media blaster question

sethkestenbaum

sethkestenbaum

Well-known member
Is it "worth it" to have a small media blaster in the home garage? With all the wire brushing I am doing lately, I'm wondering if I would be better served with a media blaster set up? Thoughts?
 
A wise expendature. It sits there waiting, and always ready to clean up something. Glass beads work well on aluminum, brass, copper, and for removing thin layers of paint. Rust and thick paint takes longer.
 
It goes probably goes without saying but ensure you clean you parts REAL GOOD after bead blasting, including threaded holes.
 
It does take a high volume air compressor. I have a 5 horse three phase 20 cubic FPM compressor feeding my media blaster. I have found it is still much faster to clean some items such as wire wheels with a sand blaster.

Gar Williams
 
Seth,
You said "home garage" so I assume you have limited space. One of the biggest problems is the extremely fine particle dust. The dust will get into every nook and cranny of everything. That dust will also be extremely abrasive and will leave fine scratches if you try to casually wipe it off a painted surface.

I strongly suggest mounting the exhaust and baghouse/ filter/ whatever OUTSIDE. Even the best filter system will pass some fine dust. You will also have a dusty mess when you go to clean it out.

The airflow and dust collection with most of the smaller "home use" cabinets is woefully inadequate. You need free air flow through the cabinet and to an exhaust that is at least 3X the CFM rating of the largest blast nozzle you will use. The cabinet ventilation air flow should be linear and through the cabinet deck or table.

Make sure you also have an air nozzle inside the cabinet. Many cabinets do not come with a separate air gun. After blasting blow away all excess media (grit) from the work, walls, lights, and window. Then let the air inside the cabinet clear with the exhaust fan for a minute or two before opening the cabinet door.
 
mike k brought up some very good points.. you get what you pay for a junk cabinet in a small area with no or inadequate evac system can be tough. also the type of abrasive used is important. the cheaper stuff creates alot more dust
tptools.com sells good usa made units..
 
Also spend some money right away and buy the carbide nozzle. They pay for themselves in longevity and down time of constantly changing worn out cheap nozzels. Buy spare glass and try to keep the media away from the glass and gloves.
 
just remember you need a compressor to supply addequet air to blaster...I use black magic carberendem as medium..a little course, but lasts longer and takes rust off anyting...must oil or paint immediately or rust will come on in a day...
 
I love mine but you will also need an industrial sized high volume air compressor and a vacuum system to evacuate the dust from the cabinet.
 
All good advice above.

I bought one of the Harbor Freight free standing units. I took the time to pull it apart and caulk all of the panels and joints making it pretty air tight. A little time consuming but well worth it.
I have a ten gallon craftsman wet / dry vacuum that I hook up to the blast cabinet while in use. I also set up an additional air hose and air gun inside the cabinet so when I am done blasting I use the air gun to blow any media off of the inside of the door so media doesn't spill out when the door is opened.
The bigger the compressor the better. Really frustrating if your compressor is too small and you have to stop and wait for it to catch up.
 
Mike is right about the fine blasting dust getting everywhere. I've learned that I need to wear a painter's mask with charcoal filters, or I have breathing problems for a few days. I have a small Dayton cabinet in the basement, and the fine dust is everywhere.
 
One change I made to the HF cabinet we have in the shop, I drilled out the holes that the front glass was mounted to and installed the pop rivet threaded inserts. Our cabinet came with clear covers for the glass. When it get's to the point where we can't see thru the window, I just take the screws out and cut/replace the protective film. The original setup came with nut's and screws that were a real pain to remove, esp the ones on the far side.
 
If you want to start small and get some experience with minimum cost and minimum mess you might want to try soda blasting. At Harbor Freight you can get a soda blaster for under a 100 bucks (MAKE SURE you get one of their blue soda blasters, NOT one of their red media blasters. THEY ARE DIFFERENT ANIMALS!) and they sell bags of the soda blast media as well. I have a moderate compressor which handles the soda blaster fine. They are not good for removing heavy rust, but they strip paint and surface rust just fine, and soda blasting will not warp sheet metal. The soda (baking soda) is non toxic and soluble in water. So work outside on the driveway or whatever. When done sweep up majority and discard it and leave the rest for the next rain - when it will disappear!

However the easiest way for smaller parts is a 5 gallon home depot bucket filled with Evaporust! :D
 
I'm not adverse to considering a soda blaster. Out of curiosity, what would the disadvantage be to using a soda blaster as opposed to other media? What is the argument for/against?
 
sethkestenbaum said:
I'm not adverse to considering a soda blaster. Out of curiosity, what would the disadvantage be to using a soda blaster as opposed to other media? What is the argument for/against?
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I use my blaster for rust removal, so I always use Black Beauty from Menards. It does a good job of rust removal and leaves the surface ready for paint.

Soda is more for paint removal, and not effective on much rust. It's good for removing a layer of paint to reveal the layer under it.
 
Your Compressor should do the job with a blast cabinet. A couple of tricks to make things easier on you. 1. Get a couple of driers to put on the air line. 2. Get the fine mesh cover that goes on the inside of the glass. This will protect the glass keep you from changing it so much. Or get the plastic covers that peel off the inside. 3. A light inside is a must. The longest fluorescent bulb that will fit up in the cover is a good idea. Sandblasters only cause problems when, The air gets wet, The compressor isn't strong enough and the particle gets worn out. Everyone should have one.
John Poole Many Hours on a Sandblaster!!!
 
Good point about the light inside the cabinet.
Since I changed from regular light bulbs to the small curly fluorescent I haven't had to change bulbs. Three years now and still going strong.
 
Seth,
Quite a few guys mentioned that you need a descent compressor, which might be true, but you really need an adequate volume of air. If you find that you are running out of air, rig yourself an extra tank inline by using an old compressor, handy gass tank or a used truck air brake tank. Dont forget to inslall a pressure relief valve as well.
Regards
Chris
 
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