suggestions for blast media

[Piper]

HI

I have just bought a floor model blast cabinet:thumbup: :thumbup: and need some suggestions for blast media. I plan on doing a number of things so I'm looking for general, all purpose suggestions. I plan on removing rust, cleaning metal, prepping for paint and powder coat.

Any suggestions for most suitable media?

TIA

Piper

oh and for my Canadian friends happy May two four :beer:

[PAToyota]

Typically, I change out media depending on what I'm doing. Aluminum oxide for heavy rust removal in the cabinet. I use silicon carbide in the pressure pot blaster because when I am using it I'm usually really trying to take crap off something. Aluminum oxide isn't quite as aggressive. Crushed glass is good for removing heavy duty coatings - epoxy and other "thick" paints. Glass beads for lighter duty work. Plastic beads for delicate stuff and walnut shells for engine work.

It all really depends on the substrate that you are working on (metal, thin metal, aluminum, etc), what you are attempting to remove (paint, light rust, scaled rust, etc), and how quickly you want to accomplish it.

[Roospike]

http://www.tptools.com/

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a97/Roospike/FOURM/abrasive-basics.jpg

[-lecroix-]

I use glass beads in mine, as I am most often trying to remove old paint & primer from assorted parts (valve covers, brackets, bolts, nuts, pedal car & tractor bodies, etc).

Works like a champ for me.

[l_bilyk]

I use glass grit as a substitute for sand because it's cheap

[the dude]

I am currently using a SIL 3-4 silica sand in mine. It is washed and graded river bottom sand and works well. it is also very cheap around here at $6 for a 40kg bag. It contains NO clay like a lot of silica sand products.

I also have "Starblast" media that is 5x the cost but I have not tried it yet.

[Vicegrip]

On the other hand is made from silica and that is bad for your lungs. The sand and recycled glass media might not always be a bargain as they don't recycle well and make lots of vac killing and lung killing dust. If you are reccycling the media it is good to look at the life span. Some will outlast sand 20 to 1 and work better cutting the work time.

I use Glass bead of small amd large size depending on the finish wanted Silicon Carbide and Al OX. I tune the cutting action of the SC bt tweeking the air pressure.

[Flathead Youngin']

silica scares me....maybe i'm just paranoid......

i really like my medium grit black beauty.......for rust and paint removal of steel.......

i use the neighbors glass bead for intakes, carbs, etc....aluminum

[PoorOwner]

Do you guys know if buying the media like Alum oxide from Harbor Freight is any worse than buying from other place, will it degrade the sand blasting experience :)

[PAToyota]

My first thought would be "how the heck could they screw up grit?"

But then I thought back on some of my HF experiences...

For general use, I wouldn't worry. My thought would be that (if anything) HF may have grit that isn't graded to quite the close tolerances - i.e.: some larger grit mixed in, etc... I'm not sure I'd trust the finer stuff if I got it there.

Then again, how much could they screw up grit?!? :D

[Vicegrip]

I have used some HF glass bead media and it worked fine and was inexpensive when orderd with free shipping but don't know about the other types. They don't sell by size and the stuff was equlivelant to a medium bead size. I don't use my blaster every day and am also lazy and just get what I need from Grangers. I am in there all the time and can haggle with my sales rep on larger purchases.

Who knows the HF stuff might have melamine in it! ;)

[toms73novass]

I use the HF al ox exclusively. It works fine, lasts a long time no complaints and is relatively cheep at $36 for 50 lbs.

I do a fair amount of blasting, and I have a vac setup(with water trap) to pull off the fine powder created from the blasting. I usually end up getting about a cup of powder sludge after blasting for about and hour. The al ox stays fairly sharp because of the way it shears, as long as you can get the powdery dust out of the way. If you dont it becomes ineffective and a pain to see what you are blasting because of the "fog" from the powder in the reused abrasive.

[PAToyota]

Who knows the HF stuff might have melamine in it! ;)

Actually, melamine is one of the plastic medias that is used for blasting...

[Vicegrip]

Actually, melamine is one of the plastic medias that is used for blasting... Someone got it!;) Good to know that odd ball tool humor has a place to be appreciated!

I make a point to not feed my old media to the dog. The cat up the street that craps in the flower bed under my living room bay window on the other hand...