MC

I found this 50lbs Media Blaster @ Eastwood

http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?i...rID=368&KICKER

Does anyone know about how many lbs. of media it would take to do a car inside and out,,

I know there's different types of media to use but just a rough estimate., I plan on stripping the whole car. The quote on having it done was about 1300 McDonalds Double Cheeseburgers But I'm tryin to learn and do as much as possible And not afraid to try. I have plenty of aluminum oxide wheels i got for free, But i want to do it "Right Way" Any Suggestions?

THUMPIN455

You need a good air compressor.. Mine will do 11.7 cfm @ 90psi and it runs almost continous while running the blasters I have. It runs on 220v and was right at $1000. A small portable 110V compressor will be workin its butt off tryin to keep up. You will spend alot of time waiting for it to build pressure. The nice thing is I can run my impact, spray guns, blast cabinet, and a tire changer too. Not all at the same time, but the compressor is a good investment.

That one looks similar to mine, pressure is better than siphon. learning how to regulate everything is the fun part with a pressure blaster. You cant run it wide open, because you dont get enough velocity. takes some experimenting to find out what the media likes.

You do need plenty of space to do it. I have a big yard, there are 15 vehicles sitting outside right now and there is 40 feet between where I can work. The concrete pad between the shops is 50x70 and I can cover it with sand while working on the Mustang. You dont want to do this indoors or on the street infront of a house. you need plenty of venitlation and the proper safety gear, its tough to drive a car while blind and skin takes a while to grow back after it was blasted off.

I would recomend only blasting the doorjambs, cowl area, under the car, splash aprons and suspension. Dont do the outer sheetmetal because you can warp it, deform it, and overheat it by improper blasting. Use a DA sander or a chemical stripper for the large areas of sheetmetal. And the tough to get at stuff with the blaster.

Remove the entire interior, all glass, chrome, and anything plastic. You will have media EVERYWHERE inside it. And you dont want to break the glass, or etch it, and you dont want to ruin the plastic in the dash.

I have been using sand here, its cheap and plentiful since I have a sand pit in the back yard. I have to sift it all to get the right size so it does come at a price for effort. I have two large wheelbarrows full of sand, and it takes two 5 gallon buckets to fill my blaster. each whelbarrow holds about 25-30 gallons of sand, I have run them both through 4 times and now I am down to one wheelbarrow and two 5 gallon buckets.

I sweep it up after the blaster is empty, sift it and reuse it. But it can only be used so much before its not good for rust removal. Figure with aluminum oxide, which is much more abrasive than sand, you will need around 50-100 gallons of it to do one car. its slow mind numbing work, but it sure does get the rust off the car.

428coupe

I have a sandblaster similar to that one, it works good, but to re-emphasize what thumpin said, the air compressor is the most important part. My compressor is 26 gallon and I think 5 hp or something, it has its tongue hangin out after a few minutes of blasting. I think with a larger compressor the sand blaster would work great. As for the sand. In my area, I get it from a brick and block yard, its a black sand and it runs about 11 bucks for a hundred pounds. I stripped a rod iron bed (for a bedroom) and used about 2 bags. (I may have wasted some trying to dial my blaster in) So you will go through quit a bit of sand.

MC

Thanx, I was realy thinking of blasting myself, but i simply dont have the room ,I live in a cookie cutter subdivision with a small garage, dont think the nieghbors wouls like that. Guess im gunna sand my a$$ off.[:'(]

THUMPIN455

You can get a small spot blaster, they work ok. Pick up some plastic painting drop sheets and build an enclosure in your garage. you can do the doorjambs and suspension that way. Be sure to have the plastic on the floor too and all around where you are working so its contained.. Still the safety issue is MOST important.. eyes and lungs are much more important than a purdy paintjob is.

Magiarn71

I did that with 1X3 strapping and plastic sheeting. It worked ok, but the top should really be closed in and you should have some kind of vent in it.

restomod66

What about having a professional strip it for you then do the rustproofing and detailing?? It might work out $$$$$wise???

bodyputtyless

Those $100 pressurized blasters are junk. The first time I used the one I bought the shut off valve failed..."the first time I tried to shut it off". Later the leg broke off and the thing constantly clogged. I did most of my car with chemical stripper. I did things like the hood, trunk lid, small parts and the doors with the blaster. They really don't make a mess. I used "black beauty" slag. It worked great. I leaned the parts up againsta retaining wall that was covered with plastic and fired away. Noisy...yes, but not messy. A good quality pressure blaster will run you $300 easy. I have a vertical single stage craftsman 80 gallon compressor. It work very well. So $450 for the compressor. $300 for the blaster. $100 for the media and you'd be better off having it done. Of course if you plan to blast more cars in the future then I recommend you buy the equipment and have fun.