Media Sand Blaster Best Buy

[Raflad]

Pretty soon I am going to need to purchase a media blaster for my GPW frame and tub and MBT trailer. My compressor puts out 14 cfm at 90 psi. Does anyone have any recommendations? Also what type of media for frame and what type for tub? Thanks in advance.

[Jeep Fun]

I like diy and try to do most of my restoration work myself. That said, media blasting for an overall job is one of those jobs I will gladly farm out to the local specialists. I have a local media blaster that has the options of using garnet, plastic, and then sand for rusty spots. They charge by the hour and the cost is very reasonable. I have one of those $150 abrasive blasting pots from HB and it works fine for smaller jobs if you can keep the air dry which is difficult given the air volume necessary. The mess is terrible and sand dust gets everywhere even if you do it outdoors.

[dinof]

Ed hit the nail on the head. I can't agree more. My driveway looked like a beach with little time. But since I live in California, my sandblasting company was driven out of business because of all the new requirements that were needed, was over $200,000. I shouldn't complain though, California still allows gasoline to be sold, and now narcotics are legal.

[dpcd67]

Fortunately here they still allow media blasting outdoors; but since it is very tedious to do it, and we have a super guy who does it full time, I give all my parts to him. He uses black furnace slag; it comes in several grits, and he knows how to do it so no warpage occurs. I used to use sand, but that is not good for you; and the EPA does check the commercial guys to make sure hey are not using it. You can use aluminum oxide but that will be too expensive.
We also have a great place that does Mil Spec phosphating and I take all the bolts and parts under three feet long to him; they come back like new and with a gray phosphate coating. They tumble the parts for blasting and do it by the "lot". So one pound costs the same as 100.
Some day when the liberals take over the earth, all of it will be the wet slurry blasting.

[dinof]

What's the "wet slurry"? dpcd67 That's a new one to me.

And by the way, if you do blast yourself, my unit required a 220 volt compressor to keep up with it. Nothings worse than starting and stopping to wait for your compressor to catch up.

[dpcd67]

I got this off the internet and there is a lot on it. Basically it is blasted on wet, and thereby contains all the dust and contaminants that might go into the atmosphere, particularly in the open blasting situation. My sand blast guy said that in a few years, open air blasting will not be allowed, like in California. I guess it is not a new thing from what I read.
Wet abrasive blasting (also known as vapor abrasive blasting) removes coatings, contaminants, corrosion and residues from hard surfaces. It’s similar to dry blasting, except that the blast media is moistened prior to impacting the surface.

The main advantage of vapor abrasive blasting over dry blasting is that it reduces dust, allowing for operators to work in a wide range of environments with minimal setup and cleanup costs. It results in a cleaner, more consistent finished, ready to coat, with no embedded particles or clinging dust
.In 1950, sandblasting was banned in Britain due to concerns over silicosis, an occupational hazard associated with inhalation of silica dust. Shortly after, Norman Ashworth invented the first vapor abrasive blaster there.

[17thAirborne]

My sand blast guy said that in a few years, open air blasting will not be allowed, like in California.

Hopefully, in a few years, breathing will not be allowed, by some that is, in Kalifornia.

[Runnin4's]

I got mine blasted by a fella here in AZ. With 50 + years of multiple paint jobs, oil, mud, and rust he used aluminum oxide. It helps a lot to first take of all the heavy stuff (oil/grease build up). When he was finished it turned out really good. There's the new fad of dustless blasting which I don't see being a good option. Doesn't make sense to blast water at high speeds all over bare metal.

[Gary Turman]

I use a Texas blaster. Best hobby blaster available in my opinion. I have done several jeeps and frames and also my Dodge frame. Works best with #4 blasting sand. Here is a link. https://www.texasblaster.com/

[17thAirborne]

I use a Texas blaster. Best hobby blaster available in my opinion. I have done several jeeps and frames and also my Dodge frame. Works best with #4 blasting sand. Here is a link. https://www.texasblaster.com/

Gary,
what size nozzle do you use, and what size compressor do you own? i have a HF System similar to the tx blaster, cheaper, but it works. i wanted to know what nozzle you push that no. 4 through. i use no. 4 also with a porter cable 60 gal comp.

[Raflad]

I use a Texas blaster. Best hobby blaster available in my opinion. I have done several jeeps and frames and also my Dodge frame. Works best with #4 blasting sand. Here is a link. https://www.texasblaster.com/

Hi Gary, thanks for the link. I checked out the website and it looks pretty good. I also would be interested to know what size compressor you have. Going by their guide for nozzle size, my 60 gallon 14 cfm compressor would only be good for a 3/32 nozzle.

[17thAirborne]

Hi Gary, thanks for the link. I checked out the website and it looks pretty good. I also would be interested to know what size compressor you have. Going by their guide for nozzle size, my 60 gallon 14 cfm compressor would only be good for a 3/32 nozzle.

I found the 3/32 nozzles clogged too much with No 4. sand, that's why I asked what Gary is using. I am currently using a 1/8 nozzle. It rarely clogs, unless I open the sand valve too much, or stop the air before the sand The problem is it REALLY uses a lot of sand. I can go through a 100lb bag in perhaps 15 minutes. I suspect a smaller nozzle might help, but am worried about constant clogging and the waste of time to stop, remove and clean the nozzle and start up again. I also found that the rubber washers made it clog even worse. I wrap the fat end of the nozzle in one layer of electrical tape and seat it in the nozzle cap.

The problem with these systems is that over time the sand metering valve and the gun and valve get worn by the sand. I think this week I am going to buy all of the fittings so when it breaks down I'm ready to start up again. I can go through perhaps 40 bags before needing to change things out. The ceramic nozzles have been lasting about 3 bags or more. You can see in the image where the fitting abraded so much it ate through the threads of the valve.

Overall I am very happy with this setup (Cheap harbor Freight) and I think the one Gary is recommending might be somewhat better. That hood and replacement lenses is a MUST. I always wear a two cartridge air filter for breathing. There is a forced fresh air system with hood and helmet that would be great for around $500-ish. For my health I will soon invest in that.

For the small jobs I use a table top blast cabinet with No. 4 sand. I upgraded the blasting gun (cant remember which company). It rarely clogs unless the humidity is high, and I don't go through lots of sand. If you get a cabinet, make sure the internal sand chute sides at the bottom are steeper than the HF model, as the sand tends not to roll down to the bottom of the hopper. You have to stop and move sand into the feeder well (hopper).

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[dpcd67]

The solution they use in dustless blasting uses a rust inhibitor; otherwise, it would be a hot rusted mess during and after blasting. It's a well developed process; not that I am promoting it as it is more expensive to do.

[Gary Turman]

I'm using a older ceramic nozzle. It started out 1/8 but now is probably 1/4. It's time for a new one. My compressor is a 80 gallon 12.6 scfm @ 90 psi. two stage. I'm lucky that not 30 miles from me I can get my sand on a pallet for wholesale price. I pay a little more and get it in 50lb bags because the 100lb are just too heavy especially when I have to pick one up off the floor.

[Mark Tombleson]

I use this one from Harbor Freight... the same model but 15 years ago.

https://www.harborfreight.com/110-lb-pr ... 69724.html

I also had a bead blasting cabinet and farmed out the body parts and frame.

I had an acre to work in with maybe 1/2 acre in dirt... it still gets all over the place.

Just make sure your compressor can handle whatever sandblaster you choose. I remember after several years, I had to rebuild my compressor... the biggest Craftsman 115v they had at the time.