Harbor Freight 110lb. sand blaster

[tinman_local2]

Anyone have one of the Harbor Freight sand blasters? Are they any good? What media is best to sandblast a frame and axles? What media is best for body panels? Thanks.

[Jrainman]

they have a lot of issues with clogging up , but there are many youtube vids about what parts to change on them to get them to work properly , A friend of mine was gifted one because they were issues with it he made a series of changes and it seems to work ok .

I was faced with this same issue , I decided for the money it would cost and to upgrade a harbor frieght sand blaster, and the wear and tear it would put on my comprsseor , I opted to go to my local rental place rent a big tag along compressor and a comercial sandblaster that also cam with proper clothing and hood for $160.00 for the day , 15 bags of meduim black beaty from tractor suppty at $7.50 a bag . So for $265 I was sand blasted and Primed in a day with frame 2 rears , front end parts plus a few other things I sandblasted and primed.

[Grumpy old man]

Yes they work use 90 - 100 psi with a 60-80 gal air compressor , A smaller compressor will take forever , DO NOT USE SAND , causes silicosis in your lungs and thats BAD ! use Black diamond blasting media , A blasting hood safety glasses and respirator . set up a tarp to collect and reuse your media, On body panels it's easier to use a 3M paint and rust stripper shop around they usually run about $6.00 and last pretty long A big mistake is using more than 110 PSi on sheet metal you'll waste media and it will tear into sheet metal , Commercial blasters run at 175 psi and up and will work on frames .

https://www.pack-n-tape.com/cart/3M-...SABEgIvdvD_BwE

https://www.ruralking.com/fine-blast...SABEgLnB_D_BwE

[truckster]

I use aluminum oxide in mine. It works fairly well, but you're going to have a mess to clean up, so as Grumpier said, tarps under everything and draped around your work area. And if you don't already have a good respirator and face shield you're going to need to buy those. Don't try to get away with using a dust mask!

[leddzepp]

Better off taking your stuff somewhere and have it done. The setup costs, time and the mess aren’t worth it unless you are going to do a LOT of blasting and restore things on a regular basis. Been there, done that, lesson learned

[mongocanfly]

funny you ask..just 2 posts below yours I posted about the same blaster...it'll work great on smaller items...its to slow for large stuff...but for the smaller stuff it is sufficient. ..most clogging issues are caused by moisture...keep the media dry and youll have fewer problems...i always blast outside...it is messy...make sure you have a good compressor..mines 8hp 60gal and it just keeps up...right now I'm using the black oxide that hf sells...I carried my big stuff to a commercial blaster fri and they use a coal byproduct. ..can't remember the name...but he does high end blasting for a local car restorer...as stated ,wear the proper ppe...
a friend of mine has one of the commercial blasters and it will cut right thru sheetmetal if you don't know what your doing...he learned the hard way...there is a technique...I would be using his but he has injector problems and no interest in fixing it....but cost wise if your just going to do one job and no more you'd be better off finding a good blast man and let him have at it

[tinman_local2]

Jrainman- Thanks for mentioning renting one. That may be what I do. I want to blast the cab. Will the black beauty media work on the cab as well as the frame?

[Indian113]

tinman, Be real careful blasting the Cab! I have seen a few that got Blasted and there wasn't enough left to scrap out. If you can afford it find somebody that Media Strips.

[midniteblues]

It's always a good idea too screen your media, chunks, small tears of bag will clog too.

Some advice for the inexperienced
Don't blast the cab roof, backwall, door skins, any large flatter panels.
The chance of warped is not worth the ability to do it.
Those panels are better left for stripper or sanding.
Focus on those areas that are tough too sand or risk getting stripper in the seams.
Blast all the corners, edges,Door jams, drip rails,glass channels. Go ahead and do the floors and dash but be vertical careful of the inner roof and back wall.

Soda blasting works great for paint removal but not to we'll on rust.

I run crushed glass through my hf pot. Glass works OK but you can only reclaim it twice before it's dust but it's cheap so no worries.

He pots are OK once they get sealed up GOOD. The water separator is crappy you NEED dry air and the valves and hoses wear out quick.
The pots come with ceramic replaceable tips with no venturi so they only cut a narrow swath. This requires lots of patience it's that narrow swath that can damage panels.

If you have the time, patients and place set up the frame degrease it well.
An use a hf pot it's a good learning experience. It will take a good while.

But afterwards when your wife wants you too clean up and paint that park bench you'll be ready.

[dennislbrooks]

I have one and it works fine with the fine blasting media from TSC -red bag. I use 90 lbs of pressure from my 80 gallon 2 stage 140lb pressure air compressor with water seperator. You need to cover up, the TSC media has no silica but I still wear a non hardner respirrator , goggles, cap, shirt and end up with sand in my ears and clothing. I use it outside. Pressurize pot tank, turn on media valve on bottom to half - blast away. When done, leave blast on, turn off bottom media valve ----- turn off pot air fill valve ---let pot tank pressure blead off --then close blast valve on the end of hose. All valves on tank are closed at end.

Keep media dry in pot tank. My HF blaster has all ball valves -- no deadman valve. Saves time and money on many items to blast. I live out in the coutryside and the blasting media ends up in my gravel drive.