sand/media blasters

[4Cruizn]

As some of you know, I'm knee deep in another cuda project.  I've decided that while the drive train is removed from my 1973 340 4 speed cuda, I will be making an attemp to clean up the underside of the car.  33 years of road grime and rust need to be dealt with so . .  I turn my interest to blasting the bottom of the car and then prep for a coat of paint!  I have seen alot of different sand blaster setups but was looking for     Plan to try to accomplish this in my 2 car garage . . .   


Here is one I am eyeing . . . anyone using something like this??   

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=34202

[Mopar73340]

4C, I used something similar last year to blast my rear housing. I borrowed it from a guy at work, it was a Sears unit. It worked pretty good. The worst problem was trying to control all the sand from going everywhere.

[torredcuda]

Pressure blasters work great but will make a huge mess out of your garage as sand will get everywhere!That Harbor Freight unit looks decent enough as long as the valves and hoses are good quality and make sure you have plenty of air and a good water trap.

[ROMI]

Torred is right, I have one, use it outdoors, sand get's everywhere, in your clothes, hair (that's pretty hard when you hardly have any) plus you need to have a lot of sand on hand.  I got mine at a local place similar to Harbor Freight and it works well, should do the job for you.

[Fred]

I have the model that you are considering.  Blasted some wheels with it and works great.  Used the playground sand in bags from Home Depot but needed to sift sand through a screen so that the tip wouldn't clog.

I considered using some sheets of plywood to make a fence around my work, to keep the sand somewhat contained.  Haven't tried it yet.

[Bullitt-]

get a full face shield. I picked one up at HOME Depot about 12 bucks

[TKat13]

I have the same one, the only problem I have had is with the gun. The gun is a cheap 10 dollar piece, you my want to at least up grade that as the rest of the unit is good. The other problem was as stated before, make sure you trap that moisture.

btw, the problem with the gun is that the valve is actually a rubber hose that is pinched by a steel pin, guess what happens, the steel pin cuts the hose, valve is now an open hose but what is worse is that it is stuck open but not fully opened so it made it useless.

As a side note, that same gun is used in every sandblaster in that price range, a good gun should cost 50-80 dollars. Or, it could be I just have bad luck.

Just to repeat as stated earlier... oh my, what a mess it makes of a two car garage... I will never get that sand out, every box I move has sand on it, in it, behind it... And that was just one fender... sending my car off to the pros for the rest of the work as time is money and more time is spent cleaning up than doing the car.

[Rev-It-Up]

Yep...sand goes everywhere!  That's why we've invented "the bubble"!  And the bubble can be yours for $19.95...but wait there's more!  We'll throw in not 1, but 2 bottles of shampoo and a box of Q-tips!    ~~  Not sold in any store!

[rtgambit]

I've dealt with this myself a few times and finally came up with the following plan. At some point I'll be sandblasting the shell of the Challenger (plus other bits), but because it's not mobile I'll need to do it in my garage. After seeing Rev and Redline's homemade paint booth it gave me an idea of creating a sandblasting booth around the car to stop the sand from going everywhere. Just screw together a wooden frame and then staple some plastic to it. You can see the starting of this in this pic:


Now that the baby nursery is done I can finally get back out to the garage!  

[4Cruizn]

Has anyone used media in one of these instead of sand??  Less dust maybe??  Easier cleanup??   


I'm thinking of containing the stuff as much as I can as all I want to do is the bottom of the car.  Sounds positive so far . . . but outside is not a possibility as I live in a sub with rules about things like that.   

[Alaskan_TA]

Whatever you do, avoid sand containing silica;

Intense temperatures convert normal quartz sand to highly haz. silica; sandblasting can cause silicosis in a few years exposure
 Abrasive blasting creates loud amounts of noise, which can cause hearing loss Wear NIOSH-approved toxic dust respirator;vacuum/met mop;don't use sand for abrasive blasting;use alumina/silicon carbide/walnut shells;avoid foundry slags w/arsenic;inspect blasting machine often;wear hearing protection, protective clothing,blasting hood

Quote from http://www.ci.tucson.az.us/arthazards/metal1.html

[dougs bs23]

Looks like a good little unit,, I myself have been using one similar from "rand" that i picked up on  for aabout $50
Like everyone else says,,, sand or whatever you will use gets everywhere.  The other thing is the control valve is a simple ball vavle  that wears out as the media cuts thru the side,, which is replaceable with any 1/4" ball valve from the plumbing section of your local big box home center.  Similar to the "bubble " i made a tent from tarps and drop cloths to limit the amout of mess that will get everywhere.  Lots of air, a damn good respirator, hood and a full body tyvek suit and youll be on your way

[tactransman]

I have the same unit . The first time I hooked the air to it the bottom of the regulator blew off!  I don't know if it got cracked in shipping or what. Other than that I am satisfied with it. You will need a good sized compressor to keep up with it , a 110 volt unit won't do the job.You will waste to much time waiting for the air to build back up.

[Rev-It-Up]

You will need a good sized compressor to keep up with it , a 110 volt unit won't do the job.You will waste to much time waiting for the air to build back up.

That's been my problem....blast for a minute...wait for a minute....repeat.

[Bullitt-]

That's been my problem....blast for a minute...wait for a minute....repeat.

I have a small 5hp 30gal 220v single stage that keeps up ok but if you have a Tractor Supply in your area the have good deals on 7hp 60gal 220v units about $400.00