Blast material

[PhantomEB]

Ok disassembling my blast cabinet to seal her up better, currently silica sand in there.

Now question is for general usuage, like rust removal and cleaning.

1. Do I stick to Silica Sand.
2. Go to Glass bead grit 20-35
3. Go to Glass bead grit 35-60
4. An alternative. Elaborate please.

Thanks in advance.

[Nowhere]

aluminium oxide?

[Aces'n'8s]

Since you mentioned "general usage" and not delicate trim, thin sheetmetal, etc., I would keep using silica sand. It's hard to beat blasting with cheap or free sand. I can buy a ton of that orange sand for $45.

However, I've scored some white "sifted" sand for free (only some shoveling on my part) that's used by brickmasons by simply asking them for their leftovers. After they finished, the builder is just going to tell his landscape/dirt crew to grade it into the yard anyhow.

[frankenfab]

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=2742

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/photos/02700-02799/02742.gif

Works great and a lot less dust then ordinary sand. Sand and glass also contain silica which is a health risk (google silicosis).



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[cebby]

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=2742

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/photos/02700-02799/02742.gif

Works great and a lot less dust then ordinary sand. Sand and glass also contain silica which is a health risk (google silicosis).



.

Does that stuff also go by "Starblast"? I used something that looked similar and it worked great!

[cashflowdub]

i use glass bead and it works well

[frankenfab]

Does that stuff also go by "Starblast"? I used something that looked similar and it worked great!

No, it's aluminum oxide the stuff that is glued onto paper to make sandpaper.

Stardust is something else...

http://msabrasive.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=246





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[bigdreamin]

Another nice thing I have noticed about aluminium oxide is that it cuts rust alot faster than sand and the edges stay "sharp" longer, meaning it will cut faster and longer (doesn't have to be changed as often) as silica sand. Downside, and it's been said, AO isn't free.

[ChiScouter]

Im going to blast the entire dump bed of a 1 ton dumptruck that is rusted to hell from having road salt in the back of it. After blasting I plan on welding in patches where it is rusted through or weak and then painting it and putting a For Sale sign on it. I will be using a pressurized blaster and will of course be doing it outside. I was planning on using playground sand from Home Depot as I am doing this on the cheap. Do you guys see a problem with using the playground sand, or is there something that is better and close in price? Is wearing a respirator with the standard 2 filter dust cartriges adequate for breathing protection?

[cebby]

No, it's aluminum oxide the stuff that is glued onto paper to make sandpaper.

Stardust is something else...

http://msabrasive.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=246


Thanks!!

[frankenfab]

Do you guys see a problem with using the playground sand, or is there something that is better and close in price? Is wearing a respirator with the standard 2 filter dust cartriges adequate for breathing protection?

Last time I used my pressure pot, I used quartz blasting media from Home Depot. It was stacked right next to the play sand. It was only a little more expensive, and worked better.

The only "right" respirator for sand blasting is a supplied air respirator.

An N95 mask (often called a body man's mask) would be better than nothing. You can get one from harbor freight or your local paint and body store...

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=91208

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/photos/91200-91299/91208.gif

Supplied air...

http://cgi.ebay.com/Supplied-fresh-Air-Respirator-sandblast-Hood-system_W0QQitemZ290020506933QQihZ019QQcategoryZ119 04QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[TLCObsession]

Im going to blast the entire dump bed of a 1 ton dumptruck that is rusted to hell from having road salt in the back of it. After blasting I plan on welding in patches where it is rusted through or weak and then painting it and putting a For Sale sign on it. I will be using a pressurized blaster and will of course be doing it outside. I was planning on using playground sand from Home Depot as I am doing this on the cheap. Do you guys see a problem with using the playground sand, or is there something that is better and close in price? Is wearing a respirator with the standard 2 filter dust cartriges adequate for breathing protection?


Seems to me that renting a commercial compressor & sandblast rig or taking it somewhere to have it done will save you money on a project that big....

There are none around here, but some places have sandblast facilities for rent by the hour.

[RichardS]

I was planning on using playground sand from Home Depot as I am doing this on the cheap. Do you guys see a problem with using the playground sand, or is there something that is better and close in price?

I tried playground sand and it was a PITA - too many pebbles large enough to clog the blaster, had to sift the sand first. And then it did not cut all that great.

Look under sandblasting in your yellow pages. I bought a couple of bags of black beauty media (made from slag I believe) from the local supplier and it was pretty close in price to playground sand. It is really agressive but for what you are doing that is ideal.

Also, put down some tarps and try to recycle as much of the media as you can, will save you some money. You may need to sift it through a screen if you are blasting off large chunks of stuff.

[JeepinDoug]

aluminium oxide?
X2, just don't use it on aluminum, there'll be nothing left when the dust settles.

[Nowhere]

A p-100 filter (oil crap and 99.999 % filtration) is a liiiiiiiiiitle more, it's worth it..