bags. You can take a strip of metal and blast sections of it with the different media and readily see the difference in the smoothness of the finish. By far my favorite is the glass beads in spite of its cost. You can take the paint off a part with it and then just wipe it down and repaint it for a factory smooth finish. For the best value I would go with the cut glass, as its finish is close to the beads and the cost is half as much. The sand leaves a noticeable rough finish but would be ok for something where the finish is not important. Obviously the corser the media the quicker it cuts, but honestly there's not a great deal of difference. Rust comes off easily, but paint can really vary. Most paint will just fly off, but some will hang on for dear life! The big complaints with the harbor freight type cabinets is that they leak like a sieve and the gun is of poor quality. Judicious use of caulking during assembly can help with the leaking and a better quality gun is not too expensive. Good lighting and a vacuum system is a must if your going to blast for more than just a few minutes as the dust, which gets much worse as your media deteriorates, will make it hard to see what your doing. Now for the real kicker AIR LOTS OF AIR,! If you're going to blast for more than just a couple of minutes, and you will ( I often blast for 30 minutes or more at a time) you need a serious compressor. 15 CFM at 90 PSI is probably the minimum recommend for any medium length project. My compressor is 22 or 23 CFM and still runs more often than I would like. Oh, and one more thing, blasting is FUN! I've used my cabinet way more than I ever thought I would, on things I never thought of. I've let several friends blast things, and they've all said "this is fun".

I have a cheapy little cabinet that was a scratchless “scratch and dent” from tractor supply. I think it was $50. I immediately took it apart and went cray cray with silicon caulk while putting it back together. I’m also using and old Dyson vacuum to suck the dust out. Works surprisingly well and it has a hempa filter. I have also attached a moisture trap right to the side of the cabinet which is way better than at the compressor. I’ve been using the black diamond media to pull powder coat off. It works ok but I think I’m going to try glass to see the difference. I need more air which is something I’m working out now.

I’ve got some bigger parts that I would like to blast so I was thinking about converting an old water heater into a cabinet. Don’t think it would be hard.

Oh and yes blasting is fun...talk about instant gratification!

Cheers
Matthew

Can you rent a sand blaster?
Definitely avoid getting stuff in your lungs. Some you can cough out but a lot gets stuck. Not worth it.

Here in Calgary there is a commercial operation - Consolidated Compressor - where you can rent a serious industrial blaster, or a blast cabinet. Works out to about $50/hour, but they charge by the minute and you can blast a lot of stuff in an hour (I did a whole pick up bed top and bottom once and 4 sets of rims and 6 chrome plated stools another time.) I am sure most industrial areas have a similar opportunity... they give you a 3 minute orientation, then tell you to park your truck up wind so that you don't peel the paint off it too..

I've seen on YouTube some homemade sand blaster or something . a few of them I think . I'd like to see what they use to pull that off ..I'm going to look that up again .

ive gotten silica sand for my fish tank.. about 10$ for 50lbs at a builder gravel supply place. The large grain size isnt toxic until its used for blasting and the particles shatter into a dust tornado and get into your lungs. Perhaps a wet media blaster with pressure washer would contain the dust .. aka dustless blasting. I have seen youtube videos on it, about $20 from amazon. Although the ceramic nozzle wore out after a single use.

zetec311 wrote: ↑Fri Jul 19, 2019 5:48 pm ive gotten silica sand for my fish tank.. about 10$ for 50lbs at a builder gravel supply place. The large grain size isnt toxic until its used for blasting and the particles shatter into a dust tornado and get into your lungs. Perhaps a wet media blaster with pressure washer would contain the dust .. aka dustless blasting. I have seen youtube videos on it, about $20 from amazon. Although the ceramic nozzle wore out after a single use.

Use of silica sand can lead to silicosis. Very bad for you. Don't use silica sand! there are many alternatives. Black Beauty is very popular.