Sandblaster - Advice please

[Kev946]

Thinking of buying one for the underside of my van. I know nothing about them so recommendations please on what to buy. I would prefer it to be compact and be able to blast the van on the drive without needing it raised up in the air other than jacks etc. Standard ride height at the moment so loads of room..lol

What media should I use, what kind of compressor. Since I'll probably only use this once I don;t want to spend too much but need something decent.

Also does anyone know of mobile blasting services or places I could hire a blaster?

Cheers
Kev

 

[Resto-raider]

If it is only for one time use I would either rent the gear or go to a place where you can rent the full blast cabin.

You have to know that whatever media you will use the entire street will be covered with it if you do it outside on the drive.
Doing it outside also means that you won't be able to reuse the media so you'll need a lot. Sand would be the obviousmedia because it is cheap but it will stick in the corners and attract and hold water and it is highly toxic to blast with so good protection is essential.

I have a small blasting gun and I sandblasted small parts with it, but never something as big as the underside of my van.

 

[mattp]

I'd consider the health issues on sand and unless you intend to dry it in an oven you want grit.

I have lots of the stuff if you want to pop to see me one weekend in Telford

 

[Kev946]

Sure sounds good.

Should I be thinking of getting it to a company to do it though? Any recommendations

 

[Resto-raider]

No sure who does it over there but you could have it ice blasted. It is relatively new, but clean and safe for your panels.
You would need to find a company to do it for you though.

 

[69billy]

we have one at work, industrial kit that runs around 80psi( struggled with paint removal on my 69 import so gave up) and the stuff goes miles..i mean miles :shock: I wouldn't bother plus I had a car done and I was finding grit years later.. I'd get one dipped next time.

 

[Kev946]

we have one at work, industrial kit that runs around 80psi( struggled with paint removal on my 69 import so gave up) and the stuff goes miles..i mean miles :shock: I wouldn't bother plus I had a car done and I was finding grit years later.. I'd get one dipped next time.

mmm...dipping that's a thought. I've emailed a couple of local companies about blasting service and cost

 

[69billy]

buy the time you have hoovered swept hoovered its cheaper to dip than pay your lecky bill :lol: ..but dipping be prepared for a hole ridden will power sapping piece of s**t to turn up when done......is that my car?? :shock: kin ell..hope helps :?

 

[89Rallye]

What Billy said, this would take you weeks and it goes everywhere!

Plus you need a big compressor to keep up and if your purchasing all the kit just for this job I wouldn't bother and look at going another route.

Ive got various types of shot blasters at home (pressure pot, gun, spot and a cabinet too) and although they do the best job possible on joints etc it's usually not worth the hassle.

For example,

To do this little bit...

Creates, shot everywhere!

Obviously it could/should really all be sheeted off and collected/reused and if I read it right you want to do it on your back under the van

 

[Trikky2]

Dipping a structure with closed or semi closed cavities is not a good idea.

Paint or protection that was put there when it was dipped during production will be removed.

In addition it is doubtful the structure will be sufficiently rinsed clean meaning that aggressive chemicals are likely to remain trapped inside.

Spot welded seams are virtually impossible to clean, even worse if a little rusty.

With any chemical paint removal process cleaning is very important since if any remains trapped in the pores of the metal it will cause paint problems over time. There are plenty of tales of woe on this subject.

Rusty metal will of course trap chemicals at a molecular level more easily.

 

[Kev946]

Found a place not too far that has soda and sand blasted a few VW campers they say. Waiting for one of there guys to call me.

 

[reezvaan]

go for soda blasting, its safe, both for you as well as for the van. 150psi does it fine if you're not in a rush. dipping is a no no for me too. also consider walnut shell/beads as media (dunno if you can get this media there easily). walnut shell/beads blasting is my choice among all media so far but is best used on cases and other softer metals such as aluminium cases/pistons etc. cheers
http://www.guysonlib.co.uk/lib/consumables/guyson_walnut_shell_blast_media_datasheet.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

PS: if you end up buying a blaster for the right kind of money, i might be interested in buying it off you once you are done