Anyone around with experience sandblasting?

[Ethan]

Cheers, everyone,

Getting ready to clean up some older tools (TS, BS, etc.) and have been looking into purchasing a small sandblasting kit. I understand the difference between the gravity-feed and pressurized systems in terms of operation, but I have no clue which is better suited to my needs. So, for those in the know, would the gravity-feed version be okay for taking off surface rust and old paint from my tools? Difference in price is about $500, so you can imagine what answer I want to hear!

In case it matters, compressor is 5hp with a 60 gallon tank.

TIA, Ethan

[pipefitter]

Gravity feed would work great for that.

[George Ray]

Might look into a small blast cabinet. Allows small jobs to be done in the shop and in poor weather. I have a small Harbor Freight cabinet and is was cheap, and IT IS CHEAP. Think I would spend a little more next time, but it has done a few jobs that needed doing and when I get around to fixing the darn cheap thing it will work again.

[willmarsh3]

As for removing rust from tools an alternative to sandblasting is "Evaporust" from Harris Laboratories. The chemical starts out yellow. Immerse the tool in it for a week at room temperature and all the rust is disolved but not the metal. The chemical slowly turns black. When it's completely black pour it down the drain. It works through a chelation process. I paid about $27 for a gallon which is good for several dozen small tools.
I don't own stock in the company, I just used it with good results on engine parts.

Will.

[gary porter]

Ethan, the gravity feed system will work fine but you should look for glass beads rather than just sand. There is a difference in the amount of material that will get removed. You don't want to remove the tool material just the rust.
Gary

[Ethan]

Thanks folks....I'm really glad to hear that the gravity feed will be fine.

Most of what I need to get clean is way bigger than any SB cabinet I want to buy. We're talking TS cabinet, BS body panels, etc.

Gary, thanks for the tip on the glass beads - I had wondered about them and was figuring on throwing the question out to the group once I was ready to pull the trigger.

Again, I appreciate everybody's quick input. Have a great weekend!

[merlinron]

ethan,
it's been my experience that most of the consumer sized sandblasting kits won't handle a job that size.the actual blast pattern will be so small that you will get a splochy, un-even job that will take forever. a 5 hp 60 gal. compressor will run flat out at about 60 lbs sandblasting and do very little actual cleaning. it just can't deliver the air volume needed for sandblasting.
you might be better off spending the cost of the kit at a local monument maker. most of them will sand blast stuff for very little. if you have an industrial/commercial painter in the area, he may be able to tell you where to find a commercial sandblasting sevice. they will be a bit more expensive, but you will get a good clean part back from them.
if you are going to sand blast a table saw, don't hit the top, you will never get the surface slick again and it will rust again as fast as you can turn around. just get some good old kerosine or paint thinner, or even wd-40 and wet sand the top untill it is clean. i have done a few with a random orbital sander with a few grits of wet-or-dry automomive sandpaper. then wax it with johnson's paste wax and it wiil be clean and slick as cat **** on glass.

[Jay Greer]

During the sixties and seventies we pioneered various systems of blasting for sign work as well as cleaning boat bottoms. We used a hopper feed and #1 grit sand as it is sharp and cheap. Once used we discarded it as it did not prove to be effective for a second use. We used a full protective suit with a hood and seperate air supply for all operations.
Blasted bottoms were followed up with an rotary air sander.
JG

[Ron Carter]

I have pressure pot sand blaster sitting unused in the back of the shop. The mess it makes and the need to obtain fresh sand and dispose of the old stuff is a real pain even if working outside. It is cheaper in the long run to hire the blasting you want done from what I've observed. You can do something productive while the work is at the blaster. DON'T BLAST TABLES ON SAWS OR MOLD BOARDS ON PLOWS. Ruins the surface. Voice of experience.

[Canoeyawl]

Glass beads (and sand) are very dangerous to your health unless a blast cabinet or full fresh air supply respirator is used, they are also expensive and are usually recirculated through a blast cabinet.
As opposed to sand which will open the surface glass beads will peen the surface of the metal slightly work hardening it and adding stain resistance. The surface finish can be varied by using different sizes of beads. If I remember correctly they are graded alphabetically coarsest being "A"

[MarEng]

We used to use baking soda as a blast medium for our bronze propellers. If recall serves, it was cheaper than glass beads and soft enough to avoid damage.

[cs]

You could always do like my uncle did. If you look in the photo below, behind the welder is a pressurized sand blaster that my uncle built.


http://a0.cpimg.com/image/36/3B/43205430-e26f-028001DF-.jpg

Chad

[pipefitter]

Ok,Big tools is another animal although I used to use the gravity feed on autobody,mostly the seams and drip checks where it was hard to get into. If it is a large piece you may also take it to where they acid tank car bodies/frames for restoration. They will usually prime it for you too right then and there with a good epoxy primer. Also,I am referring to the cabinets and not the top.

[Ethan]

Cripes - knew it couldn't be easy!

Ok, the tables are not going near any sandblaster, of any kind. In fact, the tables will probably be taken off and sent out to a buddy who has a machine shop for checking and grinding, if needed.

Any ideas of the best way to protect the product tags using the more robust methods suggested? I mean, some of the tools hail from the 50's - I'd hate for the serial number, etc to be obliterated.

Thanks all, I appreciate your input!

[Ed Harrow]

Do the Evaporust stuff. I"ve seen disinterested before and after pics. Amazing.

Re sandblasting: I've done a fair bit, used a, ummm, 2-5 hp compressor and a gravity feed bin. The biggest issue I had with it was humidity... The sand would get moist from ambient air, and the compressed air was still another source. Other than that it worked great. I've used it for car bits, cookstove bits, removing paint from a very uneven wood surface, etc.

[pipefitter]

If sandblasting,a couple layers of duct tape will go a long way to protecting the tags. It's soft enough to repel the sand. It gives plenty of warning as to when the sand does start to eat through it. Just don't leave it on if the tags are also colored along with stamped #'s as any solvent used to remove the tape goop may also remove the paint on the tags. Or you could remove the tags and refasten them.

[JakePorter]

I've restored both my vintage Walker-Turner jointer and bandsaw with a stiff wire wheel (cup type) on my 4" angle grinder. It works, but is obviously alot of messy work. Follow that up with a phosphoric acid rust neutralizer/primer before primer/paint. I would love to have the sandblasting option, but didn't have the $...not to metion, I'm restoring for fun/hobby, so a little more time doesn't matter.

Be careful going after your tops with sandpaper on your ROS. It's easy to round the edges and remove the original machining marks. The diehard tool guys will tell you to scrape with lubricant (wd40 or kerosene) and a razor scraper (lots of blades).

The ultimate way to clear rust and paint (and the easiest after you set up a tank) is to use electrolysis. Main ingredients are a tank, some washing soda, a battery charger, and a sacrificial cathode. Exact reverse of the bad electrolysis that happens on a boat.

I've learn alot on the old woodworking machinery website (www.owwm.com). They have a similar forum to this one, complete with wise old geezers who have done it all...twice. You can search the archives and learn more than you ever wanted to know about sandblasting, electrolysis, restoring, etc. Worth the research time.

I’ve got my brand new cabinet saw that I love, but it’s a great thing to fire up the 60+ year old iron with family history. Having restored each part to better than new makes it even better.

Jake