I have my frame ready to sandblast and I have a quote of $250 to blast and prime. I was thinking of sandblasting it myself . anyone have their own sandblaster and what is a good one to buy ? I have a decent air compressor.

 

Well, if you're going to blast it yourself, you'll need a good blasting face shield, because that sand will bounce back on you and it's painful to get in your eyes. Also, a good respirator or mask is needed, because the dust can really screw up your lungs and you'll end up coughing up brown stuff for a week or more if you don't.

Then there's the blasting abrasive that you'll need to purchase, and the rig itself; honestly, if you've got someone who'll blast & prime for $250, it'll end up being cheaper than doing it yourself.

I mean, you can get away with CHEAP rigs, but they'll be meant for small amounts of sand. If you're going to do the entire frame, you'll probably need at least a 20-25lb bag of abrasive materials as well.

And for the amount of air, you'll need a compressor that moves at least 10 cfm of air at 80-90 PSI, or else you're going to be forever at stripping the frame. You're also going to need to attach a moisture filter to that tank, because you're going to get a ton of moisture through the line that can stop up the gun's siphoning capabilities.

To be honest, if you've got a place that will do the blasting AND prime for $250, you're getting a deal, because it's going to end up costing you that much for the equipment to get started.

I actually have my own sandblaster, an old Craftsman rig from about 20 years ago that was my dad's; I've also got a small benchtop blasting cabinet and a larger 40 gallon barrel sized blasting cabinet. I was extremely lucky in that every one of the blasters I've gotten was to be had for a deal, since I found them at yard sales (with the exception of the inherited one from my father).

One thing I have learned in the quality of the equipment: you don't need the most expensive stuff, but don't buy the cheapest blaster you can find, either, because you'll end up regretting the money you spent on it.

 

I'm worried the frame won't be done exactly how I want it. and also I will need to blast the rest of the chassis parts later. maybe I should put the $250 towards a good blaster.

 

At 250 for blast and prime let someone else have the headaches. Get a good small cabinet blaster for the small parts and I think you will be much better off. It take alot of media to do a frame. I know personaly. Let the other guys do the big job. There is a lot of clean up afterwards.
Good luck DB

 

$250 that is a steal, let them do it. I have blasted two frames and will not do another. That sand is very very very bad for your lungs. You need a special mask, and a lot of air. With the toll it will take on your health and equipment, let it go to the shop that is set up to do this kind of work, you will be glad you did. Good luck

 

do you really have a compressor up to the challenge? it will suck every bit of air you can throw at it

 

I blasted mine myself but would never, ever do it again . Glad it's over and I learned my lesson. Have someone else do it

Craig

 

I bought one of those cheap ones from harbor freight tools and ended up hauling it to the dump. Agree - the cheap ones will only frustrate you. $250 sounds like a deal to me. Just my 2 cents

 

I have one of Craftsmans bigger portable compressors and it only sorta keeps up with my small blasting cabinet. I have almost $100 in air line driers that don't work real well either. Everytime I use my little cabinet I get fine sand dust on everything that isn't covered. If he really does the whole frame for $250 then by all means let him.

Bill

 

and don't get it on your hands,.. been there not pretty and took a trip to the emergency room....the pain!!!!!!!!

 

I would pay for the frame to be blasted then prime it on your own. I paid 150 for a local place to sandblast my frame. It took them maybe 2 hours max. Turned out great. I brought it home, spend an hour or so with the air compressor getting all the sand out of the frame, then sprayed 2 coats of por15. Turned out great. The spray gun was 17 dollars at harbor freight, the por 15 was around 30-40. I couldnt be any happier.

 

for $250 blast and prime seems like a fair price, the only thing I would add is you being there when the work is being done. That way you can inspect and verify that the job was done to your satifaction.

 

That sounds like the best scenario if blasting it.
I used a wire brush and grinder to do mine ... fine for POR15.
Beware... it still makes a giant dusty rusty mess of your space and your lungs (if not careful).
Good Luck ... you will like the finished product.

Oh - and bare steel is best if doing any welding first - like gussets or seam welding.

 

Ditto on the compressor. I'm using a 20 gal, 2hp compressor that was my dad's; the thing is about 30 years old now and still manages to keep up with the sandblasting I'm doing now.

However, it's right at its limits for being able to push the volume of air needed for blasting. Maybe after tax time, if I can afford it, I'll go buy one of the 50 gal. upright compressors and replace it.

Air pressure and moisture filters are the two biggest things you'll combat in doing the media blasting, because you're going to fight the water getting into the line and causing a clog, or you're going to fight the slow work of the sand/soda/walnut shells/whatever you're using to strip the paint.

And as mentioned previously, the media's not cheap. You're probably going to need a good sized bag of media for a frame, maybe even two. And depending what media you're looking to use, that's $50-$200 (I'm pricing from 1 50 lb bag up to 2 50 lb bags, depending on media). It adds up really quickly...

 

I bought the harbor freight blaster. Actually got the same one but on Ebay for cheaper yet. No problems. It works fine. Makes old parts look brand new. Just used play sand at $2.00 per bag and a good shield and respirator. Could never have done the whole car if i paid someone for every part. A lot of parts are tough to fit into a parts blaster.

 

Well, I've now been blasting for the better part of three weekends. It's a looooong and tedious process. I bought a cheapo sandblaster off e-bay and it works pretty good. My compressor pushes 6.4 cfm at 90 psi and was not even close to big enough. After the first weekend I went and borrowed another one so I could run them both together. Even though you might start with a small tip within 15 minutes the diameter has grown quite a bit so it takes a lot more air. I bought 400 pounds of media and have run it through the blaster at least 3 or 4 times (which seems to work well so long as you sift it to remove debris).

Looking back, to me it would be well worth the $250 to save myself the headache and the huge mess. The only downside is you won't have the blaster to do the little stuff like half shafts, control arms, etc.

If you want to be sure you get what you want, just have them blast the frame and not prime it. That way you'll be able to see the results for yourself.

 

Thanks for all the replies , I guess I will have the local shop do it. I'll make an appointment monday. They said they could get to it in a few weeks. I'll have to find out what primer they use and I'll use their paint or should I supply them with what I want them to use ? The local shop that will be doing this specializes in large truck frames.