Advice on Sandblaster

-
Mopar King

Mopar King

Beginner / Need of Help
Joined
Mar 20, 2009
Messages
285
Reaction score
5
Location
New York
Since summer is around the corner, I was thinking of getting a sandblaster for all those hard to reach spots especially the engine block, engine bay, floors, trunk and under the car. The rest I can handle by hand. I was looking at one of the Clark power 10 gallon Pressure pot style Sandblaster which looks good for the price. any advice on what to get and what i should be looking at as in Media. thanks:cheers:



.
 
I used black blast for media. I also use a $25 Harbor freight blaster that works pretty good. Did my engine bay as well as some other things with it and turned out ok.
 
Not sure what you are planning to spend, but have you considered a soda blaster instead? They are not as cheap, but some models are more affordable than before. Advantages include the media does not hurt glass/trim. My sandblaster is on it last leg ( literally, had to use a piece of pipe!) and my replacement will be a soda blaster.
 
I have a harbor freight tank type pressure blaster. I think it says 40lb blaster, but it holds about 80lbs of sand at a time.
http://www.harborfreight.com/40-lb-pressurized-abrasive-blaster-34202.html

CFM vs Pressure of your compressor will be the performance factor of sand blasting process. The rating of the sand blaster in cfm, you will want your compressor to run that cfm at max pressure in my experience. So, if the sand blaster says 9 cfm, your compressor should do 9 cfm at 140 psi.
My blaster uses more cfm than it claims. This is why I suggest the ratio I listed above. I have a new 3 cylinder compressor with a 11 hp gasoline engine running into a 60 gallon tank with 3/4" tube steel connecting the two. I run the gasoline engine on high. My compressor manufacturer claims my unit is 16.5 cfm at 175 psi. Dunno if that is accurate, it is USA made. So, I can run the sand blaster constantly until it runs out of sand. The CFM vs pressure equilibrium ends up being about 80 psi in the blaster tank (90psi at compressor) probably running about 15 cfm indefinitely. I need a bigger compressor still.
If your compressor is small, you will have to blast, wait, blast, wait. I would say you dont want any smaller than a 25 or 30 gallon compressor that pumps 10 + cfm. I would get the highest cfm compressor you can reasonably afford.
My blaster has ceramic tips which wear out about 1 tip per 3 solid hours of blasting, so I bought 10 xtra tips from HF for like 10 bucks. When the tip gets worn out, the hole in it opens up to about double(1/8 to 1/4") making the velocity of your blast lower, using considerably more volume of air and sand. So keeping tip in good condition is important to keep sand and air usage under control and keep your blast velocity high. Someone on this board said you can get tungsten or similar tips that will last like for ever on EBAY.

Of course if you are running a little suction feed blaster you can probably use a little air compressor.
I built my compressor system from new parts that I bought separately but harbor freight has a gasoline 50 gallon 2 stage compressor for 1000 bucks that looks pretty beefy.
I use sand from Lowes for 10 bucks a 100. I just asked them "wheres your sand blasting sand and they pointed at it.
I stripped bare my entire car inside, underside, and out (excluding delicate exterior panels).
Sand blasting is the only way to ensure an item with a little rust on it has been 100% cleaned. Blast it to bare metal, there is no rust left! :)
Sand Blasting heats metal so you dont want to blast thin body panels they will warp supposedly. Dunno. I never tried.
Different medias may not heat panels as bad according to an expert paint/body friend.
He does custom and factory type restorations to concours quality and says his blasting media does not heat panels and cuts 3 times better than sand. It is some sort of coal slag or crushed glass (dunno).
 
I have the harbor freight unit also. I just use the gun from my cabinet blast on it. That one has a titanium tip lasts forever.

Just be prepared for a huge mess. The sand will be everywhere,
 
I was thinking of a soda Blaster but I read that it is not good with rust though and It will leave a residue, so before painting you have to wash off the surface thoroughly. i want something to clean my engine block off or at least make it clean. I've been using a wire brush and screw-gun and wanted to try something new.

as for compression, I have a 25 gallon air tank, so i think it is strong enough for the job.
has anyone tried summit racing media blasting products? Walnut shells, ground glass, plastic silica, Glass beads, Aluminum Oxide

What would be the best media for taking paint and rust off?
 
Sand is the best blast media for cheap and good blasting. Soft delicate media like soda, walnut, plastic, glass beads are expensive and sucks at heavy duty blasting.
.
The issue with blasting is, the more you cut the more heat is generated typically. So, rust and paint together needs like sand, crushed glass (not glass bead), coal slag (black beauty). So, blasting with this could be warping on panels, so dont blast your back side or front side of your thin panels, or if you do, you back off and keep the blaster nozzle far away from the panel and dont stay in one spot or area, keep moving. You can blast the rocker and other more durable areas, just not the main body skin of the panels. I blasted the back side of my quarters but I was gentle and it did not remove everything cause I could not get close and heavy to strip bare. It is a trade off on the panels.
All other places on the car you can blast. I blasted the living hell out of my engine bay, underskin, trunk, interior metal, and saw zero warpage. Like others said. Sand will be every freaking where. I spent about 15 + hours getting sand out of my car's frame rails, body pockets etc. I got basically every grain of sand out of the car but it takes for ever. My car is bare body and on a rotisserie.
.
 
mopardrt said:
I use a tank blaster from harbor freight with a add on dead man valve spray gun make sure you blast outside with all garage doors closed! :)


http://www.harborfreight.com/20-lb-capacity-pressurized-abrasive-blaster-40925.html

http://www.harborfreight.com/deadman-valve-with-4-ceramic-nozzles-92189.html
Click to expand...

Ain't that the truth, I made the mistake of blasting inside the garage the first time I used mine. Figured it'd be ok for doing the rear frame on my Demon, holy crap within 10 seconds I couldn't see my hand in front of me :D
 
How is the DeadMan valve holding up?
My blaster factory valve is like a straight thru now cause it has been sand ported out. So, I need a way to turn off and on the flow at the handle. Looks like a good thing to have!

mopardrt said:
I use a tank blaster from harbor freight with a add on dead man valve spray gun make sure you blast outside with all garage doors closed! :)


http://www.harborfreight.com/20-lb-capacity-pressurized-abrasive-blaster-40925.html

http://www.harborfreight.com/deadman-valve-with-4-ceramic-nozzles-92189.html
Click to expand...
 
It's not recommended to use actual silica sand for sandblasting. It's very dangerous because it breaks up into such fine dust, silicosis is much more likely (horrible for your lungs). If you're going to take that risk, make extra extra sure your lungs are protected. Look up silicosis (preview: you don't want it). Yeah, sand is cheap, but are your lungs?

Always protect your lungs (and everything else), but that's why everyone has moved to other media (slag, etc) rather than actual silica sand.
 
Great unless my dad has changed out the tip and not told me the dead man valve is still on its first of four tips works amazing far better then the standard cone type end the blaster comes with


Rice Nuker said:
How is the DeadMan valve holding up?
My blaster factory valve is like a straight thru now cause it has been sand ported out. So, I need a way to turn off and on the flow at the handle. Looks like a good thing to have!
Click to expand...
 
For what you're doing you don't need a pressurized blaster but they are nice.
I also have the HF unit. The sand feed valve on the pot and the outlet valve on the hose wear out. I have not found a proper replacement. I ordered from HF parts dept - 8 weeks out. I'm using a brass gate valve on the pot, not expecting long life.

The deadman valve that comes with the newer one and can be bought separate is MUCH better and comes with smaller nozzles appropriate for smaller compressors. My compressor puts out about 10 cfm at 90, will keep up with the smallest nozzle but small output is slow for any big job. 2nd size up is OK but requires stop and go.

Nozzle size is a critical factor. Unless you have a big compressor to handle large nozzles, you need fine media. Lowe's sand will plug small nozzles unless screened. Not worth the time. I use green diamond fine. $10 per bag and no silica, does not plug, cuts well.

Best thing I did was make a fresh air hood. Tyvec hood fed by a used CPAP unit (used for sleep apnea) that I got free. Great for painting too - fantastic. Makes your head look like a big marshmallow :D
 
Re the Silica, two ways to look at it:
One, what about all the farmers driving their tractors 12 hours a day across the extremely dusty planes of this country for the last 100 years? Did they all get silicosis? Maybe, I just dunno.
Dust in the fields is organic matter and fine powdered ground rock of all types.

Way I look at it: Silica like all other non-solvable angular particulate substances are hard on your lungs right? Silica is inert, it is just an irritant that wont dissolve. So there is this cartridge type respirator at lowes for 40 bucks that is for chemical/multipurpose. I find that these filter great. The paper mesh face masks don't provide the level of filtration that the good cartridge masks do.

I religiously use it during any dust or airborn matter scenario. Heck, If I run the grinder/cutter in the shop or outside for over a couple minutes, I use it.

Idaho, all that info you posted is great in my opinion. Thanks! The supplied air hood is a great idea. Where do you get the green diamond?? I am going to guess Idaho? Man, I have been trying to find cheap alternatives to sand that cut better and heat less..
.
 
Dust/dirt blowing around and dust/silcia blasted apart by the pressure of a sandblaster are entirely different risks. It's the blasting apart into the tiny particles that is the issue with silica. Other forms of media do not react the same way.

Yes, wear a good and appropriate filter no matter what. But read about silicosis and why silica-based blasting fell out of favor for health reasons a long time ago. That's all I'm saying, is just about being educated about the risks before getting into it. There's just no way I could see a thread like this without mentioning the risks involved with something being recommended in case someone doesn't know about these risks and goes off without knowing all the facts.

I'm not saying don't do it necessarily, just no matter what you do, know the risks and take appropriate precautions. My grandfather was a Model-A restorer and blasted with sand all the time. But then, he died relatively young of lung cancer. Was it related? I don't know, maybe not, that info is now lost to time, but it adds to the thoughts I have about safety, particularly regarding this potentially dangerous practice.
 
http://www.greendiamondsand.com/

They are in Oregon. I talked to local blast shops for advice.

I use the finest (3060). Also in my cabinet blaster. I'll never go back to sand.

A Tyvek hood is around $60.00. I first used a little tire inflator - worked fine. Might get a little ozone off the motor - I'm still alive :)

Having hood and fresh air just make the job way less nasty.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top