Do it yourself shot blasting - thoughts please...

[Maverik]

Hi people

As Phase 2 (body works) of my re-build crawls along, I've been thinking about economies of scale again (what drove me to buy a spray gun and paint it myself!) - I've got a fair few bits, bumpers, rock slides and general pants fitting that are all a bit rusty and could do with a shot blast and re-paint...

I was reading a how to article on home sand blasting and I thought, heck i could do that! - found these on fleebay

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-10-Gallon-Pot-Bead-Shot-Sand-Blast-Blaster-Blasting-/130427874115?pt=UK_Air_Tools_and_Compressors&hash=item1e5e1b6b43

They look a bit cheap and cheerful but look like they would do the trick... has anyone got experience of home blasting? and is it worth it? I've got the space etc so that’s not a problem, is it a good way to save money or will it end up costing me more do you think after I've got all the bits associated... is it actually worth it?

Cheers

Mav

[ejparrott]

While I havent used a blaster like that before, I have done sand blasting out of a cabinet as well as in a cabinet. In a cabinet is great, its largely contained, out of a cabinet is a whole different thing.

Most important of all, you do need a large supply of air to work properly, 8 cfm minimum is not uncommon for a proper job. If working out of the cabinet, you also need an air fed respirartor to be honest. I used to use ordinary face masks, and I'd be sneezing dust for a week afer.

If working outdoors, you're very susceptible to wind blowing dust around, before and after contact with the job. I'm thinking at present about using a garden shed we've got which is shortly to become empty-ish, I plan to re-roof, seal the floor and walls, and then hang a plastic sheet over the little bench in there. It will make it easy to re-collect the grit. If you have room, I suggest it to you.

[Happyoldgit]

Veteran members of the old LRE site will know why I chuckled at this. For those not in the know I ought to explain that IIRC we had a guy come on the site offering deals on DIY shotblasters, took orders and payments but didn't send the goods ....and was then never heard of again.

Absolutely no implications on the above of course but the title just jogged my memory.

[CwazyWabbit]

For what you are doing Mav cabinet is obviously out of the question, having done grit blasting outside I'd honestly recommend getting someone else to do it. Even if you go down the route of using an old shed it is a messy job and you will be finding grit in places you didn't know you had and unless you have a proper respirator you'll be blowing it out of your nose all week.

How much do you think you'll save going DIY? How much stuff have you to blast.....

Personally I'd have a cabinet to do the small bits and anything that didn't fit in the cabinet I'd send off to be done.

[cackshifter]

I have one of these http://www.blastitclean.co.uk/ and using it is a horrible job. You need as much air as you can get, at least 3hp motor compressor, and it must be dried thoroughly. It'll give your compressor a really good workout. Then you need a really good pair of goggles and a mask - I use a hood with a glass screen in front of the goggles. I used to put cling film over the goggles as they still get scratched, and you can change the film. So does it work ? It does the job, not terribly quickly. The nozzle you blast through is important, that wears and needs to be carbide or something very hard and to have the right size hole for the compressor driving it, used to have a small gun with a steel nozzle and gradually the nozzle disappeared. With the Ace blaster I did the back end of a chassis reasonably successfully - it certainly is effective and gets into places you otherwise couldn't. And the grit goes everywhere. The smaller guns are good if you have something like a rust bleb and just want to clean it up thoroughly before fill and paint.

So, I'd concur with my learned colleagues above. A small cabinet to do odd bits - fine, maybe if you have a dedicated shed, fine. Otherwise prepare for a mess. I tried to do brake calipers in a large cardboard box, OK , but after 2 calipers the box was in a state. If you have a lot to do, I'd really find somewhere to do it for you, and ideally do the dipping/galvanising/coating etc as once blasted things rust in the blink of an eye.

[daveturnbull]

1. A proper respirator is a must.

2. You'll need a compressor with a massive output.

3. Do it on a big tarp so you can collect up and reuse the shot/grit.

4. Treat it quickly aftewards of you'll be back to square 1.

[Maverik]

hmmm, very swift response there... and i think you've all suitably put me off the idea... I like the idea of it, but the negatives outweigh the positives just now me thinks...

[cieranc]

The technicalities aside, blasting is the ONLY way to get rid of rust.

Blast it back to clean metal, replace the metal that's missing.

Scale guns are good for taking thick rust scabs off, but the finer rust that's deep seated into the metal gets hammered into the metal. You won't stop it rusting without removing all the rust.

[muddy]

I have a large ish yard, road compresser, blasting gun/pot etc, tonnes of sand (should NOT be used due to silica....) and will be sending my chassis away for blasting.

Unless its small parts in a cabinet where the media is easily recovered its just not worth it in my opinion as others have said.

Will.