Beorex

i'm looking for a sandblaster to use when doing some body work on my car. what all have you used and what would you recommend? i've looked at different types ranging from the real cheap guns to the big dudes with all the bells 'n whistles, but i don't know..

JIMMY54

iTrader: (2)

I bought a Sandblasting machine for the exact some purpose. I bought a gun that came inside the sandblasting box so i could do small parts and when i needed to do things such as engine bay i just put a bunch of sand in a bucket and hooked up the gun to there. IMO go with the cheap guns because all thats important is that its sprays out sand right? Whats more important is the sand type you use. I know theres some different kinds which are more coarse and sand better.

Hope this helps

Sterling

CHEAP-CHEAP!

I got an enclosure; O.k., not so cheap. But Ibought it ill informed, and the gun assembly that came with it was WEEDY AS HELL! I bought it for the carburetor mainbodys & air horns.
So essentially this thing is just a plastic box with a plexiglass lid and Mylar ashesive sheets are supposed to fit on the inside of the lid to protect it from frosting up. (You peel off & dispose, replace with new sheet) Well...they suck. The sheets were too big for one thing, and for another, the medium gets in between them.

So I paid bigger-than-I-shoulda money for a plastic box with **** that don't friggin work!
But the size was just what I needed, so I kept it. I went to Sears and bought a real cheap set-up for 40 bucks consisting of a crappy plastic hopper for the medium (which is out in the shed) and the aluminum gun & hose assembly.

Upon my observations:
You need a compressor that'll sustain 95 PSI @ better than 4.5 CFM as a HOME OWNER (!) (If you were doing this non stop, breaking for the compressor to catch it's breath would begin to cost you!)
You also need to get -well I don't have one, and I don't know what the hell it's called, but it filters the condensated water out of the line. My medium gets chunky damp on certain days, and the hose won't pick it up (I am using VERY tiny stuff, though.) You would ABSOLUTELY need one because the paint particals would do the same thing and make the medium clump with the incoming condensate.

I am about to try using a coarser medium. Right now I'm using glass beads, and the finish is great, but it takes too long. If I can get the same bling-bling with a slightly coarser medium, it'll be great.

I have NO idea what to use for paint removal.
You 're looking at 40 bucks for the cheapy (works great) blaster gun and hopper, and you can choose to do a shower-curtain type (DIY) booth, or buy an enclosure ($).
The AC is whatever. I've seen ones that would work for 110 bucks new, but tiny.

Do yourself a favor now for when you're fifty- buy a box of masks and some saftey glasses. Silicosis is a cumulative irriversable disease, and it WILL catch up to you.

...Happy bling-bling!

Rx7carl

I built my own. Its big enough to hold a rear axle housing. I used a $20 siphon gun, some toilet flanges (new), rubber gloves, hose clamps, some MDF, 2x4's, a picture frame, some precut lexan. I got about $100 in it.

Sterlings right, you need a decent compressor. My 30gal 5hp cant keep up. My 80gal does better. I use aluminum oxide (80grit) works good, decent finish, gonna try glass bead soon.

Here in fl, you need a filter/dryer, and it still gets moisture in it sometimes. They also have point of use moisture filters, for like spray guns. $5 at Lowes. I need to try them too.

curly

Sandblasting is a topic that I know a lot about as we have done cars for years this way. The little blasters that work on the siphon process work but they are really junk. The pressure blasters can be bought for a couplem hundred bucks for the smaller units and I still have my first one from 20 yrs ago it was made by "TIP" These folks advertise in Hemmings and come to most large car meets. Another maker is Lindsey. Most RENTAL places also have these blasters for about $30 a day. You need at least a 5 horse compressor, but some of my buddies, get around this by buying broken compressoprs and saving the air tanks then plumbing them all together. This way lots of storage is available and once the tanks are charged you can blast for quite a while. For sheet metal about 80lbs is good. Chassis about 90 to 110lbs. for degreasing and rust removal. We run "BLACK BEAUTY" blast media availablefrom large masonary and buiulding construction companies. Thjis is COAL SLAg and not asn lethal as SANd which will cause lung problems. Its $8 per hundred here. We use medium and collect it for reuse by spreading tarps around cars we blast. Run it through a screen and it is go for about 6 timesd thru the machine. I have a friend that has a 2 hp compressor that is hooked to a pair of old front end loader tires that are bald, but still on the rims. He uses them for air storage by simply running and air hose with a T fitting to the pair. They are ugly but hold a couple hundred gallons of air and he has done well with these for years! If siomeone only is doing one car and one time the best bet is to RENT a compressor (The tow behind you car type) and the blaster. Buy about 700lbs of sand and a couple plastic tarps. Anyone that needs more data emaill me..ed