Media Blasting Equipment: Suggestions Please!

[GMC Guy]

i recently got a quote on how much it would cost to have some small parts media blasted at a shop, so i went hunting around thinking i may be able to do it myself. i found this blaster from harbor freight, so i'm curious as to what you guys think, or if you have any other suggestions. thanks

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=30979

i mean it's only 30 bucks plus the media, so i was thinking it was worth a shot...

[Moostifer]

I bought that... bought more hose at Lowes and put a piece of alum. tubing on the end and just jammed it in a sugar sand sack (also at lowes)... I got tired of filling that tote pack... worked good

[87Bob]

Wear a good respirator (not a little paper filter mask) or you can cause sever lung damage!

[menace121978]

i dont see why that would'nt work for small parts. but a warning... sandblasting gets crazy. it cleans things up so well that you will want to sandblast everything.

if you get into bigger stuff you will need a big compressor.

[GMC Guy]

Originally Posted by menace121978

but a warning... sandblasting gets crazy. it cleans things up so well that you will want to sandblast everything.

haha i can imagine, i've seen how well the parts you blasted and painted turned out. that's sorta where i got my inspiration

[menace121978]

glad i could inspire!

[1984 swb chevy]

There ius a company that I buy my media and misc. parts from called Tip. I'm sure they have a web site you could check out. They have everything you could need to blast small and large parts.

[Wild83C10]

I wouldn't use it to do body parts though.
See if there is a soda blaster in your area. Some even have them setup in vans and they will come to your house. Plus baking soda cleans up easyier then sand or other abrasive media.

[ShowSS12]

Why don't you get a small blast cabinet?

[GMC Guy]

thought about it, but this blaster would give me the option of doing slightly larger parts too, but i don't plan on using it on body panels.

[nlped]

I have a blasting cabinet from Harbor Freight that does a really good job. And if I have something to big to put in it, I just take the sprayer doo hickey out and put some sand in a bucket and use it outside. That way I have the ability to do either. And, it does take a big compressor

[ShowSS12]

Originally Posted by nlped

I have a blasting cabinet from Harbor Freight that does a really good job. And if I have something to big to put in it, I just take the sprayer doo hickey out and put some sand in a bucket and use it outside. That way I have the ability to do either. And, it does take a big compressor

Wow thats good to know as I have been think about buy it. Also how big of a compressor do you have on it?

[menace121978]

i have a blast cabinet that i wish i had never bought. its hard to see the parts in there and the plexi glass gets real pitted makes it worse.

i used a small cambell-hausfeld 6cfm@90psi and about burnt it up. i bought a mac tools 2 stage 80 gallon that is unstopable 18cfm@100psi. just remember bigger is better w/ compressors. it was a big investment for me and i researched for months before i bought mine. i love mine and i know i'll never run out of air! running a sandblast gun out of a 5 gallon bucket taxed the heck out of it nonstop for hours on end and it would just catch up and shut off within minutes while never having to stop blasting.

[nlped]

Yeah, my compressor is a 60 gallon, 6.5 hp & 17.25 cfm @ 90 psi and I have had it since '96 without issue. I had a small Craftsman compressor before it, and it wouldn't even keep up with a die grinder for very long.

As far as the cabinet, I did add a light inside mine (LED light w/ a sealed plexi cover) so I can see and the plexi seems to be holding up really well. I have had it for about 10 years and have only replaced the gloves once.