Decent Sandblaster

[Bingster]

I've been looking at sandblasters on You Tube, and of course Harbor Freight is a popular cheapy.  Hard to say what's good for the price because some guys are very pleased while others aren't. Anybody recommend a sandblaster?

[Plymouthy Adams]

sandblasting depends a lot on a dry air supply, proper control of the sand BEFORE the dead man on a pressure pot....I have the HF unit and have had zero issues by controlling sand flow at the outlet of the pot....else, you looking to plug your line.

Edited March 31, 2024 by Plymouthy Adams

[Sniper]

I haven't used a sand blaster since my time in the military. we had your standard cabinet style with dust collector and such.  It worked fine, but it was messy adn I'll be darned if I remember who made it.

 

Used a CO2 blaster when I worked in semiconductor R&D, no blasting residue.  But you need to have dry ice blocks handy.

[Los_Control]

The problem with a sandblaster is to have enough air compressor to run it.

If you are confident you have enough CFM to run a sandblaster ...... then make or model does not matter.

 

You really need a commercial quality  air compressor to run a sandblaster. It is straight air releasing sand to clean your project.

 

There are several work around to make your sandblast pot usable .... IMHO all worthless ..... unless you have the big bad wammer jammer compressor to run it.

 

I'm only suggesting that a sandblast pot is cheap, I have one in my back shed you can have. .... The issue is getting enough air to run it.

I have tried several ways to tone down the air consumption .... some here have done a few things to actually make it workable .... I have a decent 2 stage compressor, just no way I can keep up and control sandblasting. ..... Just saying you need to look at the numbers on your air compressor and decide if it can run a sandblaster.

 

I have 2 different versions of a hand held sandblaster my air compressor can run .... A actual sand pot takes more then I got.

[Eneto-55]

If you've ever run a commercial sand-blaster connected to the kind of huge air compressor Los_Control is talking about, you'll never be satisfied with one of these small orifice blasters.  (I never really looked at it closely, but I think that the compressor at the plating shop where I worked back in the 70's and early 80's was probably a two stage screw type, and BIG.  A big part of the reason I never looked it over is because it was in a separate building, way back in the corner, to keep that noise as far away as possible, I suppose.  I think I was only back there once, that I can recall.)

I have a small one that I bought at an auction, but still don't have an air compressor that can actually run it well.  The blasters we had in the plating shop were the type where the tank depressurized each time you let up on the foot pedal.  That allows the hose to clear as the tank blows out the built up pressure, but the down side is that the air compressor must have enough capacity to quickly get that pressure back up again when you start blasting again.  I suppose that's why that type of blaster has a quite small pressure tank.

[Dan Hiebert]

I have one of the Harbor Freight sandblast cabinets.  It is good for hobby work but would be inadequate in my opinion if you're trying to make a living with it, unless you heavily modify it.  It is easy to modify into a slightly better unit if you're so inclined.  I mounted mine on a rolling base and did some minor changes related to airflow for dust control, and lighting.  I do have some surging issues with it, but I can put up with that until it's time to replace the nozzle and feed system, at which time I'll upgrade it.  The sandblast media you use makes a difference as well, I initially used 80 grit crushed garnet, which worked well, but wore out quickly and produced a LOT of dust, almost more than my filtering system could cope with.  Now I'm using 80 grit aluminum oxide (from HF), which is lasting longer and generates significantly less dust.   

[Bingster]

I mainly want to use it for rims, smaller sheet metal parts, etc. I have a larger compressor that I use for painting but it's by no means equipped for commercial blasting work.  I could take stuff to a local sandblaster I guess, but it's always outsource vs. buying a tool to do it yourself.  I would have a lot of use for the blaster as I move from section to section with the car.  

You know what I started with? You'll laugh.  That little hand held unit that you fill up with sand and off you go.  The media stream was so small that it took forever to clean stuff.  But it was perfect for blasting a fuel pump body for rebuilding and stuff like that.  I guess there's a place for a tool like that as opposed to setting up the equipment for one little part. But if I attempted to do a fender panel, I reckon I'd be done in time to go into the house and put up our Christmas tree.

[LazyK]

Body panels are prone to warping when sand blasting. There is heat generated from the friction of the media against the panel, the rapid cooling from the compressed air and the air pressure its self are all factors.

[Sniper]

LazyK beat me to the punch.  I mentioned a cabinet blaster earlier, well the shop also had a large, walking, your suit up to blast cabinet.  You could fit a Beetle in one.  We experimented with various media to blast fiberglass.  Some sort of plastic looking pellets.  It worked, but was tedious to do.  The method we normally used to strip paint off of fiberglass was paint stripper.  It worked, but was fairly nasty stuff.

 

Soda blasting is supposed to be gentler, but I hae zero experience with that.  No idea how quick/slow it may be, how long thee media is useable, etc.  HOWEVER, and this is very important, if you have an oil pan with baffles anything else will be a big no no.  Soda blasting residue can be easily washed away.  Sand/garnet/slag etc will leave a residue that is hard to clean and will destroy your engine if you do not get it all out.

[Plymouthy Adams]

AS a REMINDER.....if you are doing the job...you SHOULD always be in control.   Commercial blasters run full sand flow and full pressure for full damage to thin metal.   Time is money, they do not have the time nor you the money to pay for a proper job, their thoughts are, you got body work to do as it is....they care less if it warps.   If you have any experience or willing to listen and follow along with someone who has blasted a few cars/panels you have a good chance at success.  You need to control not only your pressure but also your sand flow and adapt your pressure pot and technique to eliminate plugged media hoses when using the small pressure pot as from Harbor Freight or any other supplier.  You WILL NOT warp a panel...you will make good headway be able to do a good job...you will be able control sand fallout and reclaim and reuse your media a number of times.  It only takes a weekend to blast a full size car taking your time.  Plenty other precautions one needs to take but does not take a rocket scientist to figure it out either.  Do not linger in one spot...if heavily rusted move along and come back and repeat.  WEAR PPE

 

 

 

Edited March 31, 2024 by Plymouthy Adams

[Los_Control]

5 hours ago, Bingster said:

I mainly want to use it for rims, smaller sheet metal parts, etc.

Maybe something like this will do all you want.  This is Amazon,they sell from $30-$100 ..... I would think gravity fed would work pretty good.

 

I see one model that offers choice of gravity or siphon for a few $$ more.Siphon you have a bigger container for media so not need to refill as often.

Mine is really cheesy .... I picked it up at a local hardware store cheap ... wanted to play with it. It works ok just clumsy as I have it hooked up to a plastic 1 gallon jug ... need to hold the jug in one hand and spray with the other hand. ..... Now that I know it works, I would not mind spending a little more $$ and get a better one.

 

 

I have to say that @Plymouthy Adams really did help and work with me on how to modify and control the air better with the big pot. No matter what I tried I could only walk away frustrated with it. ....little one is slower but it actually works with no frustration.

[Loren]

Harbor Freight sells every thing you might need for sand blasting but.... they don't have any compressors capable of keeping up with their blast cabinets or Sand Blasting pots.

Also note that sand blasting equipment wears out FAST so there's no need to pay up for better equipment.

When I lived in high desert Nevada my Curtis 5 hp Master line compressor did just fine. However, once I moved to coastal Oregon the humidity became a problem. About a sack and a half of sand is all I can blast as water in the air plugs up the sand feed. I have to let the compressor cool off and drain it.

For the bead blast cabinet I use 3/8 hose, for the sand blast pot I use 1/2 hose.

The HF cabinet has crappy lighting and zero dust collection. You have to add their cheap plastic "cyclone" dust collector on a 5 gallon bucket AND their dust filter/vacuum. You'll find yourself at the glass shop getting new windows made from time to time and the gloves wear out too.

SO bottom line:

A quality 5 hp 80/120 gallon compressor helps get the job done. Harbor Freight can supply the rest. Like most of the HF stuff you might need to add some features to make it easy to use.

[MikeMalibu]

I’ll confirm what Loren wrote. I have a HF cabinet modified with lights, gun, and cyclone vacuum connected to a 5 hp, 80 gallon compressor with driers/filters.  Good for cleaning up small parts quickly. It gets dusty inside after about 10 minutes of blasting, and then I break for a few until the dust settles. The largest parts I’ve done are exhaust manifolds. For fasteners and other tiny parts, I use a vibrating tumbler. Easy - dump in the parts and media, then fish them out a few hours later almost good as new.

[DJ194950]

What you want to blast and how much is the first question?

 

I blasted a 50 Ply. Suburban- in and out, top to bottom,  separated frame and all attaching pieces , some years back.

 

Used a HF 50lb? pot plaster with a cheap (6 hp - the Chinese measurement) motored compressor with a 60 gal. tank.

 

I worked it hard and had to stop a fair amount.  I needed the breaks though. Fill sand pot, rest, let the compressor to cool. Shovel sand to reuse some.

 

Have a beer!

 

Got it done !

 

  Took a lot of time but glad I did it.

 

Not to long after getting done the air compressor went south.  Replaced it with a cheap 5 HP motor required ( their spec) compressor head for about $100 ( from HP) and just lowed the drive belt ratio to make it work fine.

 

Still works!  5 years and going.

 

Went through about 300 lbs.? of Graded Grit (30) Blasting sand from the local lumber yard. I think the Chain hardware stores sell it now also.

 

Buy a box of the ceramic blasting nozzles for the blaster and adjust the air pressure to max and then adjust the sand to just enough to work, no more, no less.

 

If what your removing does not come off easily,  do not bear done down on it keep moving along and come back to that area later!  Do not overhead the metal .

 

It is a hot job with a dust mask (required) under a blasting hood . Take the time you need.  A Hood with a fresh air supply is highly recommended if you can afford one!

 

Have fun?

 

DJ

[Veemoney]

Not sure of the brand on this one but Northern Tool sells a similar unit. This holds 100-125lbs of sand and has interchangeable tips. I used it on a few cars and other projects with no issues feeding blast material in humid Midwest summers. I used older (1920s or 30s) small 2 stage compressors with 60-80 gallon tanks. With that volume of tank air I could get through the 100lb pot of material and by the time I swept it up and reloaded the pot the compressor was ready to go again.  Pictured also is the old Champion compressor I rebuilt with 5hp 220v motor and used prior to getting my current vertical compressor with similar cfm pump and tank size.