Sanblaster question

[dsiddons]

Just bought a Eaton 80 gal. 5hp air compressor and was wanting to do some sandblasting. What Im sandblasting is a rusty car frame. Need some advice on what type of sandblaster should I purchase. Thanks for any advise. David

 

[5wndwcpe]

First off, welcome to the board ! This may not be what you wanted to hear, but I've done alot of the homegrown sandblasting and let me tell you, it *****. I'd farm that frame out to a place that does industrial sand/soda/media blasting. Here's why. First, you have to buy the equipment, not a big expense, but a few hundred bucks at least. Then there is the umpteen pounds of sand you'll use, there's beachfront property you've now created to deal with and the untold amount of time spent "waiting" for the compressor to catch up. Throw in a little moist air the fun really ramps up. Sandblasting at home is fine for wheels or suspension parts and whatnot, but for a full on frame, and a rusty one at that, I'd take it to a pro.

 

[sparky1562]

I agree, farm it out! When I was about 18 I started to sand blast the frame of my 55 chevy with a small sand blast hopper and air compressor, and quickly stoped and took it some place.

Lot's of places these days doing media blasting. A monument shop is where I took mine back then. They had it blasted in a just a couple of hours.

 

[kool55]

I tend to agree.Even though I never blasted with a small blaster, I always used a 185 cfm IR compressor.I would think a small compressor would be agony.Plus you need to protect your lungs from the silica dust too.

 

[BillK]

d,
I am just going to "second" what everyone else said. For the price of a decent sandblaster and the media you will use to do a complete frame, you could probably have three of them done by a blasting company. It is no fun at all and your 5hp compressor is not up to the task. BTDT We have a 7 1/2 hp compressor at the shop and it gets tired just glass beading a couple of cylinder heads

 

[mmg440]

I agree sand blasting a car or frame or any other large project such as a trailer is just better to bring in to a place set up to do just that large pieces. The mess and volume of material you would waste will justify and money spent. Home sand Blasting for anything you can fit into a cabinet (there for you are reclaiming some or most of your media) or using a spot blaster for small areas (still messy but not to bad).

 

[bugdust]

I'd say do it yourself but your compressor simply is not up to the task. I've been doing a lot of blasting lately and I have to wait for my 7hp 60 gal to catch up every few minutes. Then, the whole sweeping / picking up the sand is a PITA. I sift mine and reuse it a couple times before using new sand. I use regular construction sand on heavy stuff but it makes a lot of dust and you do not want to breathe in a lot of the silica. I use glass beads some and Dupont StarBlast for most stuff.

I was going to post a couple pics but photobucket seems to be having problems right now.

 

[Steve in Mi]

A pressurized pot blaster will be necessary for a job of that size and certainly makes all your moisture problems go away. Still there will be wait periods but if you're determined it can be done. Other than a good windy day where you can insure you will be up-wind and doing this job where nobody is downwind to breathe the silica a good breathing apparatus/hood is certainly reccommended. In round numbers $500. for the pot and tips and another $500. to keep your lungs clean (fresh air pump and hood) and ~$200. for sand (20 bags).

I have never sand blasted a complete frame but I have blasted car bodies - a Jeepster Camando inside and out in 6 hours, as fast as the compressor would allow. I think a frame would be much more difficult to get into all the nooks and crannies. I have had trailer frames and a Model A Ford frame blasted by the pros and they made it look easy. My little tip fan is about 2" wide and they cover atleast 4 -5 inches and move much faster than I could with my home blaster. One guy I have taken stuff to has a 160 CFM compressor the other place has 4 185's that are always working except for breaks and mealtime.

My guess and it is only a guess - $250. will get that frame blasted. Maybe another $50. to have epoxy primer applied immediately (before it turns red).

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Either take it somewhere for sand blasting, or better for the metal, is soda blasting. There are places that do that on a large scale also. Other option, get an adapter to use a pressure washer for sand blasting. Karcher used to make them, still do I assume. It siphons sand up into the water stream and blasts the metal. Eliminates the silica dust problem, and the heat buildup in the metal that could warp something.

Charles

 

[Steve in Mi]

There is a place that does soda blasting locally, their claims include gentle on metal skins - no warpage due to heat and the soda left on the surface prevents immediate rusting that is present after sand blasting. Unless I have an epoxy primer sprayed on immediately by the sand blasters I go to, I wipe everything down with metal conditioner because that pesky red rust has already started. Dry ice blasting is supose to be better still from the standpoint of minimized warpage. I don't know if soda will efficiently remove the heavy rust one might encounter on a frame and too I don't think warpage will be a problem with the more massive frame members. Maybe somebody has first hand experience.

Another alternative is electrolysis. A search of the web will show backyard electrolysis on trailer frames the size of car frames. I'm not reccommending it, only adding it to the mix. Sorry - this has nothing to do with the OP and compressed air sand blasting.

 

[stinkythings.com]

Sodablasting is the way to go for a car body. This is very popular with the Corvette crowd.For rust such as a frame, they use whats called KIESERITE. Same process,no metal damage.
http://www.socleanblasting.com/
They have some good links and information on their website.

 

[6768rogues]

I blasted the frame of a 12 foot flat bed trailer in my driveway. I put down a 40 by 60 foot tarp and used a pressure blaster. It used 400 lbs. of sand and took about an afternoon. I painted the frame with heavy red primer and red paint from Tractor Supply and now, about 6 years later, it still looks great.

 

[nonhog]

I had a 66 Chevelle frame blasted at home by a mobile blaster . They were done so fast I kept adding stuff like suspension parts I thought I would do myself. I did feel bad for the backyard after they were done.
Sandblasting ***** ! I find ways NOT to use my cabinet
I'd farm it out !

 

[goodfellow]

Cleaning in a balst cabinet is OK, but even your "big" compressor won't be enough to do real industrial blasting. The smaller pressurized hopper blasting solutions get pretty frustrating when doing a big job. Plus the dust is really dangerous unless you have access to a clean forced air source and hood.

Also, the mess that's made with open air sand blasting is pretty awesome -- you better have understanding neighbors
Bottom line: It's not worth the trouble -- this is one job for the professional.

 

[c39er]

I do lots of sandblasting with a 110 lb pressure blaster. I have a old 80 gallon IR industrial compressor with real "American" parts and it never gets below 80 PSI. I always use new sand so I don't have plugging issues and also good moisture traps. I live on acreage so neighbors are not a problem. I use hearing protection and a binks mask so I don't get silicosis. Best part is after I'm done I have a beautiful white sand dune to sit on in my lawn chair and **** down a Corona or two!

 

[<>Severed<>]

If you are going to have it painted with an automotive paint and want a warranty DO NOT USE SODABLASTING. most of the big paint compaines will not warranty it anymore. There have been 50000+ paint jobs fail because of it. It gets into the metal and wont come out untill it wants to. Media blasting is a good alterative though better than sand but none of the bad of soda.

 

[goodfellow]

If you are going to have it painted with an automotive paint and want a warranty DO NOT USE SODABLASTING. most of the big paint compaines will not warranty it anymore. There have been 50000+ paint jobs fail because of it. It gets into the metal and wont come out untill it wants to. Media blasting is a good alterative though better than sand but none of the bad of soda.

That's interesting!!! Thanks for the advice. Where did you get that info? The reason I ask is that a good friend has to redo his rear quarter panels due to the paint lifting in some spots. Both quarters were soda blasted. I'd like to get him some good advice before he does the same thing over again.

 

[buening]

I'm amazed by the people with large compressors that claim they have to wait on their compressor while sandblasting. What CFM tip are you using on your sandblaster? I've blasted frames at home before and never have to wait on my compressor to catch up. Mine is an 80gal 7.5hp with 25cfm @ 150psi. It is a little larger than the OP's Eaton, but Eaton compressor tend to put out some high CFM with the smaller 5hp motors and shouldn't have a problem with a 10-15cfm tip.

I have an old Campbell Hausfeld suction-type blaster that holds about 50lbs of media. I use black beauty media and recycle it a few times (blaster has a filter on it for filtering out the large ****). Black beauty is available locally at around $8 for a 50lb bag. It DOES create a heck of a mess, but the blaster was cheap, the media is cheap, and it is reusable. I never have to wait on my compressor and don't really have any issues with the suction type blaster other than random tip plugging. Invest in a quality dust mask and a sandblasting hood!

I create a tarped environment (like a circus tent) in my garage to keep the media from going everywhere. I use stepladders with tarps over them and the item I'm blasting. The media hits the tarp and drops to the ground. When I'm out of media, I flip up the tarps and sweep the floor and refill the blaster via a dust pan. You will get dust all over the garage even with using tarps, but it keeps the media around your frame so it's easily swept. If you have a nice garage with lots of stuff on the wall that can trap dust, then be prepared for a good full weekend of cleaning!

If this is the only large item that you will ever be blasting, farm it out. If you plan on doing a lot more larger things that won't fit in a cabinet blaster and want to invest in the tools, go for it! It definitely is not glamorous work

 

[malibu101]

As was mentioned above, silica is bad stuff. Especially when in extremly small particles like happens when the grains break hitting the surface.
Search silicosis-bad stuff.
NOT trying to talk you put of it by any means. Just know what you could be getting into. Protect yourself and have fun.

 

[linyautoguy]

I cannot tell you how on the money the recommendation to not use soda is. I had a paint job destroyed by soda. After I was all done I found bubbling over, just about every part, and that was after I washed and cleaned everything. Never again with soda.

I had a sandblaster destroy a 56 chevy as she warped everything and left me with such a lousy surface I had to skim coat the entire car and put on about 30 pounds of plastic.

Finally, I found a media balster that actually knows what they are doing and I have been using them for over a year. For those of you in the NY area they are www.socleanblasting.com.

I also tried it myself and it is just a waste of time, best for a pro to do this part of the job.

Frank

 

[e-tek]

Totally agree!
I tried to do a set of 14inch wheels in my Sand blaster - after having good luck with many small and medium pieces. BIG DIFFERENCE! The thickness of the rust and paint/undercoat on the wheels was WAY too much for my cabinet. I took them to an industrial blaster and they completely cleaned them in about 20 minutes each. If I have wheels - or anything larger - to do in the future, I'll definitely take them in!

 

[tcianci]

WOW I had never heard of that problem with soda blasting, but the process does seem to be relatively new, maybe in the last 10 years or so, so I guess this is when you would start to see the anecdotal evidence show up. I have a nice TP blast cabinet and a 6.5 hp 80 gallon DeVilbis compressor to run it, I have never had a problem with the compressor keeping up but you need to make sure your sandblasting equipment will operate correctly with the air delivery you have available. Moving to a smaller blaster is actually less frustrating than waiting for the compressor to catch up when you're using a bigger sandblasting unit. Unless you have lots of time on your hands, you may want to farm out that frame. Sand blasting, I guess the correct term is now media blasting because there are so many options beside sand and the silicosis possibilities seem real, is a messy process. If you do decide to do it yourself, get the proper respiratory protection, and a media designed for the type of material you want to remove.

Good luck