Sand Blasters

Gatehouse

Gatehouse

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I have been looking at the Arma Coats and Gun Kotes etc..They all sweem to require sand blasting.

So I've checked out (online) some of the little "hobby" sand blasters available (for pretty cheap, too)

Are these things any good? Any oen used them?

I woudl use it only for small projects, I would never use one for trying to sandblast a whoel car or something:p
 
My buddy made one that he basically copied from a Princess Auto catalogue. I assume the factory ones would be every bit as good as his "knock off" which I've used quite a bit.

His is a cabinet made out of plate steel about 5 feet long 3 feet high and maybe 2 1/2 feet deep. He cut out the corner of the square shape and welded in a plate on a 45 degree angle (making it 5 sided if you look at the end) and mounted a window in this piece. There's a door on one end that seals tightly with a coupld of clamp hatches. This is how most of the factory cabinet blasters are done and is a good design.

His would be a lot bigger than what a guy would need. I've seen smaller ones that would be great for gun projects and bigger work for like 5 bills in catalogues. Then you need a compressor too of course. You can get the glass bead in the city and that's definitely the way to go over sand.

Sounds like fun Gate. :cool: I'd actually like one too..
 
Blasters

Purchase a cabinet model if you can! Even if you have to put a hole in one end to do barrells it is much cleaner and easier. We have a small cheap one in our shop and it works great. I would reccomend glass bead as opposed to sand as well.
 
I bought the floor model one from Princess Auto on sale for $188 and change. I couldn't build one for that. You can see the corner of it in this pic.

stove.jpg


As for what media to use..aluminum oxide in 80-120 grit. Silica sand and or glass beads won't rough the surface up enough.
 
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I picked a small bench top blasting cabinent from Harbor Freight not too long ago. It's great for working on receivers and other small parts for prepping for Dura Coat, Armacoat or Gun-Kote

It came with a gun, ceramic nozzles and suction hose. Can't do barrels in it unless they are shorties, $79.00 US.

I use a portable compressor from Kanuckian Tire rated to 100 PSI which is all you need for blasting parts. Cost about $100 CDN.

The media I use is Aluminum oxide 60 to 120 grit at 20 to 60 psi depending on the finish I want. Do Not use sand. Glass bead is OK for some projects but for a great finish aluminum oxide is best.

Remember, always wear a mask when blasting, even when using a cabinet.
 
What about one of these thingys?

61-5050_l.jpg



I don't intend to do this very often, one of these may not be ideal, but woudl it get the job done form time to time?
 
The only issue with small home use blasters is the ability to separate the water that comes from the compressor. if the sand is damp it won't spray well.
 
I use the Princess Auto bench top one. I think it cost me around $100. I use 80grt. aluminum oxide at around 100psi, works like a charm. While you're at it get one of their cheap airbrush kits (around $40) and a moisture filter and you're good to go. Gun Kote would be my pic for the paint, you have to bake it but it's not such a big deal and it's as tough as you can get.

IMG_0519.jpg
 
yep they need to be sand blasted AND to do a proper job they should be parkerized first then painted.

If you plan on doing more then a couple guns get a good cabinet with a GOOD light it in it and spend near an equal amount on respiratory protection. Cabinet or not there is a lot of silica/aluminum oxide available for your lungs.

It is satisfying to blast an ugly gun down and pretty it back up, but the novelty wears pretty thin quick!
 
Gatehouse

Are you doing metal or Stocks?

Aluminum oxide is pretty expensive and it lasts a long time if you capture it and reuse it. Thats why cabinet sandblasters are nice.

I have a free standing cabinet sandblaster , handheld gravity feed sandblaster and a 100lb floor model with a hopper and long hose(cant remember the brand)

For my last gunstock to remove the old armacoat finish I used fine glass grit in the hand held gravity feed unit. The glass grit is cheap so I didn't mind losing it. Then I sanded and smoothed that bare product before priming and finish sanding. Sandblasting in open air is really fun, you end up with sand everywhere, in your hair, eyes, underoos.

That being said If I was doing metal and wanted a even finish that I wasn't going to sand afterward i would have used the Sandblasting cabinet with Glass bead. Aluminum oxide is just as good but will last longer and cut harder material.
I hear Glass bead will make a satin finish and aluminum oxide will give a matte finish if you can tell the difference?????

Another idea is to find your local King Canada dealer, they usually have cheaper cabinet sandblasters, but Princess Auto can have real good prices as well when they are on sale Mine was regular $400 or $499 something like that and I got it for $200
 
Steeleco said:
The only issue with small home use blasters is the ability to separate the water that comes from the compressor. if the sand is damp it won't spray well.
Click to expand...


Don't you use water separators?

I have 2 of them inline for regular work plus a 3rd on my plasma cutter and if I paint then I put a Dessicant filter on the end before my gun.

Very rarely do I get water in the 2nd filter and never had any in the 3rd
 
I was looking into getting one of the princess auto bench top blasting cabinets, but I was concerned on how big of a compressor I would need to run it. How big a compressor do I need to get by, slow blasting, and not heavy use either? Any help would be great.

Thank you,

J
 
Sandblasters use lots of volume, that being said if your just doing a hobbie job and don't mind waiting for the air to build more often then I don't see why you can't use the smaller 20 gallon compressor. The bench top model that King Canada sells, which is probably the same on that princess auto sells uses 5 CFM @ 80 psi. Thats not too big. But you'll have a hard time putting a barreled action in it since its only 23 inches wide. Good for small parts and handgun stuff I supose
 
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j_sublime49 said:
I was looking into getting one of the princess auto bench top blasting cabinets, but I was concerned on how big of a compressor I would need to run it. How big a compressor do I need to get by, slow blasting, and not heavy use either? Any help would be great.

Thank you,

J
Click to expand...

I use the Princess auto cabinet blaster with great frequency. You need lots of air volume for this setup, mind you mine might be worse than others.
I modified the handle by removing a little rubber piece inside the air valve and enlarged the air tube inside the handle. Now it blasts like a $1000 cabinet, but it needs lots of air, I run two medium sized compressors to keep up....a 5 hp electric, and a 10 hp gas. I regulate the air to my cabinet at 90 psi. Once my new shop is complete, I will have a my much larger compressor hooked up, which will be more than enough to keep up.
Other things I had to do to make this model work:
-gloves: the ones that come with the machine won't last the first week. You might as well buy replacements when you buy the cabinet.
-water seperator: installed right at the cabinet.
-air supply: 1/2 inch air hose to the cabinet.
-dust control: duct tape all the seams of the cabinet.
-dust removal: one of the princess auto air fans connected by ductwork venting the dusts outside.
-static control: during the dry season, the shocks you will get while sandblasting can get very annoying. A small wire with one end attached to a good ground, and the other end attached to one of those sports type wristbands with a little patch of metal touching your skin will save you a lot of annoying pain.
-sand: I live in Shilo, where sand is as common as snow to an Eskimo. I use the sand that I dig out of the back 40, dry it in the sun, and sift it through some nylon window netting. I usually keep a couple of garbage cans full. I use this both for my outdoor sandblast outfit when I strip vehicles, and for my indoor cabinet. works great and saves me hundreds a year in sand costs.
-lighting: I am still trying to work on this aspect. The little light setup that you can buy for the cabinet didn't last too long. Stil working on something better.
-window: the cabinet comes with one plastic window, one glass window, and some (frost shield type) stick on window protectors for the inside. Once I wore out their protectors, I went to using the straight glass. Lasts way longer than the little plastic sheets, and my princess auto sells the glass for $8 for two sheets of glass.

When this cabinet fist came out, it ran over $500. I got mine on sale for $222, but they have since dropped their prices to a regular of around $240 and a sale price of under $200. Once the problems listed above are overcome, It is a great setup.
 
Thanks alot guys,

Going to the princess auto to price out some stuff. Not to worried about putting barreled actions in right now, this is mostly for knives. There is no better crowd to learn from!

Cheers,

J
 
Gatehouse said:
What about one of these thingys?

61-5050_l.jpg



I don't intend to do this very often, one of these may not be ideal, but woudl it get the job done form time to time?
Click to expand...


Not ideal, but it could possibly do the job. You would have to use it outside. You would also need coverall, face helmet, respirator, and gloves. The sand really stings. You will also need a decent reservoir of air to supply it.
If you are only going to blast 2 or 3 items a year, then something like that is most cost effective. But a long term solution really is a cabinet.
 
WOwza...

Lots of infor here..I shoudl print this out!:p

I was just looking at a reasonably low cost way to spruce up a bit of a beater rifle..Now that I think abiotu it, I'll probably just go down and buy some Birchwood Casey Perma Blue for $8:p
 
Brambles said:
Don't you use water separators?

I have 2 of them inline for regular work plus a 3rd on my plasma cutter and if I paint then I put a Dessicant filter on the end before my gun.

Very rarely do I get water in the 2nd filter and never had any in the 3rd
Click to expand...

Fortunaly the compressor I have use of is a Turbine, there is no water!!! Too hot. But I have used smaller compressors that you needed to keep the separators dripping because they filled up too fast.
 
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