The Rebuild

[Cameron Reed]

Hi there Robert, have been toying with the idea of buying one of those type pressure blasters for a while now to do jeep and blitz parts, so thought I may ask a few questions. Do you only use sand or have you tried garnet, what size compressor you have and does it keep up, how long do you get out of a pot of media and roughly how long does it take to do a rim and do the nozzles wear quick?

Enjoying the photo's and like the fact she still has to earn her keep nice work all the best

[Phil Waterman]

Originally Posted by chopper

Hi there Robert, have been toying with the idea of buying one of those type pressure blasters for a while now to do jeep and blitz parts, so thought I may ask a few questions. Do you only use sand or have you tried garnet, what size compressor you have and does it keep up, how long do you get out of a pot of media and roughly how long does it take to do a rim and do the nozzles wear quick?
.....

Alternative to buying a sandblaster if you only need to do truck rims- one of my friends who has a large sandblaster put me on to this one. Check with large commercial truck tire shop many of them have an automated blasting machine that has a rotary table and automated head they drop the rim in on the table, close cabinet, the hit the power timer and walk away. Come back later open the cabinet and take out the clean rim.

One big point though know mater how you sandblast the rims, protect the threads, I cut up some old heater hose and pushed them on too each of the rim bolts to protect the thread. I use the same bits of hose to protect the threads when painting the rims as well.

There has been a lengthy thread on what size air compressor is best.

Cheers Phil

[hrpearce]

Hi Cameron,
Because of my low budget I have only used creek sand that has been sived through fly screen. I blast outside on a total loss system. Sand wears the nozels rapidly so I have started making my own out of 1/4" break pipe. I have a 4cfm and a 6cfm compressor both hooked up to a 60L air tank and they don't keep up but last long enough to do a side of a rim and catch up while you are turning it over and have a minute break, all up about 20 minutes to do a rim and it uses a full tank of sand per rim.
Hope this helps.

[Bob Carriere]

Hi Cameron

A lot has been said on previous threads but the essence is this.....

Sand blasting can be fun or a pain....... the satisfaction of watching rust disappear and seeing clean metal..... a 60+ year old piece of steel looking like new again..... on the other hand in 30C temp under a black leatherette hood.. with a jammed nozzle can be trying.....

If I had to do a full truck again I would strip it down to a rolling chassis and get it done by a contractor....... and do the detailing myself using my own machine.

Kompressor wise the bigger the better.... I use a 10 hp..... 30 cfm at 100 pounds and on a hot day we can over heat the sucker.... we use a 100 pound pressurized pot and you need a 1/2 rubber hose to maintain pressure and cfm. At start up, the motor draws 65 amps and dims the lights in the village..... well almost... a rim takes 1.5 bags of sand.... that 80 + 40 pounds....... I use white quarts at $8.00 a bag.... total loss system.... makes the place look like a Xmas scene even in July. Sand will bounce and travel at least twenty miles from where you are doing your deed..... nearest deposits will be in your shorts... and even the closed tool box behind sealed doors will have sand residue in it....... don't ask me why....

I have tried the more expensive dust free slag but did not find it cut as well as quarts sand.... the hood we use as a fresh air system....ceramic nozzle will last about 40 bags...cost about $10... as they get bigger from wear they waste more sand..... cheaper to change if more often.....

Minimum is a good 5 hp..... with the largest tank you can get for capacity.

Usually the sand pot gets empty just when you personally run out of steam..... compressor gets a break while you reload....

You need to properly degrease the clean steel...... auto shop sell a weak lye solution....sun dried... then flashed with phosphoric acid...again available at auto body shop stores.... sun dried again..... now will take paint very well on the agressive surface.....

re-using old sand can cause a lot of nozzle blockage which is a pain... also the sand will be less than 50% efficient the second time around not to mention more dusty.

I think it is a worth while tool for doing a lot of smaller items.... like a few rims at a time...... but to work fast doing a full frame axles, springs, ect. a high pressure contractor is something to consider.

A note of caution..... the dust, paint(lead) particles, rust, etc. can be very toxic and in certain (urban?) areas the sand leftover from sandblasting is considered toxic waste and can be costly to have it removed and carted to a special disposal site...... my practice reflects the rural environment and so far my 3 headed neigbours down wind have not complained.....

You can do worst using a wire brush on an electric drill cleaning parts in your house basement.

Go forth and have a blast.....

Boob

[Cameron Reed]

Thanks Phil, Robert and Bob for the information I'll give one a try, I like the idea of doing as much of the work yourself,doesn't necessary end up the cheapest but you get the satifaction when you stand back to say you done it. As for the neighbours (suburbs) I might get rid of the molasses setup which might get rid of "a funny smell from something" as they say

[hrpearce]

The RTA got the colour right this year

[hrpearce]

Another job finally done I hope I finish before I wear the blitz out driveing it, besides it's work as a spray rig it has four trips to local towns to do in the next five weeks.