PAINTING the outside of my axle...UPDATE! Post #28

[jonrpick]

I borrowed a decent sized compressor from a friend of mine yesterday, and I just picked up a cheap $29.95 media blaster from Harbor Freight. This is pretty much just for doing the outside of my 10-bolt and the brake backing plates. If it lasts beyond that, cool...

I understand the health concerns associated with using play sand, but I'll be wearing breathing protection and doing this out in the driveway. How effective can I expect this to be with a 25 gallon compressor?

I know Justin (Mr. Smartass) used play sand on his D44 front end, and it looked pretty spectacular after he was finished.

 

[ryoken]

expect to be there quite some time...

 

[obijuan]

yeah how bad does it look right now? i just used a can of easy off oven cleaner then some scotch brite and ajax water and scrubbed it. its held up for almost a year now and still looks great. easy off took off all the road grime and a "quick" scuff is all you should need.

 

[blazinzuk]

Yah its going to take a while, IMHO its worth it, you get every little thing out. I have cleaned many an axle only to have one little indent or something that I couldn't get the crap out of. When you go to bare metal make sure you do the right steps for paint, self etching primer than a normal primer then the paint. I think thats right

 

[thatK30guy]

You're gonna see that what you paid for and what you're using will be the old saying, "you get what you pay for."

By this, on axles, I mean this job will be better accomplished with a bigger compressor and blaster.

As the others said, its gonna take a while with what you've got. Even with the big stuff I mentioned above, it can still take a good half hour to clean up one axle housing.

 

[jonrpick]

Well I got stumped before I got really started... apparently my cheap-ass sand need to be run through a screen to get out some bigger particles.

It worked on and off for a minutes, and in that short time, I saw a lot of dirt and rust come off of one of my brake backing plates. But until I can get the media to run through it cleanly, I'm not going anywhere.

I took a chance on the play sand. Maybe Al-Oxide is the way to go???

 

[jonrpick]

Yah its going to take a while, IMHO its worth it, you get every little thing out. I have cleaned many an axle only to have one little indent or something that I couldn't get the crap out of. When you go to bare metal make sure you do the right steps for paint, self etching primer than a normal primer then the paint. I think thats right

I got some self-etching primer and top coat paint...

 

[thatK30guy]

Well I got stumped before I got really started... apparently my cheap-ass sand need to be run through a screen to get out some bigger particles.

It worked on and off for a minutes, and in that short time, I saw a lot of dirt and rust come off of one of my brake backing plates. But until I can get the media to run through it cleanly, I'm not going anywhere.

I took a chance on the play sand. Maybe Al-Oxide is the way to go???

You can't use "cheap-ass" sand as all the granules are different sizes and the bigger ones will clog the ceramic tips quickly.

Best sand to use is fine, not coarse, and can be purchased at most lumber yards for around $6 a bag.
These fine sand are specifically for blasting as they will pass thru the tips on the gun/valve.

You also need to mess with the air flow to get the best maximum results. Too much sand and its not going to remove anything. Too much air and it won't put no abrasives out to clean the surface. Gotta tinker with it to get the best combo.

 

[jonrpick]

You can't use "cheap-ass" sand as all the granules are different sizes and the bigger ones will clog the ceramic tips quickly.

Best sand to use is fine, not coarse, and can be purchased at most lumber yards for around $6 a bag.
These fine sand are specifically for blasting as they will pass thru the tips on the gun/valve.

You also need to mess with the air flow to get the best maximum results. Too much sand and its not going to remove anything. Too much air and it won't put no abrasives out to clean the surface. Gotta tinker with it to get the best combo.

How do they refer to this sand? It's obviously not the "Play Sand" that I got today at Home Depot... I mean, what's it's normal application? What about a place that deals in concrete?

 

[dcubb]

Cemex is a large cement company with locations all over. Pretty sure they are in or around Atlanta.(404) 635-0050.

Ask for BX30 blasting sand. Around $6 for a 100# bag.

 

[longbedder]

I don't know about Atlanta, but my local powdercoat shop when I lived in CA would blast a 14BFF for $25. Turnaround time was half a day.

Given that price/timeline, it was pretty hard to justify messing with it myself.

 

[jonrpick]

Cemex is a large cement company with locations all over. Pretty sure they are in or around Atlanta.(404) 635-0050.

Ask for BX30 blasting sand. Around $6 for a 100# bag.

Excellent, thanks...

I don't know about Atlanta, but my local powdercoat shop when I lived in CA would blast a 14BFF for $25. Turnaround time was half a day.

Given that price/timeline, it was pretty hard to justify messing with it myself.

Well, the only thing I could possibly transport it with would be my K5...

So I'm kinda stuck doing it at home.

 

[jonrpick]

Well... I tried, and I've given up... I shot it today with some Aluminum Oxide. It worked better, didn't clog, but DAMN you use up media quickly!

Anyway, I ran through about 10lbs of the stuff (not much, I know) when I finally decided it was just too big of a PITA given my budget and how much time it would take.

I found a guy locally that blasts axles for $60 a pop. I got a friend with a pickup that's gonna help me drop it off and pick it up again.

Thanks for all the advice.

 

[thatK30guy]

Yeah, blasting is not something for the faint of heart. It takes time, lots of time, sand, lots of sand, and patience.

 

[jonrpick]

Yeah, blasting is not something for the faint of heart. It takes time, lots of time, sand, lots of sand, and patience.

If I had a better setup, so that I could easily recapture the used media, and better clothing to protect me, it wouldn't be so bad. Now I gotta go wash the Aluminum Oxide out of my hair...

 

[thatK30guy]

If I had a better setup, so that I could easily recapture the used media, and better clothing to protect me, it wouldn't be so bad. Now I gotta go wash the Aluminum Oxide out of my hair...

I take it you didn't wear any head/face gear?

 

[90_K5 Blazer]

I think you made a good choice with having someone else do it, I tried it and although my compressor was powerful enough, it was a P.I.T.A and was a mess since I don't have a cabinet big enough to fit it! Never again!

 

[Copasetic]

I've also saw and read where some people use baking soda. But you went the route I'd go (mainly because I don't have the resources for media blasting).

 

[jonrpick]

I take it you didn't wear any head/face gear?

Well, I'm not THAT bad... No, I had on goggles and a mask, although nothing high-quality, to deflect the stuff away from my eyes and nose. I put on a jacket and gloves, and my hat to minimize the mess that I got on myself.

Still... all that for very little accomplished.

 

[jonrpick]

I think you made a good choice with having someone else do it, I tried it and although my compressor was powerful enough, it was a P.I.T.A and was a mess since I don't have a cabinet big enough to fit it! Never again!

Eventually I'd like to get a good setup for doing smaller parts. Cabinets aren't too expensive if you're not trying to get something big enough to do an axle. But when I get that equipment, it'll be very useful. But this standing in the driveway business sucks!

I've also saw and read where some people use baking soda. But you went the route I'd go (mainly because I don't have the resources for media blasting).

I've heard of using baking soda as media. I figured it was worth a shot. Seeing as how the trigger on the gun quit working today, and I bought it yesterday, I'm gonna see if I can return it to Harbor Freight. That'll at least recoup $30 of my failed experiment.