Media Blasting Recommendations

[roadrunner57]

Looking for advice on media blasting crusty/rusty parts. Can anyone recommend the media type for blasting? ie sand, glass beads, etc?

Thanks, RR57

 

[snakeoil24]

Star blast xl

 

[JimKueneman]

That’s a hard job if you don’t have a really good compressor. Getting that black rust out of the rust pitting takes pressure and volume. My magic formula is Starblast mixed with large coal slag. I also recycle and sweep it and use it again and again. When I notice I don’t really have big chucks of coal slag knocking off the surface rust and flying around I add more coal slag. I will buy 3 bags of slag to 1 bag of Stardust doing it this way.

 

[493 Mike]

I prefer the crushed glass.
Mike

 

[snakeoil24]

Never tried glass how is it?

 

[JimKueneman]

I’ve wanted to try crushed glass but the one and done always stopped me. On a typical AZ car I blast everything and I can get away with about 2 bags of Starblast and 6 bags of Coal Slag. When I calculate how many equivalent bags I would need running the media through only once I decide not to.

 

[snakeoil24]

I’ve never seen coal slag out here

 

[JimKueneman]

I’ve never seen coal slag out here

My local auto paint store has it in large and medium. It really knocks the surface rust off FAST then the Starblast gets down in the pits. Starblast lasts a long time as well which is nice.

 

[JimKueneman]

Claims Tractor Supply has it.

 

[gkent]

I'm pretty sure the only reason glass is a blast media is to do something with old bottles and jars. Its pretty much a one-time use media but if you're blasting outdoors and can't contain the stuff then just about anything is one-time use.

Ideally you want a very hard, sharp, small media. Small, hard and sharp will cut like crazy and get in small places and will leave a nice finish. Aluminum oxide pretty much tops the list but its expensive - great for use in a blast cabinet.

Unless you have a commercial blaster setup, you want smallish media so you can use a small nozzle - otherwise you need BIG air. The bigger the media the greater the chance of it clogging the nozzle - and that's just a pain in the ***.

What sort of blast equipment do you have ?

Whatever you decide on, be absolutely sure to wear a decent dust mask.

 

[JimKueneman]

I'm pretty sure the only reason glass is a blast media is to do something with old bottles and jars. Its pretty much a one-time use media but if you're blasting outdoors and can't contain the stuff then just about anything is one-time use.

Ideally you want a very hard, sharp, small media. Small, hard and sharp will cut like crazy and get in small places and will leave a nice finish. Aluminum oxide pretty much tops the list but its expensive - great for use in a blast cabinet.

Unless you have a commercial blaster setup, you want smallish media so you can use a small nozzle - otherwise you need BIG air. The bigger the media the greater the chance of it clogging the nozzle - and that's just a pain in the ***.

What sort of blast equipment do you have ?

Whatever you decide on, be absolutely sure to wear a decent dust mask.

Agree except on media size for a small system. I have a Clemco gravity blaster and a Husky 60 Gal 2 cylinder 220V with and auxiliary tank. The large coal slag mixed in makes a HUGE difference in chipping off paint and surface rust for me and my setup. I would not attack a rust belt car with my setup. A bit of nasty rust in the trunk floor and front floor boards is all I want it tackle with what I have.

 

[slimt]

Back quite a few years ago. I worked at a Helicopter refinishing shop they had a media blasting room that used plastic beads. In a graded room for doing tail booms ,
Guys used to take there cars there and get them done. Then the mess was recycled back through the system.
Great to get the finish off but not destructive to hurt or warp panels.

 

[WileERobby]

What ever it is that you're blasting will determine the type of media to use, the pressure, the distance, the angle, the duration, etc. And of course, a sealed-type mask is required.

 

[dadsbee]

I like glass.. but wear a fresh air hood and borrow your f-in-laws enclosed trailer when he's not looking!

Get some coarse stuff, blast, sweep it up and use it again. Then seperate the finer stuff into a bucket of it's own for small detail stuff like aluminum steering boxes.

 

[gkent]

Back quite a few years ago. I worked at a Helicopter refinishing shop they had a media blasting room that used plastic beads. In a graded room for doing tail booms ,
Guys used to take there cars there and get them done. Then the mess was recycled back through the system.
Great to get the finish off but not destructive to hurt or warp panels.

Rust just laughs at plastic media and soda !

 

[slimt]

Rust just laughs at plastic media and soda !

True enough.

 

[Fran Blacker]

Did my 65 Dodge underneath, by tilting it so it was balanced. Rented diesel compressor and blasting equipment and 6-50lb bags of sand for blasting. Cost $350 for Saturday / Sunday rental and they delivered the compressor. Laid a large piece of plastic to recycle sand.

 

[Fran Blacker]

Don't do body panels with this equipment, warp city.

 

[Islandkent]

Safe for underside/interior/firewall and trunk area though. I used over 30 bags to do my entire Charger.

 

[Hemirunner]

My buddy just had a decklid blasted with glass and the paint guy told him to DA sand the whole thing because it was too coarse. Any truth to that or just preference? I’ve never blasted with anything other than silica sand way back in the day.