sandblast head and head cylinder
- Thread starter Alf
- Start date
Blaner
Your Friendly South African Ambassador
It might actually run a little cooler since it opened up the pores of the casting where paint had sealed them off. It will get dirty easy though and will be hard to clean.
I saw sodablast machines at harbor freight. Are they any good?
I saw sodablast machines at harbor freight. Are they any good?
Ive just a week or so ago had mine sand blasted and was about to paint it tonight.. didnt acctually think about leaving it the original colour....hmmm 
I just bought the 110lb sand blaster at harbor frieght. Got it pretty cheap. I saw that they reconmend using glass beads instead of sand. I plan on using sand since it easier to sweep up and reuse. Is there any huge gain using the glass beads?
Just wanted to know because most blasted jugs I have seen are real dull looking finish wise.
BE VERY careful using silica sand in an "open" sand blaster (versus a ventilated blasting cabinet). You will need a respirator with a N100 class filtration setup. Otherwise you could fall victim to silicosis (it takes a lot less silica dust than you think to affect people with respiratory issues like asthma to begin with!) and it's nasty nasty stuff.
I used a basic open sand blaster "suction" gun that pulls from a 5 gallon bucket of standard silica "play sand" out in the driveway. I DO NOT sweep up the residue and reuse as the dust created from sweeping is nearly as dangerous as the blasting operation itself. I usually wet the area with the water hose and then setup a pair of saw horses and put the part to be blasted on them. I hooked up all of my airhose connections and then don a full face mask respirator. I have a hand-me down North 7600 full face:
North 7600 Series Full-Face Respirator | Cooper Safety Supply
With rated dust filters. After the blasting operation is finished I leave the mask on while I unhook all the airhoses and put away the sand blaster. This allows time for the fine silica particles to settle (onto the wet gravel) or blow away. I only take off the mask once the part has been blown clean with the air nozzle and wiped down with wax and grease remover.
Soda doesn't feed right in a sand blaster. Dedicated soda blaster's usually use an orifice "pickup and transfer" system rather just JUST an orifice to draw the material in. You'll notice soda blasters all have the "gun" coming off a hose that is made with a "T" on the bottom of the tank. The tank holds the blasting media and deposits some of it into the air stream that's blowing through that "T".
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I like the simple ingenuity behind both of those videos. Looks fairly easy to setup.
The same warnings apply about safety PPE though. Don't want to be breathing aerosolized baking soda any more than you do silica dust.... USE A GOOD RESPIRATOR.
Well said SI. That precaution applies to most anything. Sanding or wire wheeling paint . Even metal grinding.
