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Media blasting/Air compressor

A

abrahamfh

Active Member
Okay guys, since I am pretty much a rookie to the fine hobby of restoration and figured I should start asking questions here that hopefully might also help others in the future. I have done some research and thought I would bring it to the web-roundtable of stangfix to hear all of your preferences for the benefit of myself and others looking for some education.

In regards to media blasting;

Which would be your gun/nozzle combo and media type preference for

1. crusty heavy rust

2. medium rust

3. light rust

(please include any other important details that you would also factor in during your process)
 
Re: Media blasting

Probably the biggest concern is how many SCFM's your compressor puts out. The bigger the volume of the compressor, the bigger the nozzle. As far as media, i like this stuff:
0dd4926aee582d4ae935839e55621b65.jpg


I had great results using it in both a blast cabinet, and blasting pot. A lot of guns use a ceramic tip. Its important to get some extra tips, because i was surprised how fast the get blasted out. Ive used this nozzle, but it would jam frequently. HTH
 
Re: Media blasting

I used a harbor freight blaster(biggest one they had)to blast my car in my garage. I used IIRC medium grit playground medium. I went through the isle at the Lowe's and went through their sand selection until I found a grit that I liked. I also bought a different nozzle that accepted the porcelain tips and bought a bunch of extra ones because they wear out fast.
If I had to do it again I would rent an industrial sized compressor and do it in a day. I spent more time waiting for my compressor to fill. I also had to scrape all of the undercoating off the bottom of the car since the blaster wouldn't remove it.
 
Re: Media blasting

I have more than got my money's worth out of a TIP blasting cabinet. Just about anything that you can re-use that would be nice to have a clean surface upon which to paint will benefit from a trip through the blasting cabinet.

If you are looking to blast an entire car, I would be wary of the cheap $80-100 pressure pots. They work, but it will take forever to get the job done. Like Tony said, get a big blaster or I would recommend farming it out. I know I am among a large crowd to blast the car inside the garage, but I'm also going to be pretty upfront about the mess, it is massive mess. Massive mess. I would highly recommend not doing that if you are married and value your wife's support for this project. If you are not married, that doesn't matter. I took vacation and it took me roughly 10 straight days, working 8-10 hours a day in the garage, to blast my car, and that was just the unibody. Many hours were spent with a propane torch and a putty knife scraping seam sealer or undercoating off and then blasting the rest clean. It then took 3 days to pull everything out of the garage, clean the garage itself, and then clean dust off everything as it went back in. 2 years later I still have dust on some stuff in the garage in and in the attic. Just sayin.

I wanted to avoid silicosis issues and stuck to low silica content media, mostly using Dupont Starblast for the unibody and I also use glass bead in my cabinet. The glass bead is pretty expensive, on the order of $25-30 a 50lb bag. The Starblast I have paid anywhere from $5 to $9 per 50lb bag depending on local source. Obviously play sand is cheaper, $1-2 per 50lb bag, but you have silica issues and the sand disintegrates pretty quick. The Starblast I was able to sift several times and re-use. What I typically did was start the pot with 2 new bags of Starblast. I'd blast it empty, then sweep the mess into a pile, sift it, and end up with about a bag and a half. I'd load that back into the pot with a half a bag to a full bag of new Starblast. Repeat. As the Starblast disintegrates it disappears in the form of dust, or if I noticed it to be significantly dusty, I'd toss it in the trash and start over with a fresh pot of Starblast.
 
Re: Media blasting

I had my car professionally blasted as well as epoxy primed by http://www.americanstrippingsacramento.com/

Personally, I believe it's well worth the expense to have it done professionally. 2 big reasons... 1) It's critical to get the bare metal epoxy primed as quickly as possible to prevent flash rust, and 2) if you're not experienced/careful it's easy to warp panels.

However, if you have the time, equipment and space (which I didn't), go for it!

ps: I really like Sigtauenus' comment about being married vs. single. Could your wife actually put up with days and days of blasting? I know my wife would never had put up with that mess and noise.
 
Re: Media blasting

Be carefull using regular sand as it breaks up it releases silicon if you breath this in it causes silicosis and you can die from this. black beauty is good media and get a good respirator
 
Re: Media blasting

Thanks everyone for all your usefull suggestions. I have come to make the final decision to start saving up in order to take the ride to be professionally blasted.

All the small parts that fit in my cabinet will get blasted in the garage, it sounds like this black beauty abrasive media has received some pretty good reviews from folks all across the internet. I figured I can try a couple of different media types and see which works best overall taking into consideration cost and efficiency.
 
Re: Media blasting

I use different media depending on what I am blasting. Typically glass bead for simple paint removal or softer metal such as aluminum, starblast for heavier stuff and rust. You can even do something like walnut shells for internal engine parts or plastic media for something you don't want to affect the finish of. I have a 5 gallon bucket for each type of media and clean out the cabinet thoroughly when switching between media types.
 
Re: Media blasting

So as some of you know already I was able to get my hands on a blast cabinet. HF model to be precise, couldn't pass up the deal. So my new found problem is finding an air compressor that will work without totally killling my wallet. Any suggestions? I unfortunately only have 120v outlets everywhere.

Here are some of the specs on the cabinet
Air consumption: 9.5 CFM at 90 PSI; Maximum working pressure: 125 PSI; Air inlet: 1/4''-18 NPT; Dust port: 2-1/2'' OD; Viewing window: 23-1/2'' W x 10-1/2'' H; Working area: 33'' W x 22'' D x 14'' to 22'' H; Overall dimensions: 36-1/2'' x 23'' D x 54-1/2'' H


I was looking at the following compressor but not sure if it will work.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=94667
 

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Re: Media blasting

Abe, compressors are a lot like garages, in which you want to find the biggest best possible one to start with. Most likely, regardless of the choice, you will soon realize that you should have went bigger.

You will likely not be happy with that compressor alone with your blasting cabinet. I've often wondered about two piped in series?

Compare your cabinets consumption "9.5 CFM at 90 PSI" with the compressors Air delivery: "4.9 SCFM @ 90 PSI; 4.3 SCFM @ 115 PSI" I think before long, you will be wishing for a bigger compressor as the cabinets consumption is nearly double that of the compressors output. With blasting, you need a ton of air, as its likely wide open the entire time.


One thing that surprised me after purchasing my compressor (150 psi max), Was with a 50 foot air hose, i was reading approximately 85 PSI at the tool, while the output air gauge was reading 135psi. The longer the hose, and the further the connection, the less actual air pressure you will have.

I use a 33 gallon (your harbor freight model is 21 gallon) Craftsman, and when working with it, its running almost continuously. Its loud and obnoxious. I've even had a neighbor complain about it. All things you may want to think about while making your selection.

Hope that helps, just my .02.
 
Re: Media blasting

"lethal289" said:
Most likely, regardless of the choice, you will soon realize that you should have went bigger.

Every one I know that has a compressor says the same thing that they don't have enough air.


You will likely not be happy with that compressor alone with your blasting cabinet. I've often wondered about two piped in series?


I have also thought about putting two compressors together. I have been trying to work a deal with a buddy to get his 60 gal tank off him to hook it with mine for doubled the volume.
Click to expand...
 
Re: Media blasting

"abrahamfh" said:
I was looking at the following compressor but not sure if it will work.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=94667
Click to expand...

I have this exact compressor. I was surprised at how loud it really was. I used the compressor with a DA sander to strip my car. The compressor was always on and after 15 minutes I would have to let the compressor catch up. I am happy with it but I still want a bigger one.
 
Harbor Freight cabinet

"abrahamfh" said:
So as some of you know already I was able to get my hands on a blast cabinet. HF model to be precise, couldn't pass up the deal. So my new found problem is finding an air compressor that will work without totally killling my wallet. Any suggestions? I unfortunately only have 120v outlets everywhere.
Click to expand...

So how do you like your cabinet or are you still looking for a compressor? I am only wondering because I have been wanting that very cabinet you have for a long time now and the time seems right to invest in one. The time is that I am going to buy myself a bday present. I already have a 25 gal compressor although it will probably not be big enough, it will just take me longer to blast something. fd
 
Re: Media blasting

The cabinet has a fairly simple good design. The materials used to build the cabinet seem to be good enough to withstand the tasks it was designed for. The cutout on the left side of the cabinet has given me a idea that includes a couple of air filters and a shop vac. The light inside the cabinet seems to be pretty bright but I have not yet tried it while blasting especially because of my current air compressor dilemma. The interior work space is perfect for the applications that I will be using it for, that I was especially pleased with. The only real suggestion I would have is that the sealing gaskets don't seem to me that they would rise to the occasion. Overall I think it's a really great cabinet to add to any shop or garage. (as long as you can accompany it with the right air compressor to supply the power.)
 
Re: Media blasting

"abrahamfh" said:
The cabinet has a fairly simple good design. The materials used to build the cabinet seem to be good enough to withstand the tasks it was designed for. The cutout on the left side of the cabinet has given me a idea that includes a couple of air filters and a shop vac. The light inside the cabinet seems to be pretty bright but I have not yet tried it while blasting especially because of my current air compressor dilemma. The interior work space is perfect for the applications that I will be using it for, that I was especially pleased with. The only real suggestion I would have is that the sealing gaskets don't seem to me that they would rise to the occasion. Overall I think it's a really great cabinet to add to any shop or garage. (as long as you can accompany it with the right air compressor to supply the power.)
Click to expand...

Like I posted before I have been wanting this cabinet for a long time and even posted about it at one time on the vmf. The one thing that stands out in my mind is that someone said the cabinet itself is a good product for Harbor Freight, it is the spray nozzle that is the week point of the system. My plan has always been to locate it outside next to my 12 x 12 storage shed that I build several years ago. I am going to add an overhang/roof to one side of the shed and the cabinet will be located there. So if it leaks a little that will not be an issue. I will just have to roll my compressor outside and hook it up. My brain is starting to hurt thinking about all of the :sh I need to do to make this work. :craz fd
 
Re: Media blasting

I picked up this compressor from home depot a few months ago.
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&productId=100083906&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&ci_sku=100083906&ci_src=14110944&cm_mmc=shopping-_-googlebase-_-D25X-_-100083906&locStoreNum=2623&marketID=39

After having a couple different craftsman oiless noisy compressors, this one was welcome relief from sound and also capacity. I can hear myself speak when this one runs compared to the oiless units. I sandblasted for a couple hours the other day and never really had to stop and wait for the compressor to catch up. If you open an HD charge account you get 10% off your first purchase. I got mine when they were offering $75 off plus the 10%, so I got it for a little about $325. The downside is that it runs on 220V and you'll still need to add your own plumbing, regulators hoses etc... Hopefully this one will be the last for me...
 
Re: Media blasting

Victory!!! Okay, unfortunately no I haven't purchased the air compressor yet. As I was getting ready to chainsaw massacre the rusted floor for patches on Fred I remembered that they usually add a 220 in laundry rooms for real serious clothes dryers. I put everything down and ran over to the laundry room and TADA! I do have a 220 but its inside the house in the laundry room, its only about 15ft from the garage but I think it will work. Somebody please digitally slap me if I am getting to excited over this please.
 
Re: Media blasting

When I had my 220 put in the garage I had a dryer outlet used that way if I ever buy a different house and for some reason it has a dryer in the garage i have an outlet and I made an extension cord that IIRC is around 20 ft long so I could reach too.
 
Re: Media blasting

I did a similar thing, when ever i needed 220, i used to pull my electric stove out, and plug a 30 foot extension cord i made, run it from the kitchen to garage, and tada... 220 in the garage for the big jobs. i've since upgraded to 220 outlets front and back of the garage, but that old extension cord still comes in handy from time to time.
 
Re: Media blasting

Thanks a lot for all the input guys. So now that my 220v availability issue has been solved, I am definitely now going in the 220v direction for the air compressor. My minimum requirements for the cabinet are 9.5cfm at 90psi. Its so nice to finally be able to narrow it down a little in regards to my options now that the power source issue has been finalized.
 
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