shepo1

Hi. was thinking of getting some type of media blaster to help in my restoration efforts.. I would be probably doing just the smaller stuff. Cleaning up metal parts.. ect... any recommendations ??
was looking at something like this.. any one tried these ?
http://www.eastwood.com/blast-out-of...asive-gun.html

I was thinking of something like that and getting a low cost cabinet

idk.. not looking to spend a ton..
Thanks

shepo1

Or something like this ?? Maybe I don't understand... If you get a blast cabnet.. does it come with the gun and such ??

http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/stor...rasive-blaster

Hairy Olds

I bought this cabinet. Cost $1000.00 best investment I have made so far working on cars.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...rDt-iC3_q8zLlA

jensenracing77

If you are doing small parts then I would get a cabinet. The gun will come with it. Starting out with them can be very frustrating. The first thing you will find is that it take a MUCH bigger compressor than you think. Also like most things, you get what you pay for. The cheaper one you get the more you will hate it.

I highly recommend getting one because after you get the basics down they are awesome to have. I have $900 in my cabinet and $1100 in my compressor and would not even consider doing another car without it.

johnnyjaws

the 1st one is good for small stuff and small abrasive nothing large you will also need rubber gloves the elbow high kind and a blasting hood that stuff hurts when it bounces back at u. and not to mention the mess youll have the second one can handel larger media see the diffrance in the size of the gun and again lots of mess if u can use bakeing soda that will wash away into the grass and does no harm I bought a blasting cabnet fron northern tool for 500.00 and yes u will need a industrial compressor mine cost 1800.00 u might be better off renting one they have companys that will come to ur house and soda blast ur car get all ur parts together and let them do it probley cheaper to. in the long run if u don't plan on using it alot

BackInTheGame

I went through the same growing pains over the past year. For the cost of all of the blasting I need to do, I calculated it would be cheaper to buy my own. Plus I needed to replace my compressor anyway I stepped up from my old 2HP/22G unit to an IR 5HP/80G compressor capable of 100% runtime for $1100 on sale at Murdochs, and paired it with a 'decent' cabinet from harbor freight on sale for $189. I had to watch the HF sales for nearly a year to catch the cabinet at that price, the regular price is like $269, or so, and the usual sale price is around $199-$219. On bottom of the legs you see the braces with wheels that I added for ease of mobility around the garage. I also added the regulator you see attached to the right. For air handling in the cabinet I rigged up a shop vac with the 5 gallon bucket for material reclamation shown in the pic. You'll have to do some sort of air handling and reclamation, or you can't see inside the cabinet within seconds. I also had to add an additional tube light inside the cabinet - the one provided just is not enough. Next to it is the same model of, but not my, compressor. I added a run-time clock to mine for about $30 shipped from Amazon. I have had absolutely NO problems with this set-up keeping up with my blasting. The only issue I have is water condensation in the line after a while. Condensate control, paired with proper air distribution, is the next upgrade in my garage/shop.

My442

TP Tools has the best blasters.


HF stuff SUCKS.

brownbomber77

Yes, as much as the HF stuff sucks...I use an outdoor blaster, wait for a pile of stuff that needs to be blasted to add up then just spend an hour er so outside. It works, but I live in Florida. Compressor is the limiting factor. My little pump can't keep up even with 60 gallons. I used a HF cabinet for a while, worked fine for the small stuff but soon realized I couldn't fit a 15 inch rim in there...time to upgrade. Just make sure if you're buying something...it's big enough. Just buy it once.

bccan

x2 for TP Tools "Skat" Blast products

http://www.tptools.com/Skat-Blast-Sa...ns_kc=bwe91214

We have 1 of these in each shop & they are excellent if your budget allows. Recommend going with the shop series 960-DLX as it comes w/ lights & accessories to hit the ground running + most normal car parts will fit in it.

If you blast a lot of stuff, extra "tear off" inner lens covers, extra glove for your "holding" hand, extra nozzles & orifices are good to have.

Vacuum is pretty much mandatory, their units are nice and quiet. You can use a shop vac though kinda noisey & droney, need to shake & blow out filter frequently.

shepo1

Ok...so a blast cabinet will come with the gun and such.. The other thing i posted a link to is a outdoor blaster or portable unit.. not needed if you have a cabinet
Thanks for the info..

shepo1

Guess Step one if to see what CFM my compressor is.. probably not big enough..

bkeese

If you don't know the cfm it is NOT big enough. Mine is somewhere in the upper 20s maybe 30 cfm. It is a dual stage, that is how you get to 175 psi. It is either 5 hp or probably 7.5 and it is 220 volts single phase. Anything less is for filling tires. I have done a lot of blasting with a 3 hp, 8 cfm, it won't even keep up with a 5" pad grinder much less a real blasted. I have a small TIP blasting cabinet and that is probably a good first purchase, but get the side extension or you will hate it. The media reclaimer is also a great accessory. They will be a Carlisle this week. I just added a second light for the other side. The single light was on the left and since I am right handed (read: holding parts with my left hand) all the light was on the back of my left hand, so I fixed that (this week actually) by adding another light fixture on the right. The vacuum is a must and consider putting the entire cabinet in a different building or shed, it will produce dust like you have never seen and the compressor is pretty noisy. I have seen people put mufflers on the exhaust of their compressors or pipe the exhaust to the exterior of the building. As for the portable blaster, Eastwoods bought TIP's portable line of blasters, very nice blasters, I bought mine used. Do NOT buy anything but a pressure blaster, NO hose in a bucket of sand, and make sure your air is dry or it will clog. You must have metal air line near the compressor. I have seen people use 10' lengths of copper tubing, this is to cool the air (compressing air causes heat, hot air holds more water than cool air) then add your dryer. I have also thought about running my air through a coil of soft copper tube that I have in a bucket of water outside too cool it. Using rubber hose from the compressor to the blasting cabinet or air tools will cause premature failure do too the lost cooling of the air. I admit I haven't done the coil of copper tubing yet but it is on my to-do list. If you do not buy the 2 stage, 20+ cfm compressor, you will spend more time waiting for the compressor then blasting and your compressor will be ultra hot. The compressor needs a rest cycle to cool.

So lets add this up:
Cabinet - $1000 with listed accessories (cabinet alone was less than $500
Compressor - $1800 - 2000
Dryer - $200 - 400

I bought my compressor mail order and I love it. I think it has a 120 gallon tank. Beware that Harbour Freight, Tractor Supply and others achieve their high cfms by spinning the compressor faster (smaller pulley on the compressor). So when you start comparing compressor check the rpms of the compressor, higher rpms = more ware.

As to not needing the portable blaster (pressure blaster), well you need that for everything that doesn't fit into the cabinet. Big cabinets that will fit a fender cost $2000+ and have dual sets of gloves and guns, plus take twice as much air. The most important tool in the hobby is you air compressor, don't get cheap on us. If you can't deal with a $2000 compressor, then buy your cabinet run it with you "probably too small" compressor and you get tied, send me a PM and I'll tell you where to get a real one.

Good luck!

RandyS

IMO, your choice of equipment may depend on how serious you are about the hobby (and how deep your pockets are). If you are a going to be restoring one car, you can probably get away with less expensive equipment than someone that is going to be doing several of them, or that does it as a side business. A floor standing blasting cabinet, such as from HF for around $200, a sand blaster, also from HF for around $100, and a 60-80 gallon compressor from Lowes for around $700 - $900 will suffice. There are some items that you just cannot get in to a home cabinet blaster anyway, like a differential, thus the need for a sand blaster. You will be in to it for around $1000 - $1200 and can blast just about any car part you need to. I have these units in my shop and they do not strain the compressor and I never run out of air. (I use the sand blaster outdoors) If you are going to do any painting with the compressor, you WILL NEED an air dryer. The dessicant styles are fairly inexpensive, and you can replace the media after it turns pink. Just my .02

shepo1

Thanks for the input.. I know the compressor is the heart of it all.. I do Have a fairly large one.. but I dont know the CFM cause I bought it used..I use it for all my air tools and such and it seem to work ok for that.. But then im not constantly using it either..I will see what I have.. and go from there..

Thanks again..

shepo1

Saw this one on craigs list local to me.. I guess again.. the question is what do I plan to do with it.. I was thinking the rims.. smaller parts.. idk.. But if I went with a Pressure blaster..like in my second pic at the top of the thread, I could do some fenders and rear end parts and suspension parts and such as well. right? But that will have to be outside as dust and sand or media will be going all over the place ??

Sorry for my stupidity in this.. but I'm just learning about these things..

BackInTheGame

That one looks about the size of my HF unit. I don't know if the rims will fit in that one, but you can fit all of the control arms, wheel backing plates, steering knuckles, intake/exhaust manifolds, etc. into it. My 14" rims will fit in mine, and there is room left to maneuver the gun - not much room, but room.

Charlie Jones

BE CAREFUL !!!
Sheetmetal is very easy to warp and destroy if you don't know exactly what you are doing.
Small parts in a cabinet , OK .
Thick and heavy parts such as frames , axles, and suspension parts with a "pressure pot " blaster, OK.
Sheetmetal ? Leave it to a "pro"!
Ask me how I know !

shepo1

Cool.. thanks again for the input.. i think i have a better idea now of what these different units do.. ..