Subie Gal Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 heya gang diving into my 360 Sedan project and have tons of misc bits that are perfect, minus the surface rust.... they need to be blasted before I can use them... (as do portions of the car itself!) have any of you purchased your own sandblaster? what works best? gun adapter? blasting cabinet? even bench or tabletop cabinet? i've just began to research and it's overwhelming when u know squat about it!! THANKS to anyone who can shed some light and input.... Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorganM Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 I used one briefly. It was just a cheapy air nozel with a tube you stick in the sand. Pretty easy; point and shoot. Worked well at blasting off rust from one of my wheels. If you dont mind making a mess and not recycleling the sand no booth is needed. Prolly want a nice mask if you dont have a booth so you arent huffing sand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subie Gal Posted April 5, 2004 Author Share Posted April 5, 2004 yeah if i go the compressor + hose route... i'll probably buy a nice hood/gloves/mask and use a huge tin barrell or something... just not sure if the attachment/hoses work and all i all they end up costing about as much... (hose attachment vs benchtop cabinet - 27"er) but with a cabinet, i'm confined to the spacing within the cabinet... what if i wanna blast something that doesnt fit within it just not sure what to do... arrrggghhh!! jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subi81 Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 My dad works in construction so I was able to barrow one of the trailer units and gun, blasted my whitespokes no problem. Took a couple of hours might be a little bit overkill for what you want to do. If you stayed in one spot to long it would dig into the metal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soobme Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 I have a sand blaster, and I hate it It's the little cheep one from Harbor Freight, and it works good, but the MESS!!! I use a face sheeld when I use it, or U get sand in EVERY part of your body! And the sand gets EVERY WHERE within a 10' area If I had it to do agan I would just buy the bigest blasting cabnet I could aford. If need be, U can allwase take the gun out of the box and use it on it's oun for bigger projects. I never use mine now because I need a cabenet and I never have the time to make one :-\ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northguy Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 Can't afford a big cabinet, buy a big blue tarp and make your own. Be careful when blasting flat (sheet) metal as you can really distort the surface with a sandblaster. You can easily create an ugly surface that will require a lot of bondo to patch up. Sandblasting also creates pits in sheetmetal. You can do it, but sanding by hand or machine may be more controlled and effective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subie Gal Posted April 5, 2004 Author Share Posted April 5, 2004 thanks for the tips guys! was thinking of using this mainly for 360 wheels, and bits.. most of which are steel... i can hand sand the body bits... i was thinking of something like this lil unit -->click me<-- ??? what do you guys think? Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oddcomp Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 take a look into dry ice blasting works really well if you can get or build the gun doo hicky i can get all the dry ice "rice" you want nice thing is its safe for electronics and soft metals and there is no mess to clean up it just evaporates after a while Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ma-fia Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 I don't have anything smart to say. I'd like to remember this thread, but can't find "subscribe to this thread" option. Things are changing with the speed of light on this board! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
All_talk Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 I think a sand blaster in the number one specialty tool for restoring old cars, I have access to an industrial cabinet blaster at work but a gun and bucket/tank type is on my list for home. Jamie, I think the one you’re looking at should be great for the occasional use you’re going to need. P.S. My daughter should be sending you some questions for her school project soon. Soobme, along the lines of what northguy said, I’ve seen guys make cabinets from plywood with a glass top or even a large plastic storage tub, then all you need is the gloves, or just cut the holes close to arm size and you wont loose to much sand. Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chef_tim Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 The one thing I found when looking into sand blasting is the compressor. You should have as a minimum 125cfm, that is a big compressor. I too bought the cheapy hose in the sand gun and mky little comressor don't have the umph to push the sand out. Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. RX Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 Jamie, I have a unit that has a hopper on top of the gun, it can be used anywhere, but be prepared for a mess. If you wrap the area in plastic, then step inside, you can retain most of the material. But you will be covered with teh sand or whatever you use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
All_talk Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 Good point about the compressor, you’ll need a decent one. If it’s a bit small it will still work but you will have to slow down and wait for it to build pressure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PHATBRAT Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 Well, my only comment is do not sandblast body parts/sheetmetal. Other parts such as control arms and things of that nature that are located under the car, no problem but do yourself a favor and do not blast the body. It will be 3x the work for you to fix the mess you create. You may not see it but it is there. Ask around. If you know someone in highschool or a vocational school ask them if they have access to a blaster and if they would be willing to do it for you. My old highschool has a booth that works wonders, the one that the base has works fairly well but it is a cabinet so nothing big will fit. Not that anyone cares, I just felt like saying that. Boz P.S. Here's your 2 cents Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostWater Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 I got a big a** compressor and I bought that $60 harbor freight special. The bad thing is I used regular sand (I'm cheap) and the sandblaster would clog up badly because of the moisture. Make sure you get hydrophobic media, or use a water seperator on your air line. Make the line as short as possible too. Be very, very, very careful about silicosis if you use silica based media (regular sand), the silica can break apart and when you inhale it, it embeds in your lungs permanently. It is like abestosis in this regard, scary bad stuff. use a respirator. I tried blasting some of my Sambar gas tanks and it exposed how ate up the tanks really are. i will probably have to send them to the gas tank renu people. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subie Gal Posted April 5, 2004 Author Share Posted April 5, 2004 okay i'm leaning towards a bench or tabletop cabinet and do i use this silica sand stuff.... (sounds scary) http://www.northerntool.com/images/product/images/155472_lg.jpg or the new aluminum oxide particles.??? compressor i have.. it's plenty large should work fine... You think i need One of these Moisture Separators <--- as well? any other suggestions? i do not plan on using this on the body. wheels, and heavier bits that need it for the most part... Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostWater Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 Harbor freight has the same chinese stuff that northern has, but harbor freight is cheaper. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=45009 Don't use the oiler function for obvious reasons. I have just a water/moisture seperator, cost me $25 from harbor freight, it is big. some silicosis links: http://www.silicosis-injury-attorneys.com/pages/sandblasting_risks.html http://www.soda-blaster.com/Preventing%20Silicosis%20and%20Deaths%20From%20Sandblasting.htm http://www.slider.com/enc/48000/silicosis.htm Tractor supply has abrasive media cheap. I have heard of people building their own blasting booths to capture the media. me, I just use sand and a dust mask and do it out on the farm so the sand blows everywhere. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caboobaroo Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 Glass media....thats all I have to say. I used sand a few times in highschool and it worked for what I was using it for BUT when I got to college, we have a large glass beading cabinent. Its the same as a sand blaster but it works a lot better and you can run it at a lower PSI and it will work a lot better. It is also is a lot cleaner to work with....not a lot of dust:D:D:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hondasucks Posted April 6, 2004 Share Posted April 6, 2004 Make sure you get one with a pressure regulator, that way you can control the pressure. Light pressure works great for taking surface rust off of chrome (Without damaging the chrome) and then for heavy rust etc.. you can turn the pressure up... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted April 6, 2004 Share Posted April 6, 2004 Your bringing back memories of long ago Jamie. A friend of mine had a '64 Datsun 1600 that he treasured. One day we rented a commercial compressor and a sandblaster unit and sandblasted the whole car down in Ballard. We must have worked on that thing until 4 am in the morning trying get all the paint off it. We did it, but we were so tired after we finished. Another thing you may want to look into doing is have the parts chemical dipped to clean the rust off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subie Gal Posted April 6, 2004 Author Share Posted April 6, 2004 wow you guys are too great! and this makes my decision even harder... heh we have a decent compressor... i would use the cabinet for smaller items only... i think that's the route i may go. still have some research to do, but i think i am on my way thank you everyone for your input. Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushbasher Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 my dad made a pressurized tank blaster, but my compressor isnt powerful enough to keep 100+ psi for very long. It used to work fine when he had a 5hp gas compressor. its made out of a propane tank. The other problem with it is that occasionally you have to shake it cause it sucks a big hole in the sand pile and the sand doesnt keep coming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveAP Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 A friend of mine, converted a gang box for a cabinet. Lots of room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.