sand blaster

Looking to buy a sandblaster, any comments? I'm going to start restoring a 1956 willys p/u.
Thanks,
Jim

 

Buy quality first. Pressure rather than siphon if you have the air capacity. My buddy just picked up a Lindsay pressure unit from a rental place for cheap. All new parts and 25 feet of hose. They discontinued renting cause people didn't know how to take care of it. Pressure unit will be more effective in removing tough scale etc.

 

You will need a LOT of air, like 25 cfm or so, to make it worthwhile. You can do it with less, but you'll be spending a lot of downtime waiting for the compressor to catch up.....

 

What brands do you recomend?
Jim

 

I have an old siphon one that I'm just not smart enough to replace. DON'T buy one of those. I've been looking at harbor freight presurized ones I've heard they work well. It depends how much blasting you need to do just remember it's a VERY dirty job. I had my frame and difs done by a local for $150.00 he did a perfect job and I didn't have to suck all that silica. Buy a good mask and respirator.

 

Jim, talk to Blast Tech. It's either in Englewood or in Denver. He's in the phone book. Unless you've got the air to run it and the perfect place to do it, you're better off hiring it done. You don't want to use sand either, BTW.

 

dude ill tell you one thing when you have black beauty in every place even where the sun dont shine you'l wish you had it done the stough like surounds you in a sand storm any where the wind can get in the sand will follow

i know i had a painting jobie at the local sh** plant and got to use an industrial sandblaster 3 80lb bags in like 15 20 minutes or less. out side it wasent horable but when you get in to inclosed spaces man it was bad

 

Ya know, didn't someone here mention at one time using a pressure washer to sandblast? I think they hooked up a siphon sand blaster and it came out with the water. No dust to deal with and no worries about warping body panels IIRC.....

 

Yea I saw that thread somewhere, sounded like a cool set up, I have a cheapie, siphon sand blaster that works well with the exception unless you make something up to re-collect the media it goes everywhere......

 

I have a 5.5 hp compressor, 35 gallon, and a small propane tank sized sand blast unit, bought at a place in Canada similar to Harbor Freight. I waste a lot of sand, it cycles, and I get a load of sand with no pressure behind it. Very hard to regulate. The siphon type might be better for these small compressors.

Paul

 

Thanks for all the info.
I think I will use rondogs advice "hire it done".
Jim

 

Jim, I'm going to have Blast Tech do all my blasting. He specializes in automotive restorations, so he won't tear anything up. He also partners with a powdercoater in Colorado Springs that picks up the parts and brings them back. All you have to do is drop your nasty parts off and pick up pretty ones ready to install. My CJ5 frame will cost about $250 to have blasted and powdercoated chassis black.

 

Sweeet!
I have some work to do on the 56 willys p/u.
I'm not going to do a frame off. Just everything else.
Do you know of a good uphostery guy?
Jim

 

I think I told you before about a place there in Castle Rock called Tumbleweed? 303-660-3803. I went there once for a visit, seemed to be real busy.

 

I drive by that place everyday.
Thanks,
Jim

 

just a question to go along with this... is sand blasting neccesary in order to restore a jeep... just wondering
Shay

 

Shay, to answer your question, no a wire wheel would work fine just takes a little longer.

 

Answer is "depends". Mostly on the results you want when you're done. If you're talking about a full blown resto to make it 'xactly "like new", then you'll probably have to sandblast a few parts. Being a Jeep, then it's more likely you'll just want to pretty up a few things while you're working on them, and paint thinner and a wire wheel is fine for that, but messy. Also, condition of the part is a factor. My tailgate had a bunch of rot in it at the lower "fold", so I had it sand blasted to get rid of as much of that as possible. Also, you will most likely decide that on a few parts, that trying to clean and scrub is a major pain, and paying to have them blasted seems like a great idea.

 

You can get an attachment to be used in conjunction with a power washer from Northen Tool (and probably many other places too). Also, if you have a Rental Max store nearby, you can rent one from them. It looks like they cost around $100 to buy versus $20 to rent for a day. I figured I would rent one to first see how well it worked before buying one. An ECJ5'er (don't remember the name) blasted his Dodge M37 body IIRC, and reported it to work extremely well.