i'm looking into buying a benchtop blaster for small parts. wanted to see if any of you guys had info./tips/tricks/etc.

first off are there any brands to look for/stay away from. i take it the cabinet is pretty much a cabinet but i couls see the guns being a key point. i am looking for a small all in one solution.

is there anything you shouldn't blast or is media selection the key? can stuff like threaded or precision fitted parts be blasted.

anyone got a quick rundown of media vs. material?

 

As far as a blaster goes you get what you pay for. I would try and get a good used industrial one off of craigslist. The industial ones will have a dust remover that maintains visibility inside the cabinet. We use aluminum oxide, however for basic parts to be painted just get some good clean dry play sand. The Depot usually has several grades.

Good Luck

 

space is an issue which is why i was looking at the small cabinets. around 2'^3. any brand recommendations?

 

play-sand works??? I've only blasted with 2 different types of sand and as far as I could tell, the finer the grit, the more expensive. (i know there is more to it than that)

I'm looking for a good "gun" myself as I've made two attempts with these little 5/8's valves with a tip on one end. The sand wears away at the housing eventually I guess because its only taken me an hour of use to put holes in them. I bought this other crappy *** dead-mans handle one. That was a real pos. when you let off the "trigger" a piece of rubber is pressed against the tip of the gun to prevent sand from coming out. Well...the sand eats away at that too and you have to keep replacing them.

let me know if you find something BETTER. I need to get a cabinet myself.

 

well i have used a cabnet

on all my bike parts. i went and got glass beads. its makes for a lot better end result. ie not rough. (hence why i was polishing the parts up)


sand tho is very rough.

as far as a gun, as long as it works it works imo. the one i used was actually ate up from all the blasting so it wasent the best but it got the job done


also a big air com is helpfull . i had to wait and wait for the smaller one to build back up. i blasted for 3 hours strait one time..

 

air shouldn't be a problem. guess i'' just got with a ~$200 small parts cabinet and see what happens.

 

I'll let you guys know how it goes, hopefully I'll be using it tonight. I got a husky siphon feed gun ceramic tip blah blah, made a glovebox out of a large plastic clear tub (ghetto, low-cost set-up) and I picked up some aquarium sand since I couldn't find silica stuff anywhere, I also have some play sand, so I might try that and then the aquarium sand and see how much time I can knock off of a 3.5 ssim'd manifold I have to polish

 

after doin a little bit of research i found that medium glass bead is the preferred medium for auto parts because of it's grit vs. finish.

 

someone figure out where to get this **** in BULK. I have been paying 20 bucks for like a 50 pound bag at Tractor Supply.

 

Call a sandblasting supply place. There's one over by Hobby airport on Almeda-Genoa or so.

 

i also got a 50lb bag but its pretty simply. use a cabinet and recycle the stuff. no problem.


also glass bead will leave lot smoother finish. thats what i used on all of my bike parts. then polished them up

 

I have a bench top sandblaster & a Syphon along with a 3 HP,60 gallons compressor.

You can buy a bench top for like 199$ + a dust collector for another 199$ from bad boy blaster on e-bay. I personally prefer to use aluminum oxyde, whenever you have rusted parts, it will be much easier to clean part, and formost you can re-use the alu oxide many many time so it is very cost effective ( about 20$ cdn per 20 Kg bag ), I believe glass bead can only be use one time as the particule collapse once it hit the parts, but it in fact may leave smoother surface after the media blast. I have sandblasted the entire engine bay of the max with alu oxide and it did a great job.

 

If you guys use silica sand be very very careful with it, it is known to give cancer and you can become sick very quickly, so make sure you buy/use a NIOSH breathing mask.

 

that's actually the one i was looking at. would you recommend it?

 

I have one like this, but I didn't bought the dust collector so the filter would get clog after a while, but it is easy to clean. The dust collector is very useful since it will remove the dust as it is generate and it will be easier to see what you are doing, also make sure you buy a couple of clear pealed off skin as it protect the Plexiglas from being damaged, I believe they supply one or two but order some more as it is very practical to have it handy. I have cleaned a lot of parts, like the brake caliper and all kinds of bracket, bolts nuts etc.

Feel free to ask if you have any questions, I'd be glad to help you.

Cheers

Andre