First try sandblasting.
Printed From: Unofficial Allis
Category: Allis Chalmers
Forum Name: Farm Equipment
Forum Description: everything about Allis-Chalmers farm equipment
URL: https://www.allischalmers.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=33991
Printed Date: 10 Aug 2025 at 4:27pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.10 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: First try sandblasting.
Posted By: Thad in AR.
Subject: First try sandblasting.
Date Posted: 16 Jul 2011 at 6:18pm
| I have had a blast cabinet for a few years but I finally bought a pressure pot. I have 3 bags of black beauty that I use in the cabinet will it work good in the pressure pot? I also have several buckets of dry sifted sand. I hope to blast my wc fenders and hood in the morning. I just bought a cheap blast hood from harbor freight and was thinkin of using my paint respirator under it. I tried the sand in the cabinet and even with a shop vac hooked up it created so much dust I can't see anything. The black beauty worked much better in the cabinet. Any advice will be appreciated. |
Replies:
Posted By: Auntwayne
Date Posted: 16 Jul 2011 at 6:33pm
| When Ryan Renko gets back from the farm tonight, he will post and let you know every thing you need to know, we sand blasted all night last night . He is out there painting his D-17 right now. |
Posted By: TMiller/NC
Date Posted: 16 Jul 2011 at 6:53pm
| Set a fan behind you blowing the sand away from your face and body. Helps a lot. Tim |
Posted By: GBACBFan
Date Posted: 16 Jul 2011 at 8:03pm
|
Mike Noonan from this site introduced me to the fundamentals of sandblasting this summer. He predicted I would end up with sand in every oriface, and he was absolutely correct! ------------- "The trouble with quotes on the Internet is that you can never know if they are genuine." - Mark Twain |
Posted By: Ryan Renko
Date Posted: 16 Jul 2011 at 8:21pm
| Thad, I am by no means an expert but do like the results sand blasting will give. I spread out a plastic tarp in the yard in a attempt to reuse whatever media I can. I was using silica sand which I buy for about $6.00 a bag at Ace hardware. The Black Beauty was costing me $20.00 for a 100lb bag which I thought was high. The Black Beauty is way more aggressive than the silica sand. If you attempt to reuse the media use a small screen to sift out the debris or you will be clogging it up. Wearing a respirator and face shield is a must. I was just cleaning up some D17 parts, not doing the Golden Gate Bridge or something like that. Hopefully others will chime in and not rag at me. Ryan |
Posted By: TedBuiskerN.IL.
Date Posted: 16 Jul 2011 at 8:48pm
|
Be very careful sandblasting sheet metal, you can actually lengthen the hood if not done carefully. My 45 diesel hood is a hard fit due to being too aggressive with the sand blaster. ------------- Most problems can be solved with the proper application of high explosives. |
Posted By: Coke-in-MN
Date Posted: 16 Jul 2011 at 8:52pm
|
Was real supprised to see how well Dry Ice blasting works when I was going into refinreys . The dry ice presents no clean up problem like sand in finding places to get into , the only thing to clean up is the material removed. ------------- Faith isn't a jump in the dark. It is a walk in the light. Faith is not guessing; it is knowing something. "Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful." |
Posted By: CTuckerNWIL
Date Posted: 16 Jul 2011 at 9:02pm
|
I think I would be careful using the Black Beauty on sheet metal. I have never used it but it could be a might aggressive. Guys at work think if 90 psi on the media cabinet works, then 130 has to be better. It's not. It will eat up your media and you end up with a cabinet full of dust. I have a cheap Harbor Freight pressure pot. If I let my compressor breathe once in awhile it does a pretty good job. I wish I had a cabinet for smaller things. Every time I use the one at the shop, I have to put a new window in to see.
------------- http://www.ae-ta.com" rel="nofollow - http://www.ae-ta.com Lena 1935 WC12xxx, Willie 1951 CA6xx Dad bought new, 1954WD45 PS, 1960 D17 NF |
Posted By: amac
Date Posted: 17 Jul 2011 at 11:36am
| recycled media will get dusty and adds to the visibility problems. The good thing is that the media that you use the second time around isn't as aggressive and will work better on the tin work. |
Posted By: Thad in AR.
Date Posted: 17 Jul 2011 at 12:46pm
| I got one fender done. The black beauty was too agressive. The sand worked better but I had a lot of problems with the pressure pot. It kept plugging up. I sifted the sand each time but still had problems. When I was done (so hot I was soaking wet and couldn't see out the window from humidity) I turned the pot over and emptied it in a bucket and shot air backwards through the blast hose I found 2 or 3 pieces of styrofoam packing on top of the sand. I think it'll work better next time. I found that I could use a smaller nozel with the sand and it didn't require as much air. |
Posted By: outlook6
Date Posted: 17 Jul 2011 at 2:22pm
|
I sand blast in my back yard as well and in addition to using a tarp to recover and reuse as much sand as possible, I bought a plastic 55 gallon drum (The kind they use to ship cooking oil). I cut out the top of the barrell and placed a piece of expanded metal over it. I place whatever I'm stripping on the expanded metal and blast downward. A good bit of the sand collects in the barrell to be used again. A strainer to screen the sand before you reuse it is a must however. Jim in Austin
|
Posted By: Ryan Renko
Date Posted: 17 Jul 2011 at 8:09pm
| Sometimes even with a water trap humidity affects the media and can make a clog. |
Posted By: Brian Jasper co. Ia
Date Posted: 17 Jul 2011 at 8:46pm
|
Sounds like your pressure pot is better or maybe bigger than mine. Mine only holds 100lbs at a time and the B.B. just clogs up. I do use the B.B. in my cabinet and it works well. I haven't had trouble with dust at all. I'm using a big Craftsman shop vac on mine. The only complaint I have is the gloves didn't last long on mine. ------------- "Any man who thinks he can be happy and prosperous by letting the government take care of him better take a closer look at the American Indian." Henry Ford |
Posted By: Thad in AR.
Date Posted: 17 Jul 2011 at 8:56pm
| Brian the B.B. clogs up in mine also. I had to use a wore out nozel with near 3 1/6 to a 1/4 hole. My compressor wouldn't keep up. It also had styrofoam peanuts in the bottom which caused red face and poor word choice. I'll give it one more try with new sand and less humidity and not so hot. If not I'll drag out the Bosch grinder and wire brush again. |
Posted By: Ryan Renko
Date Posted: 17 Jul 2011 at 9:11pm
| Dont get discouraged. Sand blasting does a GREAT JOB of cleaning metal!!! Buy a good/great air compressor and keep at it. It leaves a surface thats great for priming and painting. I wire brush some small things but the big stuff gets blasted!!! Ryan |
Posted By: Dipstick In
Date Posted: 17 Jul 2011 at 9:27pm
|
My experience has been that "dry" air is as critical in blasting as it is in painting. Little clots of water will mix with the media and cause uneven feeding. In painting thats probably the number one factor behind fisheyes. ------------- You don't really have to be smart if you know who is! |
Posted By: Clay
Date Posted: 18 Jul 2011 at 7:01am
|
Orschelen's had Black Diamond (Black Beauty) for $7.49/bag last week. Tractor Supply has Black Diamond for $7.99. Northern Tool also has Black Diamond. |
Posted By: Stan IL&TN
Date Posted: 18 Jul 2011 at 7:55am
|
I'll also mention that if your compressor is not quite big enough that you can also buy another compressor and connect them both together to get more air capacity. This was my route as my compressor worked fine but wasn't big enough. I waited and found a good deal on a 32 gallon unit and then hooked them together on the same feed line to the blast gun. As I blast one compressor will kick on first and if I keep blasting the second one will kick in and both will run. It works good for me as I didn't want to buy a new huge compressor for my blasting. ------------- 1957 WD45 dad's first AC 1968 one-seventy 1956 F40 Ferguson |
Posted By: Mike56073
Date Posted: 18 Jul 2011 at 10:16am
|
I run a 80 galllon compressor with 32 CFM, it sounds like alot but when you're blasting on a hot humid day the compressors efficiency goes way down! A water seperator inline is an absolute must! I used to have one mounted on the wall, but even that wasn't good enough. I would still get water condensing in the airhose to the blaster. I now have a drier mounted directly to my pressure pot, that seems to work the best. Also another trick I've learned is to open the drain on the water separator just enough to let the water dribble out as it's collected. Two other things with the pressure pot, if it has a 1/2" fitting use 1/2" hose, with a sandblaster air volume is just as important as the pressure. I run around 85-90 psi at the pressure pot. The other thing is to make sure you drain your compressor every night, the best thing to do is to install an automatic drain. My 2 cents...
|
Posted By: DonDittmar
Date Posted: 18 Jul 2011 at 11:01am
|
<iframe width="425" height="349" src=" http://www.youtube.com/embed/X5iN7A4KnMA - http://www.youtube.com/embed/X5iN7A4KnMA " frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
This is my blasting compressor. It has went through a couple of changes since this video, and I have more changes planned. I also have a cabinet as well. I blast everything when I redo a tractor. Compressor is either 42 or 48cfm ------------- Experience is a fancy name for past mistakes. "Great moments are born from great opportunity" 1968 D15D,1962 D19D Also 1965 Cub Loboy and 1958 JD 720 Diesel Pony Start |
Posted By: Toneman1
Date Posted: 19 Jul 2011 at 11:55am
|
Just curious a bit here, has anyone tried using the "recycled" glass media on tractor sheet metal. I recently used it on some sickle bar parts and found it worked real well, plus there was almost no dust, and as it is recycled from glass there are no issues with silicosis as there may be with sand. Cost is about 6-8 bucks a bag depending on where you get it.
Thanks, ------------- Don't worry about the mule going blind, just load the wagon. |
Posted By: DonDittmar
Date Posted: 19 Jul 2011 at 12:26pm
|
There are alot of different blast medias out there, I like 30/60 fine Black Beauty which I buy from the hardware at 11.99/80lb bag. I do not have trouble with sheetmetal warping or stretching, the key to that is you cant hold the nozzle in one place, you have to keep moving. ------------- Experience is a fancy name for past mistakes. "Great moments are born from great opportunity" 1968 D15D,1962 D19D Also 1965 Cub Loboy and 1958 JD 720 Diesel Pony Start |
Posted By: amac
Date Posted: 19 Jul 2011 at 3:12pm
|
Toneman1 wrote:Posted By: amac
Date Posted: 19 Jul 2011 at 3:25pm
| Glass beads are a safer alternative when blasting sheet metal. It will take longer and you will probably use more media but when your blasting sheet metal there's no hurry. Also, glass isn't much good if you recycle and use it the second time. With my commercial blaster it helps to stay back 3 feet or so from the sheet metal. The paint and rust comes off slow but it's still faster than a DA sander. |
Posted By: Brad Kelley
Date Posted: 19 Jul 2011 at 3:37pm
| I like to use glass beads in the small cabinent blaster. It is great for small parts, nuts, bolts, washers, small brackets, and it feeds better through the small nozzle, gun, and suction hose. The larger cabinets with the big suction hoses can use silica. The big outdoor pot blasters are good for doing the big parts and I use black beauty or silica. I haven't done a lot of sheet metal, but I know the pros recommend soda blasting sheet metal to prevent warping or cutting the metal. I've even seen the glass beads in the small cabinet seem to "move" metal if I hold the gun in one spot too long, but the soda blasters are much better at stripping paint but not doing damage to the metal. Save yourself some trouble and use a scraper to remove any heavy paint runs or globs, dried grease, melted rubber, tar, or anything else that's thick and soft. The blast media will just bounce off that stuff and you'll waste time and media trying to cut through it. |
Posted By: amac
Date Posted: 19 Jul 2011 at 3:56pm
| baking soda would be the best but you need to be equipped. In a regular pressure pot it doesn't want to feed down too well and if it gets any moisture at all you've got a mess. |