Hi Guys,

I noticed that theres quite a few threads on this forum about restoration and sandblasting, im starting a resto on a 77 and would like to know what equipment your using for sandblasting.

What type of compressor units are you using in terms of max CFM, free air CFM and/or PSI/bar, i will need to get hold of 1 soon for some blasting works so any advice would be gratefully recieved.

Thanks,

Wev

 

All I can say is get the biggest damn compressor you are willing to buy. I have a 60 gallon and it puts out 11 cfm at 90 psi....and it runs constantly when I use my pressure blaster - I like to run it a 120 psi 90 psi for sandblasting doesn't remove rust that fast.

 

If you don't have the cash for a large compressor, you might be better off going to a local sandblasting facility. They have everything you need and a massive sized compressor. You do the blasting yourself and pay by the hour. Plus, you don't have to clean up the mess after you blast. It will also go much faster because of the size of the compressor they have - look in the yellowpages under sandblasting.

 

If I were to do this again, I would probably pay a professional to blast my frame, I've heard it's not that expensive. A professional can do this in about an hour, but it took me about 25 hours with my cheap sandblaster and two 6hp compressors linked together. It's a lot of dirty, messy work.

 

If I were to do it again, I would pay a professional or go to a blasting facility and do it myself. It makes such a mess. I did all my blasting by myself but I don'tthink I'll ever do anything big at home again...just stuff like crossmembers and smaller items.

 

Buy a BIG compressor-your looking for mostly large volumes-run large air lines to help supply more volume.

 

Took me about 2hrs to blast my frame and all the suspension, driveshafts, brackets and wheels. etc Then I just brought it home and primed it with DP90. Saves a lot of cleanup and time not having to wait for your compressor to catch up

This site was using a 200hp compressor with an unlimited supply of sand. they charged $90. per hr and provided an air supplied helmet, glovs etc. You could also use some blast cabinets they had for smaller items.

 

On the same topic, can you use the same "used" sand if you strain it?

 

I figure my meager compressor will handle the occasional small job, but I'll certainly be looking for a blasting facility for anything substantial. Thanks for the tip.

 

I have when i'm in a bind and don't have any fresh sand around but I find the more often you strain it the less effective it becomes and the more dust it creates as it turns into powder.
I was buying bags of Silica sand at Princess auto (same as harbor freight) for about $7.ea...usually kept a few on hand for small blasting jobs. Make sure to wear a good resperator when you are blasting

 

Another thing to note about reusing sand. I reused my sand about three times after I strained it...and then I got in trouble from the neighbors. The thing with using reclaimed sand is there is a fine powder mist that gets sent out of the sandblaster...almost as fine as the powder used to powdercoat parts in an oven. There were two reasons I got in trouble: 1) our neighbors already had a grudge against our family from previous incidents 2) there was dew the next morning on all the cars...which revealed all the dust. I am no longer allowed to blast in the driveway...I have to build my collapsable sandblast booth in the garage and that takes forever, but it works. It still makes a mess though. I first bought black beauty sand from target abrasives, it worked awesome. Then I went back for a second batch and they told me they didn't sell it anymore. No one in Calgary sold it, I tried everywhere. I finally just decided to buy bags of silica sand (which everyone has), I used a good respirator to be safe. It worked fine, Just make sure to buy medium grit abrasive - not too coarse and not too fine. If you want to do it yourself, I say go for it. Its one more thing you can add to your list of "I did all the work myself." But I definitely regretted doing it myself...its just too much work and the sandblasting gets old after about 5 minutes. For more convience, go to a sandblasting facility and do it there - it will go much faster and you will save yourself the hassle of the neighbours, cleaning and having to buy tools. If you need any help just pm me, I'd be glad to help you out.

 

Thanks for all the advice guys, the go elsewhere vote seems to have it

I;ll have to look hard, i didnt realise my avitar doesnt state that im in the UK and these facilities are hard to find (if they exist) sometimes finding a decent sandblaster can be hard.

I'll have a look around and see what comes up, thanks again.

Wev