Sand/soda blast

4x4M38 · Post by **4x4M38** » Wed Feb 03, 2016 8:58 am

My son in law loaned me a Horror Freight bought sand blast
setup. Finally dialed up the courage to try it out on my tailgate.
I put a used tarp under the jeep bed to lay the gate on and
sprayed outdoors. I used a face shield and particle mask.

I can tell you I was worried about ingesting that stuff, as well
as it going everywhere in spite of the tarp, wheelhouses and
only 50 psi. I was very disappointed in the tiny area actually
cleaned, thinking a horizontal fan pattern would have been
more effective.

I vacuumed everything up with the shop vac but a week later
that stuff is still showing up.

In the interest of safety and preserving the paint on the wife's
truck what are the pros and cons of soda instead of sand and
where do you get it?

Thanks.

southpw · Post by **southpw** » Wed Feb 03, 2016 11:14 am

Is the sandblaster you borrowed a gravity fed style? I bought one at a local store because it was cheap cheap cheap and it sucks sucks sucks. I have tried multiple different products through it and it won't touch the original paint or primer. And barely touches the bare rust. I tried sand, glass beads, and walnuts. None worked. I can'thelp with your soda question bbut I plan on taking my body to a professional to assess the job and let them decide the best course of action. Not planning on doing that until next fall though.

4x4M38 · Post by **4x4M38** » Wed Feb 03, 2016 11:35 am

Central Machinery but it's basically a plastic can open
at the top with a hose fitting at the bottom side.

The hose is maybe ten feet with a gun at the other end with a
separate connection for an air line. It has a ceramic nozzle.

It picks up just fine and sprays ok, just in a small circle.
I was using only 50 psi as a test to see if I could use it on thin
sheet and it stripped off several layers of paint and rust
depending on how long I held the nozzle over a spot.
I suspect 90 psi would really wipe it off.

Other than the safety issue I was disappointed in the
small area it cleans at one time.

I guess one plus is being air siphon the gun is relatively
small and could get into some pretty small places like under
the cowl.

southpw · Post by **southpw** » Wed Feb 03, 2016 3:54 pm

Yes, same kind I have. I had mine running up to 100 psi and still wasn't happy. I would call a sandblasting shop and see what they say. I believe soda blasting is less abrasive so you may want to go that route as the sand blast may slightly pit the surface.

Post by **wesk** » Wed Feb 03, 2016 7:31 pm

Sand blasting equipment is one of those "You get what you pay for" arenas. Cheap will only cost you more in time and labor.

ruger45 · Post by **ruger45** » Wed Feb 03, 2016 8:32 pm

I have a snap on one that works pretty good. Has to be run at 100 + psi and you have to have big air to keep up with it. (I have an 80 gallon compressor that delivers 27 cfm) It will do a say dime size spot at a time but it does that instantly so a smooth sweeping motion cleans off a line and move down repeat.
That being said it is messy and black beauty will linger for a very long time after the project is done.(we are talking years here) So I send my blasting jobs out.

4x4M38 · Post by **4x4M38** » Wed Feb 03, 2016 9:12 pm

Black beauty?

Bobber · Post by **Bobber** » Thu Feb 04, 2016 1:41 am

I have a sand pot that holds one bag of sand, I used the white sand, I forgot the size. I also used a compressor trailer, it was almost like hosing off my tub, maybe a little exaggeration, but it went smooth. I was able to sweep it up and sift it a few times then reuse it. It's all about the volume of air, I could only blast for about an hour till sand and moisture plugged it up. The air water separator I would have to use would pretty large from what I was told. So I would only do it for short periods of time. It worked out well for me, I spent less than 50 bucks to sand blast my whole jeep and parts.

4x4M38 · Post by **4x4M38** » Thu Feb 04, 2016 8:11 am

Maybe I should try more air pressure.

I was blowing that stuff all over Texas as it was at 50 psi....

acengraver · Post by **acengraver** » Thu Feb 04, 2016 8:28 am

I have a Harbor Freight pressure pot 40Lb. capacity. If I run it at max pressure for my compressor (about 110 psi) it does a fair job but it is very messy. I use a tarp and a shop vac with a screen over the pickup so I can reuse the media a few times. I use DuPont Starblast rather than sand because of the silicosis issue. I have a soda conversion kit for this machine and soda is much more pleasant to work with but not as aggressive and does not remove rust like a sandblaster. I send most everything except the parts that will fit in a cabinet to a professional shop and only use my home equipment for touch-up.

4x4M38 · Post by **4x4M38** » Thu Feb 04, 2016 8:38 am

Thanks for that info.

I was using a shop vac for cleanup. It makes sense to use it while blasting.

brimac · Post by **brimac** » Thu Feb 04, 2016 8:59 am

https://m.youtube.com/channel/UC7RXnMlq4dP-fyNlLj3eFJA
Waiting for the spring to have my tub done. Its nice that you can prime as soon as its dry. Being a moblie setup it works for me with where I live. It is about the same cost as me hauling it to the local bast company.

http://www.plymouthrockdustlessblasting.com/

4x4M38 · Post by **4x4M38** » Thu Feb 04, 2016 9:59 am

That was Tuesday!

Today its 51 for the high, painting is done until the next warm spell.

Stay toasty My Friend!

skyjeep50 · Post by **skyjeep50** » Thu Feb 04, 2016 11:47 am

I bought a el-cheapo blast cabinet through Ebay and de-rusted and cleaned every part I took off my M38 as I rebuilt it. The cabinet leaked media, the gun was prone to plugging, the window was opaque most of the time even though I had a shop vac hooked up for dust control but because I had a high capacity air compressor - you have to have air volume - it worked pretty well. The compressor was dual cylinder, two stage, 230 volt, 5 hp, 18 CFM at 90 psi, 80 gal tank. I ran 90-100 psi and used garnet sand for the heaviest removal chores, glass beads for lighter chores. DO NOT use silica sand. It takes time and a lot of media and you have to work close. You also have to change the media as it gets worn down (especially glass beads) and filled with paint and rust. I spent many, many hours blasting away at anything I could get in the cabinet. BTW, I also bought one of those bench-top vibratory parts cleaners - it proved to be worthless.

ruger45 · Post by **ruger45** » Thu Feb 04, 2016 6:14 pm

4x4M38 wrote:Black beauty?

http://www.blackbeautyabrasives.com/pro ... asives.php