media blasters

[sick69]

I'm looking into buying my own media blaster. Not a cabinet the stand up canister type for bigger projects like frames. I have found two different types and am wondering if anyone knows the pros and cons of either.

The first is a pressurized tank that feeds from the bottom.

The second is a gravity feed that also feeds from the bottom.

Harbor freight and Eastwoods both have these listed between $150 and $500 for various models of each type. Both have models ranging from 50 pound capacity to 90 pound capacity.

IF my thinking is correct the heavier capacity will require more airflow to work properly? The more airflow seams like it would work faster?

I'm not going to be doing alot of blasting but would like to be able to do my own frame and body panels as needed instead of paying someone else to do it and waiting for them to get it done.

Anyone know the differences?


Thanks,
Frank

[sick69]

I did some looking online and it seems the pressurized tanks push the media out pretty close to the same speed at the air coming out of the nozzle.

Anyone have any pros or cons to either of the two?

Frank

[cdowns]

i've had a pressurized tank blaster for over 20years and have found it very easy to work with and the pressurized units have a lot less tendency to clog and if they do clog are easy to clear and resume blasting//the more you spend the better is the quality of nozzles hoses valves and other stuff that wears and needs replacement// i also found a pressurised tank can be throttled down for less air pressure while still maintaining blasting efficency on delicate parts such as body panels and in all that time many borys door and fenders i've never warped a one

[sick69]

What are you using for an air compressor and how well does it work for you? How big of a media blaster do you have? 20#? 40#? 90#?

I'm thinking a blaster from the middle of the price range, just because of funds available at this point.


I know it will end up costing more to upgrade the accessories later but that's where i'm at right now. Besides I can pick up a couple bucks after I have it blasting other people stuff to pay for the upgrades.

Frank

[Luvlegs]

I have a little 30 pound one that feeds out of the bottom, it's pressurized (o-ring on the fill and a regulator) - it came with a cheapo handle/nozzle set up - just a clamp in the handle that squeezed the air line off - the "clamp" actually penetrates through the hose - it leaked badly - went back and looked at 3 more on the shelf - they were all the same - junk. I have not been able to find a decent one (and I don't know what to look for) soooooo, I made my own with a ball valve and a nipple sized to have the nozzle/holder screw on the end. It worked great EXCEPT, the media eats the edge off the ball valve and then IT leaks.... Maybe someone can tell you what type of nozzle end to get and then the rest of it (capacity) doesn't matter if you don't mind refilling more often...

[sick69]

Here is one style of valve for blasters

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=92189


That's what I figured for size. Kinda trying to get an idea how much media it will take to do a frames or body parts. Refilling isn't a big deal unless i'm refilling more than i'm blasting.


Frank

[chris71]

i have used one like this

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=34202

40 pound pressureized, have sandblasted 2 frames, works good if you know how to play with the different levers to control air and sand flow, when i first started i would open up all levers all the way and the entire tank would empty all the sand in a few minutes tops. the key is playing with the sand control lever to get a good amount of flow so you dont have to refill the tank every 5 minutes. IMHO stay away from siphon type blasters where you stick a tube in a bucket off sand unless you are pressed for cash. i think here is a good example of spending more isbetter to get a better unit to save you more frustration. i agree on the nozzle, mine crapped out quick, i ended up not even using a nozzle, just put some adaptors on the end of the hose to get the flow right without clogging and went from there, the only thing is that when you turn the blaster on, it starts spraying. if you get a cheaper unit, junk the nozzle and buy a quality one. i would get a bigger tank than i had, i spent alot of time refilling and sifting. the bigger the tank shouldnt effect pressure output, it just means more money and it will hold more. good luck.

[red69ss]

I use one like chris71 shows and it works real well I changed to the nozzle you had link too and its junk it broke 2nd time I used it and stays on all the time but I still use it, dead man nozzles are suppose to be best. on air compessors these blasters work a compressor very hard I have 80 gallon craftsman and it runs it continiously while blasting so I would think you need good size comp., I also recently bought an attachment from northern tool that hooks to pressure washer and does sandblasting that works well i'll try to post link to thread I posted on it.


http://www.67-72chevytrucks.com/vboa...d.php?t=259185

[meathead95]

i have a gravity one that is siphon fed and i think it sucks. it clogs constantly. i also have the one in post 7 the pressurized one and it works great, i did change the wand on it though.

[chris71]

opps, i forgot to mention.....2 stage 80 gallon campbell huasfeld, now thats a good question, can you blast with a smaller compressor, say a single stage 40 gallon? i am not sure. worst case, you could call eastwood or HB and ask them what compressor is reccommended for the blaster, if you have a small compressor i would definitely ask this before you buy, dont want to see you waste money on a blaster that you cant power up right.

[Luvlegs]

Yep, those are all the things I was talking about - what are you guys using to control the flow before the nozzle, that isn't/doesn't wear out or break immediately after opening the package? Any kind of valve I can think of, is going to be worn out by the media... gate, ball, etc....

[meathead95]

i use a single stage 7hp 60 gal compressor

[chris71]

Originally Posted by Luvlegs

Yep, those are all the things I was talking about - what are you guys using to control the flow before the nozzle, that isn't/doesn't wear out or break immediately after opening the package? Any kind of valve I can think of, is going to be worn out by the media... gate, ball, etc....

on mine, 2 of the 3 valave are before sand/air mixture, so they dont see any wear, the one to control the sand is one of the lever switch (i dont know the name) but you turn the handle 90 degrees to open and back to close, mine hasnt worn out, but i have wore out the hose, i think this is one of those things that you just have to keep replacing to stay in the game, maybe check out the more expensive blasters and see what they use, maybe pick up one of those and put it on yours.

[sick69]

I was leaning towards the pressurized tank just based on they push the media out at closer to the speed of the air coming out. Seems more efficent to me.

I have a single stage 22 gallon 5.5 hp compressor for the garage but do have access to a 60 gallon two stage at a friends shop. If need be I know a couple guys that work at a rental store so I can get a 100 cfm diesel powered towable pretty cheap if it costs at all.

Compressor isn't that big of a deal. I was just wondering if I could do this at home and it doesn't sound like it, atleast not with my home compressor.

Thanks for all the replies guys. I am going to get a pressurized blaster, the only thing to figure out is if i'm going to get the 40# or the 100# tank. At this point i'm leaning toward the 40# for a couple reasons,,,

1. I can deal with reloading a few times over the coarse of a frame because I won't be useing it all the time. It might see usage 2 or 3 times a year.

2. It's under a hundred bucks and small enough I can store it under my bench. I'm pretty strapped for space right now. The 100# isn't that big but would end up being stored outside, which that alone would cause moisture problems. Maybe i'll look around the garage and see what I can do for space and get the bigger one.

I hate to admit it but I actually own one of those stick a tube in a bucket and blast types. While I wouldn't attempt using it on anything remotely large like a door or fender it does work ok for small stuff like hinges, light buckets, glove box doors,ect. I picked it up about 10 years ago for under $10 (I know I didn't spend much on it) and have used it a couple dozen times. Your right it is a huge pita if you have chunks or moisture in your sand.

Frank

[sick69]

Something else came to mind,,,, Do you guys empty all the media out when your not using it? Is it a big deal to leave some in the tank with the pressureized tanks?

I know with the gravity feed tanks it will clog them up with a quickness if moisture gets in the tank.


Frank

[chris71]

i would empty them out, sand does hold moisture, can clog but also rust out the tank from the inside out, "I can deal with reloading a few times over the coarse of a frame because I won't be useing it all the time" just fyi, with mine i had to reload the tank like 15 times or so (its been a few years though) and this was for my 55 shortbed, but i blasted that thing perfect. this is why the sand flow valve is important to get right early on.

[sick69]

Sounds like material flow is going to be extremely important! Even at 15 times I think it's is a better option to paying someone else to do it. Emptying them out does make sense with moisture building up in the media.

I've priced haveing some parts done at several places locally. $400 and a week for the frame, $100 for each door, $150 for the hood and I didn't even ask about the cab and bed. These were low end of the prices I got and they wouldn't guarantee against warpage.I can understand their view on the warpage though.
For those prices I'll do it myself! It won't take me a week to do my frame. I can have it all (frame and body) blasted for alot less time and money. I'm not real interested in making money with the blaster, just getting my own stuff done but maybe do a frame here or there for a couple bucks

Frank

[Mordachai]

Originally Posted by red69ss

I use one like chris71 shows and it works real well I changed to the nozzle you had link too and its junk it broke 2nd time I used it and stays on all the time but I still use it, dead man nozzles are suppose to be best. on air compessors these blasters work a compressor very hard I have 80 gallon craftsman and it runs it continiously while blasting so I would think you need good size comp., I also recently bought an attachment from northern tool that hooks to pressure washer and does sandblasting that works well i'll try to post link to thread I posted on it.


http://www.67-72chevytrucks.com/vboa...d.php?t=259185

I would also have to agree that this is a great tool.

I've used one to strip Stainless steel sculptures with over 30 years of paint on them, and it did such a good job. Cleaned up all kinds of assorted metals at my neighbors shop with it too. Hook it up to a 3000psi simpson and a bunch of sand, and it'll do wonders.
It's great at trapping all the dust, paint and rust that you are blasting.

Presuming that I can pull my cab off by friday, I will rent it this weekend and strip my truck down. If all goes as planned I'll post a pic or two.

Oh, and for the freshly blasted panels quickly rusting due to the wet blasting, yeah in about an hour or so you can see some orange setting in, but I've always just wiped the panels dry and hit them with some ospho...

|M|

[cdowns]

if you're going to trust somebody to do body panels make darn sure that they have experience with body panels because blasting farm equipment and bridges aint the same as body panels // body panel blasting needs to be done with very great care and much lower pressure than a frame or those panels could end up useless in less than 5minutes

[sick69]

I'm not going to trust someone else to warp my body panels. I can do that myself! LOL Seriously though thats why I am going to do this myself, I don't trust someone else to do it. I do have a pair of junk doors and half a hood to practice on before I attempt my truck. I have used an industrial blaster in the past but it's been 15 years or so since I've done any large blasting projects. Doing the body will be nice but the frame is my big concern right now.

Put my cnotches in, change my rear arms out for the 2x3 arms, and get any bracketry for the gas tank in and it will be ready for blast and paint. The body just needs to be stripped for epoxy primer and body work. Pretty confident I have all the rust removed already but we'll see when it gets blasted.

Frank

[chris71]

yeah cdowns has a good point panals like hoods and doors can warp easily with heavy sandblasting, you may even want to look into another media type, other than sand, i know the professionals use baking soda for panals, i havent had any experience with soda blasting or blasting panals, but, it may be worth looking into getting some industrial grade baking soda for peace of mind, it may be cheaper in the long run to fork over some extra dough for baking soda than to buy new hood, or door, or whatever. whatever you do good luck, lets us know how it came out. pics too?

[Mordachai]

Interesting point^. I wonder if you need a different feed system to blast soda or plastic media. I would think that as long as the soda is dry it would work fine, but maybe not. Anyone have any insight ?

I have seen 3 grades of plastic media at my local auto body supply shop, and they all have quite large particles( I think the difference is the hardness of the plastic) I think the plastic bead/particles are about 1/16" to 1/8". They also sell the soda, but I've never looked at it.

[cdowns]

DO NOT USE SODA FOR BLASTING!!!//its been found to have very bad effects on the long term life of your paint and body panels// all major paint manufactures wont warrentey thier paint over a soda blasted finish// many of the guys who jumped on the soda wagon around here have gone belly up and they sit with useless equipment and tons of stock that is now useless

[chris71]

i am pretty sure you dont need any special equipment to blast with plastic or soda, what you may have to do is fine tune you nozzle tips to match the media.

cdowns - wow i never heard that! i guess all of the paint jobs on all of the Overhaulin cars will bubble up and crack in 2 years then

[Richard H.]

Of the ones I have I do not have one with a pressure tank ,but the one in the link below is a must if you have the place to use it. It does help to use good media that has been washed or sifted , like from a concrete co. I only use the pressure washer one on frame stuff. There is not much if any difference between the air siphon or gravity.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=243369