Sandblasting and sealing (another small question)

[rdsar2k]

I read a post on here about how the mind wanders while standing there sandblasting and had to laugh. I had just spent 8 hrs on my blast cabinet while my mind wandered and I was wondering if anyone else bothered to clean every part like I was and if I was being abit obsessive wasting my time.

Any way, the trivial thought/ question that came to my mind is that there is permagum stuck to various corners on my M170 body that seal water leaks between seams or corner areas and I was wondering whether the gum went on before or after paint. Should the gum be gray (natural color) or should it be painted over when body is finished?

[53a1]

Your not alone. I spent about half hour doing my valve covers, gen bracket and throttle parts. There just is no alternative to cleaning all nuts bots & parts so you need to get a production line going. The plus side is that doing it right the first time will result in a part that will stay nice for your great grand kids.

One huge time saver is to get heavy paint & tar off with paint stripper or wire wheel before sand blasting. If your parts don't clean up real quick in the blaster you probably need to get the heavy stuff off before hand. Also you will kill your sand quicker if you don't.

I also dunk all the nuts & bolts after the wire wheel in kerosene then thinner before installing. This cleans the oil off so paint & sealant work better.

I think the seam stuff depends on the application and I would go by what the directions say.

[oilleaker1]

That stuff in new terms is called seam sealer and is applied on top of the primer before painting. It is compatable with enamel OD paint. The way to do blasting as I'm told, is to put your brain up on a shelf. When done with the crap work--------all kinds-------put your brain back in, all is well. John

[oilleaker1]

A tip for nuts and bolts: get a piece of old innertube. Poke holes in it. Insert your bolts with nuts on the other side. You now have a nice holder for your sandblasting cabinet!!!!!! Do it! John

[mtdave]

Another bolt tip is to use a piece of heavy cardboard to hold bolts, works to paint them also. While we are sort of talking about excessive time at the blast cabinet, does anybody know how to hook a shop-vac to the cabinet to draw out the dust? I tried hooking to the air vent and all I did was suck the gloves off. I figured the experts here would have sound advice before I start hacking holes in my cabinet.

[acengraver]

The best thing I've found for blasting/painting bolts is a piece of hardware cloth over a wooden frame. If you get fine enough mesh (1/4") you can thread the screws/bolts into the wire square and it will stay until you're done. The blast jet will go right through the wire mesh and you get better cleaning, particularly when you're cleaning the bottom of the bolt head. For larger thread sizes, clip one piece of wire to form a rectanglular opening into which you can thread the larger bolts.

[rdsar2k]

My cabinet has an inlet air covered by a baffle (metal channel over it) in the back and a 2" connection for a shop vac on the side. Works well.

Another bolt tip is to use a piece of heavy cardboard to hold bolts, works to paint them also. While we are sort of talking about excessive time at the blast cabinet, does anybody know how to hook a shop-vac to the cabinet to draw out the dust? I tried hooking to the air vent and all I did was suck the gloves off. I figured the experts here would have sound advice before I start hacking holes in my cabinet.

[mtdave]

rdsar2k I have that rear baffle too, just didn't know if that was where to put my vacuum hookup. Do I need to reduce or restrict the vac hose to lower suction so I don't suck my gloves off again?

[rdsar2k]

I have a 6 hp huge shop vac and I hook up my hose to the 2" side opening wihout the baffle. There is only a slight vaccume in the cabinet. My gloves barely move in. Is your inlet blocked beind the baffle?

[mtdave]

I have a 6 hp huge shop vac and I hook up my hose to the 2" side opening wihout the baffle. There is only a slight vaccume in the cabinet. My gloves barely move in. Is your inlet blocked beind the baffle?

It worked! I used my little shop vac with an 1-1/2" hose. After I took the plate off the back I had a 1-1/8" hole which a 1-1/4" pvc street elbow screwed into with a little die grinder action. Then my vac hose slid into the female end with a touch of grinding. Do I still need to wear a respirator if all the dust is being sucked up? Now my next problem is my pickup tube end keeps getting uncovered. I've got more sand in there then it calls for and I still have to keep tipping it over to pickup the sand. Should I drill more holes along the tube?

[53a1]

What kind of blaster do you have and what kind of air supply?

I have the red Harbor Freight stand up model with a 5HP compressor and I have to use just the right nozzle or it won't pick up any sand. Also if you don't put a dryer on the air supply your sand will get wet and it will not pick up. You made a huge improvement by adding a shop vac to your cabinet and that will help keep the sand clean and move through the system better.

I don't think you need a respirator but it never hurts if you are going to be on for extended periods of time. Just make sure you use a bag in your vacuum.

[mtdave]

What kind of blaster do you have and what kind of air supply?

I have the red Harbor Freight stand up model with a 5HP compressor and I have to use just the right nozzle or it won't pick up any sand. Also if you don't put a dryer on the air supply your sand will get wet and it will not pick up. You made a huge improvement by adding a shop vac to your cabinet and that will help keep the sand clean and move through the system better.

I've got a tits setup on my air system. Last fall I bought an IR 5hp/18.5cfm upright compressor. I did the industry recommended plumbing, ran 1/2" line up through the ceiling over and down for a total of 50 feet. I added a new Devilbiss air dryer/regulator with a drop tube next to it. And just to make it extra sweet I ran spur lines over the work bench where my blaster sits and out both the front and back walls of my attached garage so you plug your air lines in outside without running 50ft of hose before you even get to your vehicle. My blaster is a Tractor Supply bench top model but for $100.00 I know it's not top of the line. The problem is the sand gets sucked away from the pickup tube end. It seems like it just won't funnel back like it should.

[53a1]

Nice setup.

I don't know what else to suggest. More sand? If the sand stays on the sides and doesn't fall back down to the bottom then it's a design flaw. The sump angle on mine is pretty steep probably better then 45 degrees.

Worst case you could fabricate an insert that increases the sump angle?

[mtdave]

I think I'll try changing the slope and more sand, might fill it to just below the grate. Probably going to add a heater too, froze my feet twice out there already.