Sandblasting

[mriz]

I am going to to do some sandblasting on a 1977 Z I just bought and I could use some suggestions on what type of medium to use. I was given a small portable unit I can hook up to my compressor but haven't used yet. Also any online suppliers , or type of business that might sell locally?

Thanks

[Ed]

I'm just starting to learn myself but I'll help you with what I can.

Depending on what type of material you are going to sandblast will help you choose your blasting media. What are you going to blast? Glass bead works great for aluminium and other soft metals but is very dusty. Sand works best for hard metals and is cheaper, but you have to be carefull not to inhale the dust.

Look in your phone book under sandblasting equipment for someone who will have the materials you will need. Also, click the search button and do a search for sandblasting, you will find all kinds of info.

Good luck.

[2ManyZs]

And, if you are going to blast it outside where you won't be able to recover and re-use the media, your best bet is to use plain old "play sand" you can get at most any hardware store or home improvement center like Lowe's. Just make sure it is dry and if it has any clumps in it, set it aside for a while to dry.

Just be sure to put a tarp down if you want to try to re-use any of it and get a fine piece of screen to get rid of the rust/junk that you have already removed so it doesn't clog up your nozzle on the blaster.

[hls30.com]

I will add my two cents.

I have had sand blasting alone actually peen rust into the pores of the metal. In an area of high humidity, the rust will come back. Before you sandblast, treat the rusted area with ospho, or some rust eating acid solution, then, after blasting, etch again. I have used the "etch sandblast and re-etch method" many times, and never had another problem.

Outside, I use playsand from Home Depot for sheet metal(use a good respirator, eye protection, and securely cover anything you do not want the sand in). I keep real glass bead and walnut shells for use in in my blast cabinet for parts.

Will

[EScanlon]

A quick and inexpensive screen sifter can be found in the Kitchen Tools area of your better department stores. I found a 9" diameter with a 6" deep "bowl" wire mesh screen. Someone else can come up with it's correct name, for me it was a very easy to use and inexpensive sand sifter.

I also used the sand box sand. You CAN re-use it, but only so many times before it becomes .... DUST! With that in mind be sure to wear a good dust mask. Trust me, you do NOT want this dust in your lungs. (Ever heard of Silicosis?)

If you are in a residential area where neighbors might complain about the plume of dust you will be kicking up take a look at the one picture I'm appending. You will see a sandblasting "booth" I made in my driveway.

It's made from one of those 10x10 pop up canopies with heavy duty tarps wired to the frame. Be careful to NOT overload the frame with the weight of the tarps, but you don't want lightweight tarps (They'll shred very easy if you blast them by mistake!)

Yiou can see more pictures in My Gallery.

Hope this helps.

Enrique

[beandip]

I used escanlon's sandblaster and it worked fine I dident find any trouble with rust being peaned into the metal. I treated all bare metal with the Mariene Clean and Metal ready , then painted all with POR . It is vary important to tape off everything ,as was mentioned , that you dont want sand in. Any switches and so forth it is amaizing how it filters in to everything . I know of no other rust preventive better than POR. my 2.5 c

[hls30.com]

I didn't mention it, but I've been using POR 15 and associated products for 10 years-if the surface prep is right, the coating lasts as well as anything out there-better than most! Ospho is a more common version of Metal Ready-very close cousins.

The problems I encountered from sandblasting alone are evidenced in the rust creeping back in my lower door panels.

I sand blasted replacement panels and welded them in 10 years ago, two years ago they started blistering from the inside. They were the first items I treated with POR 15. After speaking with the Tech support line, and taking pictures of the both sides of both doors, the only explanation was that the high humidity in South Georgia and the temperature differential that occurred in the lapse between the Sandblasting and the installation and coating of the pieces (prepped the evening before and installed/coated the next morning all inside a shop) allowed moisture to condense on rust particles that were peened into the pores of the metal and become encapsulated under the POR15 coating.The POR15 surface was still completely sealed, but bubbled-larger area than the outside. The process took 8 years to develop.

I am still using POR15, and many of its family of products, .but I am taking no chances for a repeat performance. Prep-work is the key, the best products in the world are only as good as the care you take in applying them

Will

[mriz]

Thanks for all of the info . I will be sure to follow the advice ( Don't want to do it twice). MRIZ

[gramercyjam]

No more play sand for me, it isn't worth the trouble, whether or not you are reclaiming the media. Black Diamonds - in 50 lb bags from Northern Tools is around $5. Just shot 300 lbs last weekend. Cleans much better than sand, no clogging, clumping, etc (sand will clog no matter how much you sift it). Much less dust and no _silica_ dust either. I blast at 170 psi using a compressor with a 60 gal tank. It will go as long as I want to go. Little 5 HP, 120 PSI compressors with 20 gal tanks will let you blast for about 30 seconds, then you wait 5 minutes for them to pump up. Get a decent blasting hood with lots of extra lenses, a particulate respirator and wear heavy leather gloves.