Sandblaster

[RiverDog]

I just bought a cheap sandblaster and don't know what kind of sand to Use. I had a bag of playsand that I put in but it seems too wet and hardly any comes out and then it plugs up around the outlet in the bucket. Is there a special kind of sand needed?

 

[exdeath]

Yeah, its a special type of purified silica sand made especially for sand blasting and comes in different grain sizes and everything. Make sure you have a respirator before you mess with that stuff though.

Also check the rules in your state for hazardous materials and pollution with regards to sand blasting; the particulate waste from the sand being pulverized on impact is a regulated pollutant in some places, and must be used in a sealed environment where the waste is recovered and contained.

 

[RiverDog]

Originally posted by: exdeath
Yeah, its a special type of purified silica sand made especially for sand blasting and comes in different grain sizes and everything. Make sure you have a respirator before you mess with that stuff though.

Also check the rules in your state for hazardous materials and pollution with regards to sand blasting; the particulate waste from the sand being pulverized on impact is a regulated pollutant in some places.

Who would sell that kind of stuff? I looked quickly at HD and Lowes but didn't see anything.

 

[exdeath]

Any kind of automotive paint supply or body shop would be my guess. Industrial or machine supply places should have it too. Any place that stocks such equipment as torches, welders, plasma cutters, etc, should have sand blasting equipment and medium.

There is also glass bead and steel shot and things like that. The steel shot you can even recover and reuse since it doesn't break up like glass or sand.

The stuff you used is probably rough, random sized grains, etc, and doesn't flow well, thats why you need special sand blasting medium and not just any ordinary sand. Sand made for blasting is filtered so it's consistent grain sizes and the grains are worn and smooth so they are slippery and flow well without plugging anything up.

 

[RiverDog]

Appreciate the quick advise. I'll see if I can locate one of those places.

Thanks :beer:

 

[exdeath]

Originally posted by: RiverDog
Appreciate the quick advise. I'll see if I can locate one of those places.

Thanks :beer:

Make sure you have a respirator and either do it in a sealed containment system or outside or in a well ventilated area away from people, especially with silica based sand. You don't want you or anybody around you breathing that stuff, it's like glass dust.

 

[Kaspian]

Originally posted by: RiverDog

Who would sell that kind of stuff? I looked quickly at HD and Lowes but didn't see anything.

We used to get ours from a concrete plant. And no its not regular sand. You will also have options in the type of grit.

If you are going to be sanblasting often, invest in an air assisted helmet design for sanblasting. You'll need a small air compresor (oiless type).

 

[franksta]

What sort of things are you blasting? You will have different media requirements based on the work you are doing.

 

[exdeath]

Oh yeah, the kind of sand you want resembles the smooth clean white beach sand, not like brown playground sandbox sand.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Yep, play sand like at Lowe's isn't clean enough, even if it's bone dry.

I can give you one other piece of advice: Unless you have a 2-stage compressor, yours isn't strong enough, regardless of what its claimed CFM ratings are.

I also got an el cheapo blaster, and it works the hell out of my 60 gallon Craftsman Professional, even though it claims it has more than enough CFM to do the job.

Even the little hand-held spot blasters will just about kill a home compressor.

That said, as long as you're not trying to sandblast large parts, like fenders or an engine block, you might be okay. When your compressor kicks on, let it build back up before you start blasting again. Otherwise, it'll just run and run.

I got a decent-sized pressure pot blaster, and even with that, the compressor runs quite a bit.

 

[antyler]

Originally posted by: exdeath

Originally posted by: RiverDog
Appreciate the quick advise. I'll see if I can locate one of those places.

Thanks :beer:

Make sure you have a respirator and either do it in a sealed containment system or outside or in a well ventilated area away from people, especially with silica based sand. You don't want you or anybody around you breathing that stuff, it's like glass dust.

And use caution. Dont come into physical content with the gun when it is running. It has the ability to eat right through your skin.

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

inhaling silica is known to cause lung cancer. make SURE you are wearing the proper type of respiraotr or positive-pressure air hood.

 

[herm0016]

i am going to guess its a cabinet, but everyone has good advise. I like to use glass beads when working with soft metal or stuff you want a really nice finish on. I use the black stuff that looks like volcanic glass that is from some sort of smelting process for just regular old parts and stuff. even the big Ingersoll rand pressure oiled 2 stage with intercooler (not sure on the take size, but its about 5 feet tall and 3 feet in dia.) that i run just keeps up if its a big part and takes some time to blast. also, watch your pressure, higher is not always better, at high pressure you could be doing more smashing of the media than removing paint or rust. i usually run between 90 and 100 psi with the black slag and closer to 80 with the glass beads.