Blast media?

[Automobilist]

Just got my first blast cabinet. Plan on mostly cleaning ancient British car parts, etc. What do you recommend as a good media?

 

[James E]

I've tried basic sand and fancy, expensive media, but for most paint removal in my blast cabinet I always go back to plain old aluminum oxide.

Low dust, long life and it leaves a good surface for a new coat of paint.

 

[evintho]

Black Diamond blast media sold by Tractor Supply. I used to use basic sand but found with the BD I use half as much and blast twice the area plus it's silica free! This stuff works great!

http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/black-diamond-20-40-blasting-media-50-lb

 

[Steevo]

+1 for aluminum oxide.

 

[TAMPAGT07]

Blast media?

Yupp, I blast the media every chance I get... They are way too biased....

 

[joe_padavano]

Blast media selection depends on what you are doing. Heavy rust on thick steel and cast iron part, use Black Beauty or Aluminum Oxide. General purpose blasting on a wide range of parts, crushed glass. Cleaning pot metal and delicate castings, walnut shells.

Here's a good overview of the options:

http://www.kramerindustriesonline.com/finishing-guides/blasting-media-selection-guide.htm

 

[txvwnut]

I use garnet in mine. I'm mainly cleaning cylinder heads and pistons and the garnet doesn't stick or embed in the soft aluminum. I will also blast the sheetmetal off of the engine and it does a good job of removing paint and any surface rust.

 

[tcianci]

Just a note: I have a Skat Blast cabinet from TP tools and I would always use their media whether aluminum oxide or glass bead or a mix of the two. Recently I have bought media from Harbor Freight. Don't waste your money on HF media...it turns to dust almost immediately. Black beauty is good stuff too.It may be sold under other names but the media is coal slag.

 

[Streetbu]

I use glass bead. Removes rust, leaves a fine finish, not coarse.

 

[Falcon67]

Glass bead. Aluminum oxide is very aggressive media. You will need different media for different types of parts. Al Oxide works pretty good on rust from a cast iron part. It will etch an aluminum part, maybe more than you'd like. Make sure your cabinet has a reasonable method for changing out the media.

 

[Toxicscrew]

Went through several medias in my time doing custom powdercoating. What I found was:

Black Beauty is aggressive, finish is a bit rough, works great...the first few times and then degrades into dust and is a pain.
Straight aluminum oxide works great as well, not that cheap.
Glass bead is slow but leaves a nice finish.
Aluminum oxide/glass bead mix is a very good solution, not overly expensive and you can use it on a lot of different materials and the finish is rather good.

 

[mikegt4]

Here is a comparison guide and product description. You should be able to get similar products locally, although you never know in California!.

https://www.tptools.com/tech-abrasive-comparison.dlp

http://www.tptools.com/Most-Popular-Abrasives.html

 

[toplessHO]

a friend showed me this trick of getting glass beads cheap
go to the supply store that handles the highway paints
they mix 2 different grades of glass beads in with the paint to make it reflective.
One bag lasts me about 10 yrs

 

[Automobilist]

Thanks, all. Looking forward to trying the many combinations...

 

[JonnyMac]

Glass bead for delicate stuff, bike frames, thin panels etc...
Garnet for other items that can be treated a little harder..

 

[Showkey]

Blast media selection depends on what you are doing. Heavy rust on thick steel and cast iron part, use Black Beauty or Aluminum Oxide. General purpose blasting on a wide range of parts, crushed glass. Cleaning pot metal and delicate castings, walnut shells.

Here's a good overview of the options:

http://www.kramerindustriesonline.com/finishing-guides/blasting-media-selection-guide.htm

Glass bead. Aluminum oxide is very aggressive media. You will need different media for different types of parts. Al Oxide works pretty good on rust from a cast iron part. It will etch an aluminum part, maybe more than you'd like. Make sure your cabinet has a reasonable method for changing out the media.

Went through several medias in my time doing custom powdercoating. What I found was:

Black Beauty is aggressive, finish is a bit rough, works great...the first few times and then degrades into dust and is a pain.
Straight aluminum oxide works great as well, not that cheap.
Glass bead is slow but leaves a nice finish.
Aluminum oxide/glass bead mix is a very good solution, not overly expensive and you can use it on a lot of different materials and the finish is rather good.

Here is a comparison guide and product description. You should be able to get similar products locally, although you never know in California!.

https://www.tptools.com/tech-abrasive-comparison.dlp

http://www.tptools.com/Most-Popular-Abrasives.html

+5 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

One "size" does not fit all jobs.............depends on the material.

You can get by or fine tune by.........changing the pressure and distance from the gun to get the final finish desired.

 

[Jvvmusme]

Aliminium oxide + glass bead 50/50

Baking soda for delicate parts