What type of blasting media do people use?

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Clelan

Clelan

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I finally got my 60 gallon compressor and 36" blasting cabinet set up and operating. The first bag of abrasive I used was crushed glass because that is all they had where I bought the cabinet. It seemed to work well blasting at 100 psi cleaning rear suspension brackets, but it sure seems to disappear fast. I probably only have 1/2 as much as I did when I started, and I only blasted for maybe 2 hours max.

What do others use for blasting media? I'll only be using it for cleaning suspension parts on a home resto project. No concourse work happening here.

Cley
 
ya hav ta axk yourself, where did it go? those little buggers are escaping some how? get your cabinet seal up with aluminum duct tape.
sand for general work.
glass for aluminum, intakes etc.
walnut for internal parts.
 
I had my shop vac hooked to the cabinet in an attempt to keep the dust down. I assumed it was just shattering into dust and getting sucked out. I didn't think blowing that dust around would do me any good.

Cley
 
I use this in my Harbor Freight cabinet. About five bucks a bag here. Medium coarseness

http://www.quikrete.com/ProductLines/SandCommercialGrade.asp

I also replaced the siphon tube and gun with this kit and it made a world of difference


http://www.tptools.com/USA-Cabinet-Gun-and-Pickup-Tube-Upgrade-Kit,2320.html?b=d*8026


Works very well for general blasting. Just make sure you use a shop vac with a bag as the silica is bad for you to breath. I've thought about setting up a 5 gallon bucket as a "reclaimer" as it does pull some media out of the cabinet.
 
Dubob said:
I use this in my Harbor Freight cabinet. About five bucks a bag here. Medium coarseness

http://www.quikrete.com/ProductLines/SandCommercialGrade.asp

I also replaced the siphon tube and gun with this kit and it made a world of difference


http://www.tptools.com/USA-Cabinet-Gun-and-Pickup-Tube-Upgrade-Kit,2320.html?b=d*8026


Works very well for general blasting. Just make sure you use a shop vac with a bag as the silica is bad for you to breath. I've thought about setting up a 5 gallon bucket as a "reclaimer" as it does pull some media out of the cabinet.
Click to expand...

I wear a respirator designed for blasting as well as use silica free media
 
89on35s said:
I finally got my 60 gallon compressor and 36" blasting cabinet set up and operating. The first bag of abrasive I used was crushed glass because that is all they had where I bought the cabinet. It seemed to work well blasting at 100 psi cleaning rear suspension brackets, but it sure seems to disappear fast. I probably only have 1/2 as much as I did when I started, and I only blasted for maybe 2 hours max.

What do others use for blasting media? I'll only be using it for cleaning suspension parts on a home resto project. No concourse work happening here.

Cley
Click to expand...

crushed glass most everything but aluminum 45-60psi
walnuts for aluminum 50-60psi
black slag for the really grungy stuff like frames and suspension stuff. 60-80psi
I use crushed glass also to clean up mildly dirty parts BUT I only use 45-60 psi since it turns pretty much to dust at 100psi. I have a harbor freight cabinet (had to reseal EVERYTHING) and put in a good light. then got a TP tools gun and it made a world of difference. Now I can go down as low a 50psi for walnuts, that would never happen with the HF gun(it stayed at 90psi or better just to pick up the stuff.
 
Just a heads-up to those using shop-vacs,,, the motor needs the airflow thru the bag to keep cool, or it'll overheat, so don't let the bag plug up,, and if poss,, put a catch container between the cabinet and shop vac.. kinda like a water trap in an air line..
 
I use aluminum oxide. It's cheap and it works.
 
Looks like a big part of my problem is too high a pressure. I was at 100 PSI. Gonna have to try walnuts cause I got some Aluminum work to do. Any idea where to get Walnut blasting media in Canada? Not able to find any yet.

Cley
 
89on35s said:
Looks like a big part of my problem is too high a pressure. I was at 100 PSI. Gonna have to try walnuts cause I got some Aluminum work to do. Any idea where to get Walnut blasting media in Canada? Not able to find any yet.

Cley
Click to expand...

100 is fine. I blast with 90 so 10 more pounds ain't hurtin nuthin.
 
I own a media blasting business and have a bit of experience blasting.

media's use what works for you. you may have some trail and error but you will get the hang of it. when I started my business I bought every single media I could find (in every grit) and figured out what worked best for me.

sand....nope, never. doesn't matter if its free. stay away from silica based medias.
black sand/copperslag /black beauty ect. dirty, has trace amounts of arsenic. hard to clean up.

I use a lot of glass, most glass has basalt added as well. basalt has non active silica. we use it as or go to media I blast 100-200 50-100 30-60 and 20-50 grits. I like the 50-100 the best for its smooth uniform finish. very clean.

walnut. usually 70 grit. works well, doesn't remove rust.
soda, nice smooth finish. no rust removal
aluminum oxide. dusty. smooth finish, hard material so it digs well.
beads. smooth almost polished finish.

I do not use a syphon cabinet, I have a normal cabinet that we have modded to use a pressure pot on and a good dust system. we drain the spend media out of the bottom and either reuse or pitch depending on its condition. if I still owned a syphon I would go on ebay and look up tacomacompany for a hot rodded gun or convert your cabinet over to a real pressure pot if you have the cfm.

with you guys using a shop vac. make sure the cabinet is supplied with fresh air. makes a huge difference. with the vac attached to the cabinet, put some steel wool in the pipe so you can keep out big clunks.

blast pressure. I blast 90-100 on most stuff. really gentle stuff I will go 60psi.

here is my cabinet. LOTS of room

if you guys have any questions on blasting I would be happy to help. I love to debunk sandblasting myth's
 

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chrisf said:
I own a media blasting business and have a bit of experience blasting.

media's use what works for you. you may have some trail and error but you will get the hang of it. when I started my business I bought every single media I could find (in every grit) and figured out what worked best for me.

sand....nope, never. doesn't matter if its free. stay away from silica based medias.
black sand/copperslag /black beauty ect. dirty, has trace amounts of arsenic. hard to clean up.

I use a lot of glass, most glass has basalt added as well. basalt has non active silica. we use it as or go to media I blast 100-200 50-100 30-60 and 20-50 grits. I like the 50-100 the best for its smooth uniform finish. very clean.

walnut. usually 70 grit. works well, doesn't remove rust.
soda, nice smooth finish. no rust removal
aluminum oxide. dusty. smooth finish, hard material so it digs well.
beads. smooth almost polished finish.

I do not use a syphon cabinet, I have a normal cabinet that we have modded to use a pressure pot on and a good dust system. we drain the spend media out of the bottom and either reuse or pitch depending on its condition. if I still owned a syphon I would go on ebay and look up tacomacompany for a hot rodded gun or convert your cabinet over to a real pressure pot if you have the cfm.

with you guys using a shop vac. make sure the cabinet is supplied with fresh air. makes a huge difference. with the vac attached to the cabinet, put some steel wool in the pipe so you can keep out big clunks.

blast pressure. I blast 90-100 on most stuff. really gentle stuff I will go 60psi.

here is my cabinet. LOTS of room

if you guys have any questions on blasting I would be happy to help. I love to debunk sandblasting myth's
Click to expand...

Thank You for the offer of answers! Man, how big is the cabinet, it looks huge or that is just a toy transmission?
 
72"x48" is the floor size. I am super happy how well it works. id love a reclaimer off the bottom but not going to happen. works awesome.

my answers are from my experience. others will have ideas and whats works for them as well. my stuff is what works for me. there are different regions with different medias as well. I am hearing really good stuff about maxx strip but haven't tried it yet.
 
(hope this isn't a threadjack)
I just picked up a weiand intake (cast aluminum) and I want to take it into work to blast it.
the media we use is aluminum oxide (don't know what grit)

can I use that to clean my intake?

and what pressure should I use?

thanks guys
 
Yes it works good. That's what I use. Mine is regulated to 90 PSI.
 
chrisf said:
I own a media blasting business and have a bit of experience blasting.

walnut. usually 70 grit. works well, doesn't remove rust.
soda, nice smooth finish. no rust removal
aluminum oxide. dusty. smooth finish, hard material so it digs well.
beads. smooth almost polished finish.

if you guys have any questions on blasting I would be happy to help. I love to debunk sandblasting myth's
Click to expand...

Chrisf
I have a question, where can I get soda? Can't seem to find a source for larger amounts (bigger than a small box at the grocery store!) Thanks
 
66Dvert said:
crushed glass most everything but aluminum 45-60psi
walnuts for aluminum 50-60psi
black slag for the really grungy stuff like frames and suspension stuff. 60-80psi
I use crushed glass also to clean up mildly dirty parts BUT I only use 45-60 psi since it turns pretty much to dust at 100psi. I have a harbor freight cabinet (had to reseal EVERYTHING) and put in a good light. then got a TP tools gun and it made a world of difference. Now I can go down as low a 50psi for walnuts, that would never happen with the HF gun(it stayed at 90psi or better just to pick up the stuff.
Click to expand...

Hi what is a TP tools gun
 
I have tried soda too. Anybody that thinks aluminum oxide is more dusty than soda is wrong.
 
66Dvert said:
Now I can go down as low a 50psi for walnuts, that would never happen with the HF gun(it stayed at 90psi or better just to pick up the stuff.
Click to expand...


You have to drill the suction side of the nozzle a tad larger, and it will work much better.
 
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