Sandblasting question...
 

I recently bought one of the $100 small blasting cabinets on eBay with the intention of using it to clean up car parts. I did one 4.0 throttle body over the weekend with glass bead and it was ok but I was hoping for much better results.

Question is will a better gun make any difference or do they all pretty much perform the same?

I have a small 110v Craftsman, 100 psi, 6 gal compressor. I know that I will not get pro results with that compressor but will a better gun make any difference at all before I spend the money?

Thanks

Lots comes into play here, but the bottom line is if you want fast, professional results, you gotta have professional tools to do it.

You need a compressor with a 100% duty cycle. Meaning, it can perform at 100% capacity under constant use. Not cheap. The medium you are using can also make a difference. As can the gun, the nozzle on the gun...you get the idea.

As you have discovered, you can get it to work, but it takes some time. Different media for different projects can go a long way, as can your setup, but the reality is you need an air source that can match the demand of what you're asking. I put compressors in the same category as welders, get the best you can afford.

nope, you are gonna need more air, so a larger compressor will get you those results.
your small compressor right now might put out about 4.6cfm@90psi. you need more like 12cfm@90psi. keep in mind that will drop by the time the compressor kicks back in.
a small compressor just won't keep up.

you can however, use one of those hopper style. look up speedblaster i think the name is. but they don't work well with a cabinet.

...and a 110v won't put out those numbers. Gonna need a 220v unit with a large capacity tank, with a motor and compressor unit to back it.

Yep, you need a minimum 60gal compressor.

Ok, so it looks like I will be relocating to our shop at work. Not sure if the specs, will check in the morning, but we have a pretty stout comptessor there.

What about guns, any recommendation?

Btw, using glass bead for a nice clean finish.

This should do it? Will I need a better gun for this much compressor?

I haven't found any guns online that seem to be all that expensive, will say a $50 gun do the job? Going to need some good tips as well, correct?


https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...68efdc3288.jpg


https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...2251194c86.jpg

gun shouldn't matter. maybe just replace the ceramic tip. and yeah, that compressor should do the job. just don't shoot at 175psi unless you want the metal to look like warped swiss cheese. lol. 70-90psi is plenty. and keep your sand dry, make sure to use an air dryer/water trap.

Fantastic, thanks for the info.

I will let you know how it goes.

With blasting it's all about CFM and flow of the air.
The bigger the tank (60-80 gal) the better the performance.


Go slow and let the compressor catch up a lot,
or get a bigger tank, and dual cylinder compressor.


Nitro

Ok, so I learned a lot on my first go around.

#1 - Get a good dust collection/air circulation system. Got to the point I couldn't see the part once the bead started breaking down. Going to get a dust deputy from Ebay and a 5 gal bucket shop vac to keep this easily mobile to come to work and do this at night and on weekends.

#2 - I need to get a vibrator for the bottom of the cabinet to keep the media going towards the siphon tube. I have seen alarm clock under pillow vibrators that are around $20 that look like they might do the job on ebay as well.

#3 - This cabinet is cheap, needs to be torn apart and completely resealed.

Aside from those issues everything went pretty well. Some of the parts will get gone back over once I get the dust collector system made and installed.

For what I am doing this will be just fine.

Thanks again for the info!