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MG TD TF 1500 - Sandblaster at home

Any recommendations? I know the compressor is king on this kind of application. For the cost of taking parts to the local blaster and the time involved, I can pretty much buy a unit. Probably a new compressor too.

I know I won't be doing the frame, but the small stuff..... There's lots of it.

...
MAndrus

Two quick thoughts:

1) NEVER use sand !
2) install good lighting.
FOG Frank

Harbor Freight has a good size Blast Cabinet relatively inexpensive and Eastwood sells a portable blast unit. If you are blasting outside with the portable unit use soda. It is gentle on metal but is biodegradable. The best thing I found for the blast cabinet is BLACK BEAUTY® Abrasives Blast Media. I get it at Amazon. Don't use sand, it's a health hazard. You are right, the bigger the compressor the better. With the portable blaster and soda you could actually do the frame.

Tim
TD12524
TW Burchfield

The HF blast cabinet works very well for smaller items, but, before you use it, you should pull the front window frame off and seal the surface with foam tape or vinyl sealant. Dust will blow out around the glass if you don't. I use walnut shells for aluminum and pot metal and glass beads for most other items. No mater what you do, use caution on delicate parts, even lowering the air pressure at times. I like my cabinet as it works well, I just wish it was bigger at times. I had a commercial blaster do the chassis. PJ
Paul161

Paul, I use an old shop vac hooked up to the port on the cabinet and there's no dust and visibility is great. I do run through a lot of shop vac filters however. I'm trying to come up with a cheaper solution.

Tim
TW Burchfield

Lots out there, you do need a decent sized compressor. I totally second Tim's idea with the shop vac. Otherwise the dust coats the window and you can't see either. George
George Butz

I used Eastwood's Soda Blaster and a harbor freight compressor. I bought a cheap tent which I set up in the driveway to contain the soda (the parts and my hands were in the tent, I sat outside with a respirator). It worked well but it was slow--so slow I finally gave up and had them done professionally. They did the whole thing in two days-- I managed 1/6 of the panels working weekends over 6 months. If you have the $$, I suggest you have it done professionally--you can drop the panels off Monday and have the panels blasted and epoxy primed in time to start working on Saturday.
J Cosin

The most popular units out there are from Harbor Freight, but if you plan to do a lot of blasting then chances are you will spend more than the cost of the cabinet replacing parts and making improvements. There is practically a sub-culture of people out there who modify and improve the HF cabinets so that they actually work correctly. The gun is poor quality, the cabinets leak like crazy, etc. But with enough mods they can be fixed up to work well, and it's a cheap initial purchase.

A dust collector and good lighting are essential. A shop vac can be used, but if you really want to keep the air clear inside the cabinet while you work, and trap dust before it blows out into your shop, a quality dust collector is a good investment. You need a powerful vac motor to create as much negative pressure in the cabinet as possible. Doing a lot of blasting work, you will likely eat through shop vacs fairly quickly.

TP Tools sell quality, US-made cabinets (and also a cheaper line of imported units). There are a lot of HF cabinets out there with TP guns and accessories installed, so if you do go with an HF cabinet, plan to double what you spent on it in about six months in repairs. In the long run, for someone doing a lot of blasting work, I feel it's penny wise to spend the money and get a quality unit from the start.
Steve Simmons

I've got one of these:

Barrelblaster.com

Not much more than the HF cabinet and you don't have to seal it, modify it, etc. it comes out of the box with a good gun, good lighting, etc.
David Littlefield

I've heard nothing but good things about barrel blasters. Great value. The only downside is the small size, but no problem if you don't need to blast anything large. I have a 4-foot cabinet and it's still too small, but I also have a 6,000 pound tractor I'm restoring so that's why.
Steve Simmons

You didn't specify what you want to blast? Big factor. The archives has plenty on this topic. I know because I used it a lot during my resto.
Ed
efh Haskell

I've always used an angle grinder with a wire brush on heavy items, including chassis and suspension parts. I use paint stripper on panels as too many people have told me never to blast them as doing so alters the shape. Right or wrong?
Dave H
Dave Hill

Dave in the hands of anyone but an "experienced" operator the heat generated by media blasting does deform the panel. The problem is finding someone with that experience. This raises two questions. How can you be sure that guy isn't going to be off sick on the day your panels are due to be blasted & how many of whose panels did he destroy gaining that experience? Chemical stripping is the way to go with body panels. Just ensure all traces are removed prior to painting. Heat deformed panels can be brought back into shape though. I've seen it done with oxy but heat shrinking metal is rapidly becoming a real lost art. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

Dave, sand will definitely deform a panel if not done properly. I've never heard of soda blasting deforming panels.

Tim
TW Burchfield

Steve, I guess I got lucky with my HF blast cabinet. I've had it for over six years and never had a problem. The original florescent light is still working. I just replaced the handle and hose last month but other than that I have been very happy with it. The shop vac is all I've ever used for dust removal and I've been very happy with the results

Tim

BTW I don't have any financial interest in HF or Shop Vac (wish I did).
TW Burchfield

The Harbor Freight unit has served me well for small parts. I had to add a light. Visibility can be an issue. I suspect had I used the shop vac as previously noted would have been better. Dust leakage was minor. Tools and hose which came with the unit work fine.

Put your $ into a good compressor.
R W Hinton

I've used sand, a pressure pot and a respirator to restore two TCs. No one "warned" me about damaging panels so I blasted them as well as the chassis and running gear. Both cars have turned out great, my lungs are no worse for wear, and sand is reusable...sweep it off the driveway, filter out the debris and use it again.
Gene Gillam

Soda is great for paint removal.. Not so much for rust. Don't use sand for the reasons stated above... Gene's experience is the exception. Regards, tom
tm peterson

"Silica sand: This product is a potentially serious health hazard and should not be used as an abrasive. If silica containing (quartz) materials are selected for any reason, workers must wear a positive pressure or pressure demand respirator with an assigned protection factor (APF) of either 1000 or 2000. Silica must be contained and disposed of properly. Even if a wet blasting method is selected, silica that is allowed to migrate by either wind or water, will eventually become an airborne contaminant."
http://www.lbl.gov/


Tim
TW Burchfield

Well, I've gotta admit I've got a sandblast cabinet and I do use sand from time to time (in addition to other abrasive products where appropriate). However, I have my cabinet connected up to a large canister vacuum with a bag inside, and when it's full I discard the bag and all the dust in one shot... there's really no mess involved. The negative pressure inside the cabinet (due to the high-flow vacuum) leaves my shop free of any stray dust on cabinet tops and benches, so I'm pretty sure I'm not breathing any either. That being said, I do agree that you have to treat abrasive dusts like silica with great respect.
Kevin McLemore

Just because you haven't noticed the effects yet, that doesn't mean you aren't being poisoned. How many years did it take for people to die a horrible death from asbestos exposure?

Don't ignore the warning stickers about this!

http://www.lung.org/lung-disease/silicosis/understanding-silicosis.html
Steve Simmons

I too have an HF 110 pound blaster and am using it on heavy parts to restore my '34PA.

I have the frame mounted on a wooden dolly and wheel the chassis outside of my shop, each time I blast. The dust is indeed murderous!

But the biggest problem is keeping the temperature of the air and moisture to reasonable levels so the sand is dry and doesn't clog. The air from my compressor can get very hot.

To solve this, I had an unused coil of ⅝" copper tubing in my shop (probably about 25 feet). I simply flared the ends and fitted air hose fitting. Its lowered into a plastic tub, where my garden hose sits on the bottom under the coil and is left to run at a slow trickle. Primitive, but it gets results.

Gord Clark
Rockburn, Qué.
Gord Clark

I have to start by asking "what is it you want to blast and why?" Small metal parts can be done in a medium sized blast cabinet.

TD fenders and running boards can be done with paint remover, you want to also be careful with any part that has wood attached to it.

I built a hot tank out of a 55 gallon drum. I use lye and heat it with a propane burner under it. YES, it is very caustic and you need to be careful when using it (READ THE DIRECTIONS ON THE CAN AND USE A FACE SHIELD AND LONG RUBBER GLO ES), I use 6 to 8 cans of pure lye to 50 gallons of water. You put a burner under the tank, put the parts in and take them out completely stripped. Again, you don't want to do anything with wood on it, but for fenders and other all metal pieces it works great.

When done, you add vinegar to the tank and use PH strips until it is at PH 7. Once neutralized you can pour it on the ground (Sodium Hydroxide = NaOH. Vinegar is Acetic Acid = CH3COOH. Mixed together you get (CH3COONa) + (H2O). or Sodium acetate (a food additive) and water.)

Bruce TD4139 Cunha

This thread was discussed between 18/09/2015 and 22/09/2015

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