Sand Blasting Techniques (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

vtcruiser60

SILVER Star
Joined
Sep 23, 2003
Threads
356
Messages
2,571
It is likely to dip to -35 F over the next few days, so I am dreaming about anything remotely fun in to do when it warms up.

When you have a chance, would you list your thoughts on how to delouse, I mean derust the undercarriage of your cruiser. Some folks have done complete rebuilds and have loads of experience. I am interested in the 3 banana approach to cleaning up the underbody. What tools have you used? If sandblasting, do you use a gravity feed, a hand held gun, a siphon, etc. Do you like 3M grinding wheels or tooth brushes? Seriously, what are some techniques to cleaning off scaling rust before sealing and recoating.

Thanks for your feedback. -KMK
 
First I degrease in a parts washer. For cast iron parts I like to soak it in mineral oil or kerosene after the surface grease is off, to make sure all the grease is leached out.

Then for small parts, I use a beadblaster. Since beadblasting takes a lot of air for small parts I use a wire wheel on a grinder and try to grind to clean metal as much as I can.

For large parts like axle housings and frame, I take it to a professional sandblaster since my 30 gallon compressor doesn't have enough capacity. Mine will do an axle housing for $40 and a frame for $100 (maybe expensive, but this is the SF Bay Area). A cheaper way would be to rent a gravity feed blaster and use playground sand but you have to have a wide open area (which I don't have) where the sand would not bother anyone. Oh yeah, wear a good respirator when using sand, that stuff will give you a bad lung disease years later (silicosis). A shower cap helps keep the sand out of your hair and ears. No matter what you wear, expect a cup of sand in the stall when you shower.

If I am going to have parts powder coated, I don't bother sandblasting since the shop does it anyway.

Dave
 
For relatively small parts, I use a siphon bead blaster and only use fine glass beads.
Blaster2.JPG


For the big stuff, I use a 100 lb. gravity-feed blaster from Harbor Freight, and use either sand or the coarse synthetic stuff.
blastingframe.jpg


Prior to blasting on body and frame, I remove the paint using a chemical stripper like Jasco. For body panels, you should avoid using a coarse sand or holding the nozzle too close to the surface, because you can cause damage to thin sheetmetal.

Both the booth and the outside pot are powered by a Campbell-Housfield 7.5 h.p. compressor with an 80 gallon tank.
 
Those prices are cheap; sounds good. I paid that to have an early Ford frame blasted and it was completely stripped of all attachments.
The bead blast cab is great. Turn the preassure down and small parts are easy to do and no damage to any part either. I have cleaned brass this way with no problem.
If you dont have a beadblast cab and the expense is kinda high for one project etc, look around for one to access. A local radiator shop and a machine shop have them and allow use when they are not busy. Few bucks to the owner and I do my own work.
 
I made a crappy little cabinet for small stuff and use a 50lbs blaster for the bigger stuff. The key is lots of clean air. I have water/oil traps at the compressor and at the blaster pot. Use 1" air line between the compressor and the blaster not the standard 3/8. I also replaced all of the cheap small fittings and air line on my pot with better quality 3/4" hardware. This alone made a huge difference. I have a 6hp eagle with a 60 gallon tank and it is way too small. Well it does the job, but it would be nice to have bigger. I also run an extra 40 gallon tank at the baster. This allows me to blast longer with out waiting for the air to catch up.
 
For little stuff I use my Harbor Freight cabinet with coal coke.

Frames and tubs I call a guy that has a giant portable unit. He charged me $100 to do the frame and tub on my 40.

For stuff in between I take it to my local monument place. They have a big sandblasting barn.
 
Sandblasted many things over the years with my pressure pot, but would not do it again, if I did not have to.

The 100.00us spent on someone else doing it is far and away the best option. Even wearing a hood and other protective gear, it is a massive mess, and I have the space to do it.

Good luck!

-Steve
 
beanz2 :

"For large parts like axle housings and frame, I take it to a professional sandblaster since my 30 gallon compressor doesn't have enough capacity. Mine will do an axle housing for $40 and a frame for $100 (maybe expensive, but this is the SF Bay Area). "

Where are you in the Bay Area? I am looking for a shop to sand blast my axel and frame. I am in the east bay ..Antioch

nocents
 
98 degrees and 98% humidity...thats when I "really" enjoy (and seem to do) sandblasting. If I could find a fool to do it for $100....I couldn't get the coin out of my pockets fast enough. I think I have the same outside unit as Medusa. Compressor is a 5 hp 2 stage Industrial Air on @ 100 gallon tank. Does fine. However, I can't think of any sheet metal on a cruiser that is thin enough to damage with my blaster....even if I dropped the unit on it :D

:whoops:...you wanted tips....keep your air dry...make sure you drain the tank and have a seperator...the dryer the better.
 
[quote author=toddslater link=board=1;threadid=10076;start=msg90070#msg90070 date=1074053604]
However, I can't think of any sheet metal on a cruiser that is thin enough to damage with my blaster....even if I dropped the unit on it :D

[/quote]

Windshield frames. I had mine done, and did not notice how rough it was. It was not a rotten frame, just made the surfaces a bit more textured, should have used a fill-prime before it was sealed and shot paint, but considering that we were on the 30th hour of being awake, and was painted in a garage, I think the paint job turned out alright...
 
[quote author=nocents link=board=1;threadid=10076;start=msg89988#msg89988 date=1074046076]
beanz2 :

Where are you in the Bay Area? I am looking for a shop to sand blast my axel and frame. I am in the east bay ..Antioch

nocents
[/quote]

I used Skil-Painting in Fremont (510)651-0210

His shop is right next to a powdercoater. Too convenient :)

Dave
 
This is by far the easiest method, pay someone else to do it. Seriously, they have the right equip. and it won't take them forever.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom