cheap but good sandblasting options/tools

[berettaboi]

hey guys, i need to get my rear subframe blasted and coated before winter, and am thinking that i have seen a few options that cost as much (or quite a bit less) than taking the car to someone to do it...

anyone have experience with small sandblasting equipment? i'll likely drive over a trap, lift the butt end up on jack stands and wear some face and hand protection while looking up and blasting away...

small guns from princess auto/harbor freight is likely what i'm looking at, but can i get enough psi out of my small-midsize compressor to do a good enough job? princess auto has this pressurized tank (http://www.princessauto.com/pal/product ... andblaster), or just a basic gun with hopper on top (http://www.princessauto.com/pal/product ... andblaster) has done the trick well for anyone?

[1990BerettaGTZ2.3L]

I bought a speed blaster from snap-on it was made or "distributed" by blue point, but it wad only $80 and it works great by far the best tool I've ever bought!! Especially for $80!!! It's a gravity feed, and likes to be used with dry air do pick up a few air drier cartridges you screw on to a fitting, now when I blast with it it uses alot of sand at low psi so the kore you bump it up the less sand you will lose but blasting power too, mine with an 80 gal compressor likes 100-105psi at the wall regulator I have it's really the best for the money to be honest but for doing frame rails I would recommend keeping the hopper full because it's disadvanges is it feeds at the front so you don't have much of an angle to work with bit can work good if you keep it full

[berettaboi]

thanks, yeah i'm going to have to keep an idea of hopper angle when working almost upside down

[wicked-irocz]

DO not sandblast with the rear end together, you will get sand everywhere including the bearings and brakes along with damaging paint elsewhere on the car unless you tape it off very well and I mean very well. Also, if your compressor is an oil-less unit it will not work. Blasting requires 80 psi at 8-10CFM generally with a pressurized tank system (the best style). There are zero 120V compressors on the market that live up to this. You also need a compressor with a 100% duty cycle.

[3X00-Modified]

may I recommend





And pick your flavor...




You could probably get away with blasting small sections at a time letting the compressor catch up and cool down and not do the whole thing at once... but yes I was going to say a pressurized tank is the best. Luckily I have one.

[1990BerettaGTZ2.3L]

well that's a thought wire wheel it to take the heavy stuff off then blast it saves time and money and your compressor I would just blast 10 minutes on 10 off that way your not working your compressor to death, at work here we got an 80 gal snap-on compressor, and it works it's ass offjust for my body work stuff when I'm running high pressure tools and I just go on to doin something else with less cfm then it cycle less for like a half hour then I go back to making her work, before we were running a full shop on this compressor 2 mechanics with impacts running almost simmaltaneously however you spell it and me in my booth sanding all day everyday and it's 7 years old with 2 rebuilds as far as the compressor rings anyway, so yours should work ok for what your using it for a small section, but I would recommend picking up a little Regulator to attach to it so you get the air pressure you want instead of your whole volume of air that's already built up it cycle it less to doing this cause your preserving some air pressure

may I recommend





And pick your flavor...




You could probably get away with blasting small sections at a time letting the compressor catch up and cool down and not do the whole thing at once... but yes I was going to say a pressurized tank is the best. Luckily I have one.

[scd88ga]

may I recommend





And pick your flavor...

^^^ This is how I did EVERY piece on my car and well as tons of parts for customers! Either with a drill or my bench mounted unit. I did every piece on my motor with a drill!




A sand blaster would be nice though... lol

[1990BerettaGTZ2.3L]

God I want your motor Brett!!! Can't wait to actually find one in my price range used that runs and I'm gonna make her look like yours except I can really decide if I want to go with the cast iron block paint look or the black like yours or chevy engine orange which would be my favorite choice idk yet

[3X00-Modified]

Black is actually the original color and best for heat dissipation... that's why I choose that.

[berettaboi]

thanks guys. yeah i expect it too be taxing on my compressor (http://www.walmart.com/ip/Campbell-Haus ... escription, but actually only 8 gallon...) i expected to take all day and many beer breaks... i would hate much more to sit there that much closer... getting smothered with rust flakes and crude while hitting it with a wirewheel. surely that will be the way to go for some spots though. i wont be blasting directly at brakes, bushings and all moving points (or i'll make a backer/blocker for the areas)

i like the look of the pressurized sandblaster tanks. supposedly with a few small mods, the princess auto/harbor freight ones are great for their cost.

i may also borrow my work compressor, which is a 25 gallon or so upright, and a wee bit more powerful/quicker refill.

yeah, you did a great job on the quad there! it's much easier when you're standing over top of the thing doing it as well...









and just for kicks, i ran across this while looking for my compressor... funny http://www.walmart.com/ip/GMC-Power-Equ ... r/16676589

[scd88ga]

yeah, you did a great job on the quad there! it's much easier when you're standing over top of the thing doing it as well...

It was torn down to a bare block, I did one piece at a time.

[1990BerettaGTZ2.3L]

What did you do with your timing case it has a nice shiny look to it, did you polish it?

[scd88ga]

What did you do with your timing case it has a nice shiny look to it, did you polish it?

Nope, it's just wire-wheeled like everything else. You can use thin wire brass wire wheels to get a smoother finish if desired. The aluminum won't stay as bright as it does initially obviously, but this is how it looks after 2 years including Winter driving!

[SummitBalt08]

That looks great! You no use AcDelco oil filter? lol

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[scd88ga]

That looks great! You no use AcDelco oil filter? lol
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Thanks!

I use Purolator PureONE oil filters! Ac Delco's are fine as long as you use the original ones and not the newer E-Core designed ones that have the same part number, but with an E at the end of it, those are CRAP IMO!






*sorry for the off-topic oil filter rant*