LeMans Pete

Anyone have/use one of these? What size compressor are you using? HP? I've read some mixed results about them online, but they are pretty vague. I was thinking about getting one for refurbishing parts.

72LS1Vette

The really cheap suction-feed guns from Lowe's, etc. work but they are very slow. If you are just cleaning small parts they're not bad, but I sandblasted an entire frame with one. I spent every weekend last summer sandblasting the frame and other parts. You only get ~1" area of cleaned metal at a time so it takes a LONG time. Makes a big mess also. I put a big tarp down and periodically vacuumed up the sand, screened it and reused it. I used play sand for media. Make sure you buy breathing apparatus. You can get silicosis from inhaling sand particles. I'm still alive a year later and can breathe so I guess I didn't get it, but I used a filter mask every time. You also need sealed eye protection, ear protection, and a backwards baseball hat just for the look.

If you just want to clean small parts the best idea is to buy or build a blasting cabinet.

I used the Sears compressor that is always on sale for $300. I set the pressure to 90 PSI or so. The compressor was running most of the time that I was sandblasting but it seems to have had no ill effects on it.

I realize this sounds very Bubba but the results did turn out nice.



Rick B.

corvetteterry

i ve got one i bought trctor supply that work pretty well for long parts outside, and then i have a cabinet i got from nothertool co they all work well as long as you have enough air supply iuse some air range from 80psi to 100psi.you have to have a big enough compressor for you to the job
Terry

Dream Ride

I had one when I was doing HD paint in FL. Used it for about a year and ran 100 - 120 psi. Not sure of the compressor size, it was one I built from parts from here and there. Bad thing about them is that sand gets literally everywhere. Got in through the windows of the house, in my other cars, and even with full body coverage you still get it all in your hair, ears & 'other' places.
Had a guy ask if he could borrow it once and I told him he could if he NEVER brought back to my house.
They're great for small stuff, but for me a frame is waaaaaay too much for a personal sand blaster.

hwcoop

I have used my 10 gallon blaster with my 5hp compressor but it is not very useful for anything large...the compressor just won't supply enough cfm.
For big stuff like all my wheels, frame,brackets etc I went and used this 200hp sandblaster where you just pay by the hour and blast away...I was finished in about 2.5hr and no mess around the house to clean up. Just look in the yellow pages for sandlasting and a do it yourself yard.

onaqwst

get a cabinet if you are doing smaller parts..... you can fit an a-arm in a small cabinet....

just make sure you use a good media blast to make the job faster......

b

hunt4cleanair

Rick...I'll say...looks very nice. What I like is that it has a natural factory look. What did you finish it with (paint? gloss?)? Did you sandblast outside on that dolly?

AWilson

I couldn't see the picture of what you are talking about but I assume you mean one of those cheap suction feed set ups. I think they are great and I will tell you why!

I used one to blast all the paint off the body of my car. I read many stories of how you can destroy the body doing this but using this cheap equipment it is almost impossible. I estimate I spent about 25 hours sandblasting the 2 paint jobs off and down to the glass. That's a lot of time but the car is stripped and because it is so slow there is no chance of hurting the glass. You literally can control it to the extent that I could take off each layer at a time, paint, primer,paint primer.

I used almost 800 pounds of Black Diamond brand 40/80 grit coal slag which is perfectly safe and only .12 cents a pound. I learned I could have re-used it but I didn't. It is natural so to get rid of it you can just throw it away.

My 5hp 30 gallon compressor though was barely enough because your constantly blasting and the blaster uses a lot of air. Outlet pressure was 90lbs. You can go 60 but it will take alot longer.
Because there is no silicon in the slag, I used a paper mask and a cheap hood and gloves that I got from Eastwood. I also needed a extra glass for the hood as the one that comes with it eventually clouded over.

I also was going to make a cabinet and just have a collector at the bottom that funnels back into the bucket. I think cabinets are big and take up alot of space. If you think about it all it is is a box. I was going to make one that folds up. Even a sturdy box will work for small parts. You just need to have an opening where you can tape a piece of plexiglass or lexan over it. But on the inside tape a piece of clear plastic from a roll. That way you don't degrade the lexan and when the plastic sheeting gets fogged over you just tape a new one on.

In short, I just love my cheap siphon feed blaster. It one of those tools you have that you can say you got your moneys worth many times over.

KTKelly

Are you guys talking about one of these?

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w...70_17798_17798


I've been toying with the idea since I need to blast some of the rust & scale on the 65 Mustang. and then there's the "honey do" stuff like cleaning up the metal lawn chairs....

Dream Ride

This is more like the one I had.
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w...6970_7959_7959
Kinda syphon/gravity feed. I kinda like the idea of the pressurized one though if I was gonna get another one. Seems like it would be a little friendlier to your compressor.

tigers123

The breathing equipment is just as important as the blaster. Once sand gets in your lungs it's there to stay. You can probably get the frame blasted cheaper than buying or renting all the equipment to do it. Take a picture of your bare frame and take it to the local blasting place and ask for an estimate. When you get done building the car do you want to trip over a sand blaster in your garage that you will probably not use again?

AWilson

This what I was referring to. But mine is a cheap plastic thing that cost less that $40. I bought it about 10 years ago though. It stands only about 15 inches tall and I throw it on a shelf when I don't need it. It is a Craftsman brand. If you find something like this then it has many uses and can be tucked in a corner. Minimal cost too. It does a good job on all but the heaviest rust.

Jclgodale3

Man...I could spend all day at a place like that!

Fonz69

I used one of these on my vette project and it works great

Bought it from Carquest but you should be able to find them online also.

On my frame I used a 4" grinder with a wire rope type cup to clean the larger areas and then hit the hard to reach spots with the blaster.

Think that blaster ran about $45

I could do one side of a 15" wheel per fillup using a 80 gal. compressor set about 115psi.

Its called a Speed Blaster made by Zendex Tool Corporation

LeMans Pete

80 gallon compressor??? Holy crap. I really wasn't planning on getting more than a 26 gallon compressor, and actually would rather do the 17 gallon, since I dont' have alot of storage room for one anyhow. I was talking to the guys at Sears and they said a 26 should be just fine for doing individual parts, just not a frame.

That Speed Blaster looks good though.

LeMans Pete

The end product doesn't look Bubba, and thats all that matters. I assume you're talking about the 33 gallon compressor for $288. I'm thinking I can get by with a 26 gallon, but I want to make sure I can run other air tools.

72LS1Vette

That's probably the one. I bought the vertical model so it doesn't take up too much space. The heaviest air tool I use is an impact wrench that needs 95 PSI or so. I would guess that running grinders or cutoff wheels would make the compressor run pretty constantly but I have been using and abusing my compressor for a few years now and it still works fine.



Rick B.

72LS1Vette

I used Rustoleum Satin Black thinned a lot so it could be sprayed with a Wagner Fine Coat HVLP sprayer. I used Eastwood Chassis Black on a previous frame and I thought it looked too glossy. The Rustoleum was 1/3 the price also. I did all my sandblasting in that spot on the dolly. Even though I used tarps you can see the coating of sand everywhere. Looks like I live on Cape Cod.



Rick B.

onaqwst

wire wheel it with a course wheel..... wear some goggles..... .... get the flat wheel and the cup wheels..... make sure they are course and not fine........

then use the blaster for the hard spots....... i did my frame laying under the car with a wire wheel......

you should be fine with a 30 galloon compressor....... you'll be surprised how fast you can lose air when your blasting


b

AWilson

with compressors it's not the tank size as much as it is the pump. For big sandblasing jobs you need 5 hp minimum. Like I said I used my 5hp on my body and it ran almost continuosly.

The tank only helps to keep your pressure from fluctuating too much. It doesn't help the pump. it will just start and stop less but the run time will be the same.