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Just bought a sand-blaster

Popeye

Obi Wan
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Hi all,

Just want to share my experience... I just bought a HF 20# pressure fed sandblaster. On sale (until sometime in April), 50 bucks.

I also bought a 25# bucket of Aluminum Oxide from Northern Tool, and blasted away at my TR4A dashboard (the metal behind the wood).

A few comments:
1. 25# was not enough for the full part, roughly 4 foot by 8 inches in size.

2. The "spot size" is pretty small (the area being blasted)... about 1/4 inch diameter.

3. The media removes rust and paint; however heavier spots require several passes.

4. Collecting the used media is a good idea - it does not last too long! I let mine fly away. Next time I will set up a tarp and sift the media.

5. I had no problem with water in the media clogging the nozzle, but it was about 60 degrees... I suspect on a hot/humid day water will be a problem.

6. The HF unit does not have a deadman valve; to turn it on/off you turn a ball valve. Not sure how long these will last in the sand-stream.

Next steps: Use tarps to collect the media, and try a little more aggressive media (coal slag?? health issues???).

FWIW, just want to share my thoughts.
 
I used 70 mesh sand from the local building supply on the wife's mustang body panels. very cheap. good for about two passes then I dumped in the yard. the cat liked the new pile of fresh sand in the yard.
 
You have to be real careful about using the silica sand and not breathe the dust. As with the use of any media in these pot blasters a respirator is a must do! I also use the home depot silica sand in mine, it works well and is cheap enough to discard after use.
 
meh. I had a faux beach beside my driveway for a while. Copurtesy of Home Depot. My biggest "enemy" is Florida humidity. Had Herself as the "agitator" for the pot. :smirk:
 
Oh, its a '68 coupe. She purchased it in '88. My name is not even on the title. It's getting power front disc brakes, new suspension, new interior, new wiring harness, I haven told her that it is going to get the hipo exhaust manifolds and dual exhaust. She doesn't want it to attract too much attention (if that's possible). It was her daily driver for many years until the oil pump broke. Then one thing led to another.
 
I use an enclosed cabinet and walnut shells for something I only want to remove paint from and not damage the metal. Of course, it's a little hard to get a whole car in it.
happy0148.gif
 
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