I have the gray unit. On interior light came with it so you can't see anything. Did install a light and its fine for me. I replaced the lense with lexan after about two years - a year later I can still see.
Roger

 

Some douchebags are thicker than others.....................

 

 

The good deal on the cabinet shell has been worth it. I've used the heck out of it for six years now.

 

I noticed, you still haven't answered my question

 

Seems to me a cabinet that holds bumpers is a little out of the scope of the original post. As to the posts of poor seals, I've never used a blast cabinet that doesn't make some mess. I always tape the door seams up with painters tape and also move my cabinet outside when I use it. If I don't tape the door, I usually wear a dust mask. Neighbors probably think I'm some kind of mad scientist.

 

Not a bad idea though.

 

Yeah, good idea! That dust can give you a really fast and bad case of silicosis. Not a good long term health plan.

 

I bought one locally from a discount house that's the same looking as the red one you pictured.

I threw together a small stand I could set it on. It has a tiny air filter that didn't do much good. I found another larger filter, cut a bit larger hole in the end across from the vacuum cleaner fitting and get good air flow through the cabinet now. I use a small 1 gallon shop vac to draw dust out. The small vacuum doesn't have much draw. It pulls the dust out well and doesn't pull glass beads out.


It was obvious the cabinet wasn't going to be glass bead tight, so I simply duct taped the seams inside the cabinet after I bolted it together.


The plexi glass top door was cheap and fogged from glass beads immediately. I remembered I had squirreled some 1/4" glass from an old machine we junked out at one of the buildings, so I took it down to a glass shop and had three cabinet sized tops cut out of it.

I junked the plexi. Now I just set the glass down in the top and duct tape it on the sides. The cabinet is glass bead tight. The flourescent light was a joke from the start. I simply put my halogen light stand to the side and shine it down into the cabinet.

I got my control arms in ok, and was able to bead my seat frames before I repaired and painted them during recovering. It puts a great finish on aluminum, and gets into crevises on deep pulleys I can't get into with a wire wheel.

I wish it had a larger work area, I can't get my used radiator frame in to bead it. I'll have to find another way to clean it up. But with low price comes trade offs. I only have about $100 in the stand and cabinet. The glass beads were another $41. I've beaded my seat tracks, calipers, backing plates and a lot of other odds and ends.

It'll hold an aluminum intake just fine, and puts a great finish on it!
John

 

can you use a regular sandblasting gun with glass beads?

 

Mine worked just fine. My set-up is cheap, but it came with three different tips for the blasting gun. I just left the one in that was in there when I bolted it together. I use a medium size bead I bought from Grainger industrial supply. The beads come in a five gallon bucket.
John

 

I have the red one that's a little larger than them, I think i paid $150 or so. I have leaks everywhere in it, had to re silicone the window to the metal casing. I also had to put 75 pounds of sand in it due to the fact that it sucks it down in the middle where the pickup tube goes. I have a 20% off coupon with NO expiration date on it. Someone that can post it Email me & I'll send it.

 

If you buy a kit like is pictured above, I would suggest using Rite Stuff on the joints between the pieces of metal. It will seal it up very nicely. Duct tape will wear off in time, I think the Rite Stuff will outlast that.

 

Yes.

 

I barely have any leaks in mine...I built the hopper so it was a really tight fit - I didn't even have to use caulking it fit so good. Then I tightened up the bolts that secured it to the side of the cabinet...making it an even tighter seal. The only sand that comes out of it is when I open up the door - sometimes the fine particles gather up around the weather stripping and fall on the floor. Other than that...no mess