Sandblasting question

[Larry_Van_Horn]

I am a bit embarassed to ask this question, but here goes. I have never sandblasted anything before. I am getting an old rusty pickup truck blade ready for painting, and purchased a sanblaster. What sand / abrasive goes in it? Is it as simple as just getting a 50 lb bag from Home Depot /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[cdrkilr]

They actually do sell blasting sand. I have used playground sand and "sugar" sand for rough work. The difference, I think, in the blasting sand is that it is graded and consistent (and DRY.) For an old blade anything without rocks may work. You'll figure out in a hurry that sand bouncing back on even a thick shirt can hurt. If there are even the smallest rocks in the sand, it could shatter the ceramic nozzle and the bounce back onto you could really hurt.

There are also all kinds of abrasives you can use, glass beads etc - but they are expensive (relatively) and are therefore used in cabinets where they can be filtered and reused. I've blasted outdoors on a tarp and recycled the sand I could pick back up.

On sandblasting, even outdoors, remember safety. Wear protective clothing, faceshield, head protection and respirator. Silica dust is bad for your health. Watch where you point the nozzle.

Sandblasting is not on the top 10 list of fun things to do for me. Good luck.

 

[GaryM]

I've had a small sandblaster for years and find that it uses a lot of air and doesn't cut very fast. It's great for small jobs like blasting welds before painting and light rust removal.

For a big project I'd consider having it done by someone with the heavy duty unit. Places that make grave markers generally have large sandblasters. A friend had his boat trailer blasted last year. Cost him about $100 bucks and they did it in one day. Money well spent I figure.

 

[Junkman]

I have used a product called Black Beauty with good luck.... it is a black stone that is ground to a fine power..... might even be a granite.... don't know for sure..... but it is very aggressive..

 

[chim]

I bought one of those siphon tube sandblasters at Central Tractor several years ago. The first sand I used was from a sandblasting firm in a town near here. I only bought a couple bags of sand, but the guy cautioned me quite a bit about breathing in the dust. They had several grades of sand, and sold me the finer stuff when I told them what blaster I was using.

I also got lucky about two years ago when there was quite a bit of sand left over from sandblasting operations at our fab shop. The guy in charge just wanted it to go away. OK.

The setup I have is best suited to small projects. It works well, and with the larger granules of sand it is pretty aggressive. It is quite slow though. I did a 5' RFM a couple years ago, and the blaster was too slow to put up with. I ended up using a real stiff cup brush on an angle grinder and sanding discs for most of it, then blasting where these two didn't reach into.

One thing that helped the blaster work better was using a plastic jug for the sand that can be carried in one hand while holding the gun in the other, and trimming the hose to the pickup tube as short as practical. This made my puny gun feed better. Also, if this is like the one you got, drop the tube in the empty bucket, then add sand. It will help you avoid plugging the air passage in the pickup tube....................chim

 

[RichNJKubota]

I have a small siphon feed blaster. It's only good for small jobs. Anything larger I pay someone to blast. I would not want to do it even if I had the bigger pressure feed blaster.
Rich

 

[em14]

Check this site for information on Sand Blasting: http://www.tptools.com and this one for abrasives http://www.tptools.com/statictext/abrasives.asp.
To clean your truck blade you could use sand from Lowes or Home Depot or from almost any source. BUT ... it must be dry! I have used this type sand on ocasions by spreading the sand out in the sun, letting it dry and then putting it in the hopper. Lowes and Home Depot bagged sand is wet ... so you must first dry it or it will clogg up your operation and not feed properly!
Leo
Leo

 

[Larry_Van_Horn]

Leo,
Guess that is my problem then, seems stuff is all clogged up. I have called around to find a source for specific sandblasting abrasives and I am not having any luck. Could be of course that I am not asking for the right thing from the right person.
Larry

 

[Rch]

Larry, sandblasting is a real air hog.
Air compressor 101

 

[Junkman]

I have just read Air Compressor 101 and it is a well written article. I had an old commercial compressor that failed after about 50 years ( I bought it used) and replaced it back in the 1980's with a new 5 HP Quincy 2 stage compressor.... the wife asked why I need such an expensive compressor.... (about $2000) and I merely replied that I only wanted to buy one more in my lifetime and that this was it. I have never regretted the purchase... you get what you pay for.... In the end, spending more is sometimes less expensive than spending less more often....

 

[Larry_Van_Horn]

Yeah that true Ray, My compressor puts out 11 CFM at 90 PSI which is not bad, but don't know if it will be enough.

 

[GaryM]

Very good posting. Thanks for the link.

Last year I was with a friend who was buying a Sears "5HP" oil less compressor, against my advice. I asked the Sears salesmen why their 5HP unit didn't draw 33-35 amps on 110 volts, 1HP is still about 740 Watts right? No infomation was offered other than "That's what it's rated".

 

[CTyler]

Yea but Human Power is only 100 watts at best. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[jinman]

Larry, I sandblasted an old Ford Jubilee's wheels, hood, and fenders using one of those siphon sand blasters. I've never used it since and probably never will. WHAT A HASSLE! The sand you can buy at Home Depot, but if it becomes wet, it will clog your nozzle. Not only do you need a full face shield, gloves, and respirator, but I masking taped my pants to my boots and my shirt sleeves to my gloves. My full faceshield mask became cloudy about halfway through the job because the sand bouncing back blasted the plastic. I learned my lesson and I'll let someone else do my blasting from now on. On this subject, color me a wimp. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[PineRidge]

Larry just a thought but TSC sells a chemical that when brushed on rust will neutralize it and prep it for painting. I have used it to restore an old Allis 2 row corn planter and it did a good job.

When I was a young man my dad's hobby was restoring Model-A's I am well familiar with the use of a sand blaster. They use a LOT of air and sand and they are no fun at all.

Try the chemical, you'll like it.

 

[Soundguy]

Is it similar to naval jelly? That eats rust.. though I havn't seen it in a few years..

Soundguy

 

[have_blue]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( On this subject, color me a wimp. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif )</font>

You and me both.

If it won't fit inside a blasting cabinet, it won't get blasted. Not by me, anyway!

 

[varmint]

Gentlemen: a couple of thoughts to add to this chain. The Black Beauty is, if I remember, produced from powerplant slag. The rust converter stuff is some kind of phosphoric acid compound that not only consumes any rust, it leaves the metal primed and ready to paint. One commercial product is called Extend, and others work equally well. The big box home supply stores will have it in their paint departments. Auto supply stores usually have a choice also. Having used a siphon sandblaster, I can sympathize and agree with the comments made by others. Cabinets are good. Everything else is bad.

 

[OkieG]

<font color="blue"> Is it as simple as just getting a 50 lb bag from Home Depot </font>

I inherited several loader buckets full of masonry sand, left over from a neighbborhood project. I tried some in the sandblaster. Some of the larger sand granules (and even tiny rocks) would clog the tip after just a few seconds of blasting.

For fun, I used a garden trowel and an old screen door to screen some of the sand into a bucket. It worked great. The screened sand blasts well and doesn't clog the tip.

A local tool outlet sells "Blasting Sand" for $5 for a 50 lb bag. I'll just use the old screen door until my sand pile is gone.

OkieG

 

[OkieG]

<font color="blue"> Cabinets are good. Everything else is bad. </font>
That is probably true. I blast outside only, use a mask or respirator and face hood and try to blast from upwind.

Not to minimize the risk of silicosis, but there is something I wonder about. Do folks in desert areas have a high incidence of silicosis? They might, but I've never heard that they do. I would think that living through a couple dust storms like our troops in Iraq encountered would add up to more exposure than a lifetime of occasional sand blasting outside with a mask on.

When I was a kid there were a lot more dirt roads than there are now. I remember taking family trips and having to rinse my mouth and spit to clear the dust. Was breathing all that dust a potentially harmful silica exposure? I don't know.

OkieG