Sand blaster advice

[73K5BlazerSS]

Are the $300 to $600 sand blasters any good? I'm not looking to spend $1000 or more on a blaster. I have an SCT contour tool and it works great on wide open panels. I just need something for the hard to reach spots.
How far does a 50lb bag of media last? I'm guessing if I get one, I'll see how fast it works and want to do the whole truck.

 

[CT-BLAZER]

The cheap ones use ball valves on the bottom which are iffy for consistent sand delivery + have no water separators.


The good ones use a flat slide valve & water separation

Pots have gotten insanely expensive.

 

[1300obo]

I've got the $200 pot from tractor supply. If you have enough compressor to run it they seem to work ok. I did my whole tub and it took about 600lbs of number 4. Turned out to be around $25

 

[73K5BlazerSS]

How much of a compressor are we talking?

$25 sounds cheap for 600lbs. Where do you get it?

 

[1300obo]

mines 18cfm. 15 might do it. we are a shipyard town so blast media is plentiful and cheap. i get 100lb bags of alabama blast #4 from the shipyard supplier in mobile for about 4$ a bag. the key is a water separator and don't use a long hose from your compressor to your pot if you have a lot of humidity

 

[CT-BLAZER]

Ok.... I'm, in to it for $$$$. Pre covid ,I paid $100 ish for 4 bags of black beauty + a new nozzle.

With shipping costs being insane, $4 .00. Can't cover shipping +;handling costs.

 

[1300obo]

With enough compressor and the right nozzle I think you could probably just use playsand from home depot at 3 dollars a bag. I've never tried it. The stuff I buy is cheap but particle size is uniform. I know northern tool sells strainers. I bought "glass beads" for an aluminum project the other day at 50 bucks for 50 pounds and looking at it under the magnifying glass it's just sand put through a fine strainer

 

[CT-BLAZER]

I want to get a ton of cement sand ( crushed granite) in the summer + put it through a screen ..

Can't be $10.00 a ton or so at the cement plant.....
Just need alit of 5 gallon pails to store the stuff.

 

[1300obo]

That'll work

 

[ryoken]

haven't read anything yet.. but my .02.....


comp is obviously the key... my 2 stage 60 gal Quincy does ok.. obviously bigger is better..


I've run the stooopid hobo freight 40 lb'er, and prior the 20 lb'er, for decades.. big pattern? nope.. long tip life? not really... but they have always gotten the frame, etc done with a good long day..


50 lbs? that ain't jack.... good setup, you might get 6' of outside frame rail done...


and good sand, thru dry air is key too.. dry, being mainly the humidity of the day... i always ran what was called "white sand".. had a serious good consistency to it... not 00, not glass bead grit... playsand is often the deBil with blasting due to inconsistencies clogging the plumbing... I actually built/own a sifter for beach sand...

 

[1300obo]

Yeah, I was probably being too optimistic with the playsand comment but maybe if you ran it through a strainer...

 

[ryoken]

Yeah, I was probably being too optimistic with the playsand comment but maybe if you ran it through a strainer...

well, after the plandemic, we couldn't get sand around here.. as a matter of fact, my local Ace, who used to carry a 1/2 dozen various sands, you where lucky if they had play sand..


so, that's what i did, went 3 blocks down the street to the beach.. got a 5 gal bucket of sand, went to Ace and bought a sq yard of metal storm door screen stuff. simple 2 x 4 frame... slows the process, but does work....



I'm a sandblasting snob... I started my career restoring cement mixers at Hunterdon Concrete running a 900lb Titan blaster, run by a 25' long IR tag along comp.. thing would cut cement block in 1/2...

good 8 to 10 hr day would turn this whole thing raw steel.....

 

[1300obo]

I can't imagine what that was like. I used a friend's slightly smaller unit to do the k5 frame and between hauling 100lb bags and wrestling the nozzle which was like a firehose I needed a nap after an hour. Fortunately that's all it took to do the whole frame

 

[73K5BlazerSS]

I picked up the 100lb pot from eastwood. It can do soda as well if needed. I'm going to dry and screen some play sand and see what happens.
Thanks for the tips.