Sandblasting: What abrasives do you suggest?

[joe smith]

A bud that has done a lot of blasting and painting suggested I reroute my compressor regulator/filter at least 10 feet away from the compressor as I’ve dealt with moisture accumulation. Something I didn’t know; but haven’t done this yet..

When your compressor runs, the air is produces is hot and will retain moisture, as the air cools it will release the moisture... A cheap way to make a " dryer" is to wrap the exit pipe around the top of your shop and install a few " T's" to have some drops with a twist drain at the bottom....
If your not in a high humidity area it works very well....

 

[Kern Dog]

I went to a "Grainger" store and got some aluminum oxide. I wanted coarse grit but all they had was 100 grit. I went ahead and bought some.
It works okay. Not great but better than the garnet I was using. Maybe my expectations are too high. I have thoughts of being able to blast away the crud and surface rust in a few quick passes but that isn't the case. I am naturally impatient and this is a tedious process.

I do have a vacuum attached to the cabinet. I can see the sand coming out of the nozzle.

 

[RemCharger]

Ahhh. You want the "turn it into dust if you look away " type stuff..

 

[71RRHI]

Maybe its your blast cabinet setup. Mine did not work well, and took long time to clean parts. There is alot of info online about modifing blast cabinets for better performance. The biggest thing I did, was to add a dust collection system

and some led lights. Now that my cabinet runs at a slight negative pressure, the amount of blast material comming out my gun is alot more than before.

 

[OKDart]

I went to a "Grainger" store and got some aluminum oxide. I wanted coarse grit but all they had was 100 grit. I went ahead and bought some.
It works okay. Not great but better than the garnet I was using. Maybe my expectations are too high. I have thoughts of being able to blast away the crud and surface rust in a few quick passes but that isn't the case. I am naturally impatient and this is a tedious process.

I do have a vacuum attached to the cabinet. I can see the sand coming out of the nozzle.

Plug the gun nozzle with your other hand and pull the trigger. This will clear all the media (and trash) out of the pickup hose. Then start blasting again and see if it's better. If it gets better, you had trash clogging the pickup tube or gun and you'll either need to keep clearing the hose periodically, or filter the media.

 

[Eric L]

I use black diamond fine in my cabinet. Use a water separator at the compressor side. About 80psi.
Works great on hard and soft metals.

For body panels I use extra fine crushed glass and do three quick passes.

 

[Islandkent]

Late to the party Greg. Here's a thread of my set up and results. A lot of mods but it paid off big time. I thinks so anyway. I mostly use glass beads. And yes it is time consuming but I love the results. Take a look if you want.
My Princess Auto Blast Cabinet! Lots Of Pictures!! | For B Bodies Only Classic Mopar Forum

 

[Mackman]

I use coal slag media in my cabinet and pot blaster. I source that at a builder's supply. They normally have at least two grades, I get the finest grade they stock. Comes in 90 or 100 lb. bags, which are a pain. I keep a small bag of glass beads around for aluminum or die-cast parts that I want to be gentle with. I blast a lot of cast iron and sheet metal. If you end up with coarse paint chips in your media, it can tend to plug the pickups or nozzles. Some people sift their media to remove these larger contaminants, but I find that to be very tedious and dusty. I tend to just change the media. The media loses it's sharpness with use, also.

 

[Outsider]

Steel parts like chassis or backing plates, I use 80 grit red garnet. The red garnet is value priced around here in the NW, less than half of the other choices, and does the job well. Not too dusty; best if not used too many cycles.

If yours is clumping, it sounds like you have moisture in your air and need a dryer. You must pressure wash, or solvent clean off the grease first, as it's a waste of sandblasting, to blast greasy parts.

 

[CudaChick1968]

You guys may find this handy. It's a link to Grainger's blasting media selection chart.

https://www.grainger.com/know-how/i...v9TyERk1N8d_dAXI6TcaAoapEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[Islandkent]

You guys may find this handy. It's a link to Grainger's blasting media selection chart.

https://www.grainger.com/know-how/i...v9TyERk1N8d_dAXI6TcaAoapEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Great Chart on there. Just finished printing it out. I have one similar I found on Garage Journal.
Thanks Leanna

 

[Fury Man Van]

I love this thread. Van

 

[rbkt65]

i ran out of silica the other day and went to farm and home and when they finally found where they put it, some brain surgeon put it outside and did not cover it up. 1/2 skid soaked by rain. went to lumber yard and got black diamond, not sure of grit number but not real happy with it.

 

[GARRY L FULLER]

Well, I'm late to this party but I use Silica Sand from Lowes. It cheap and does a good job. I have a Cabinet and Portable blasters. The out side one I strain the Sand thru screen and use it 2 or 3 times. Not really cheap just safe so I can buy More Mopar parts.

 

[71RRHI]

Well, I'm late to this party but I use Silica Sand from Lowes. It cheap and does a good job. I have a Cabinet and Portable blasters. The out side one I strain the Sand thru screen and use it 2 or 3 times. Not really cheap just safe so I can buy More Mopar parts.

Did you mean not really safe just cheap

WARNING:
Silica sand should not be used as an abrasive blasting material. See OSHA standard PB-246-697 and "OSHA Crystalline Silica Exposure" Health Hazard Information in the Safety section of our website.

All of Clemtex's Abrasives sold abide by OSHA's standards and contain less than 1% free silica.

 

[Kern Dog]

Plug the gun nozzle with your other hand and pull the trigger. This will clear all the media (and trash) out of the pickup hose.

Great suggestion. It helped!

I use black diamond fine in my cabinet. Use a water separator at the compressor side. About 80psi.
Works great on hard and soft metals.

For body panels I use extra fine crushed glass and do three quick passes.

Whoa....I'd be worried about crushed glass!

Late to the party Greg. Here's a thread of my set up and results. A lot of mods but it paid off big time. I thinks so anyway. I mostly use glass beads. And yes it is time consuming but I love the results. Take a look if you want.
My Princess Auto Blast Cabinet! Lots Of Pictures!! | For B Bodies Only Classic Mopar Forum

I'll check that out.
Glass beads seemed to take a LOT of time for me.

I use coal slag media in my cabinet and pot blaster.

I never tried that. I'll think about it.

Steel parts like chassis or backing plates, I use 80 grit red garnet.

That was the second batch I used. It seemed to be better than this aluminum oxide I have in the cabinet right now.

You guys may find this handy. It's a link to Grainger's blasting media selection chart.

Thank you. that IS handy!

I love this thread. Van

Me too. Learning new stuff is fun.

Well, I'm late to this party but I use Silica Sand from Lowes.

I didn't think of the safety concerns but I will now.
The guy that advised me to use Garnet strongly discouraged Silica. Thank you for your efforts though. I appreciate any and all suggestions.

 

[Bighouse]

I use the crushed glass a lot too. I bought a bunch of bags from a dustless blasting guy a while back. The coarse crushed vs the beads makes it a little more aggressive.
Otherwise it’s coal slag me for 80% of the time.
I use it in the cabinets and when it gets worn it goes into a bucket for one final use outside in the pressure blaster.

 

[GARRY L FULLER]

Great suggestion. It helped!


Whoa....I'd be worried about crushed glass!



I'll check that out.
Glass beads seemed to take a LOT of time for me.




I never tried that. I'll think about it.



That was the second batch I used. It seemed to be better than this aluminum oxide I have in the cabinet right now.




Thank you. that IS handy!



Me too. Learning new stuff is fun.



I didn't think of the safety concerns but I will now.
The guy that advised me to use Garnet strongly discouraged Silica. Thank you for your efforts though. I appreciate any and all suggestions.

 

[GARRY L FULLER]

Yeah, you have to watch it. The cabinet is enclosed and the portable is outside. If I'm doing a lot I'll put on a dust mask. For as much as I go thru sometimes everything else ie expensive. Just be Careful with it.

 

[ct71rr]

Ditch the pick-up tube and go with a metering valve. They work much better. I made one for my HF cabinet and it works great. I also made a dust cyclone from a Home Depot bucket and some pvc fittings (videos on YouTube show how to make it). I use HF glass bead with great results too.
And led lights are a must. I have these installed in mine:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/RKS-4-f...rofit-Kit-5000K-1-Pack-RKS2440-50-A/312004425

DIY metering valve: