Recently bought a new compressor 3 cyl 60 gall rated at 14cfm @90. Main reason for buy it was for cut off work and would like to do some sand blasting of engine area and wheel wells. Seriously considering the attached pressure blaster 100lbs. Any advice? Iassuming that this would be alot easier than using wire wheel or some other method for removing old paint. May even use for other body panels. What do you think?

http://www.eastwoodco.com/shopping/p...roductID=15245

 

basically looks like my harbor freight blaster. Expect on heck of a mess. mask off your area well. my 60 gallon compressor almost died in the process of me blasting my car. I had a problem with moisture as well. I bought an extra 50 foot of hose that I hooked up directly to my tank and ran to a seperator. I kept the hose wound up and put it in a 5 gallon bucket of water to cool the air and help with condensation. I also had a bunch of gatorade bottles full of water and frozen to put in the water to keep it cool. Once water gets in the tank you will have a nasty little blockage your sand will turn into mud.

 

That's the same one I have (from Northern Tool). My compressor isbit on thesmaller side.I'd blast for about 30 seconds then putter on something else until the compressor was fully charged. All told abrasive blasting is quite fun even with a wimpy compressor.

Removing paint uses alot of abrasive. I still used a wire brush or one of those black glue and sand wheels which works alot better. The abrasive blaster is the only way to go for removing rust pits. Black beauty abrasive pitch works pretty good since you won't be using actual sand.

As for running the hose, I propped mine up on chairs to keep condensation from building up in the line from the cold cement floor. It's pretty much the opposite what Tony R did, but I didn't have any condensation problems.

As for the mess, I ran plastic sheet down the center of my shop to keep the dust to one side.The sand still goteverywhereI didn't want it (falling in my eyes when I was wiringbehind the dash a month later).

 

Thanks guys! I was looking at one and I think I'll stick to the wire wheel on the 4" grinder.

 

If there is one piece of advice I can offer, it is that unless you are wearing a hood, WEAR EARPLUGS! I learned the hard way. I kept getting nasty headaches and found it was the sand deflecting and getting in my ears.

 

A word of warning about the wire wheel on the 4" grinder. I used that on my undercarriage and engine bay and it worked great. But when I used it on the inside of my roof and on the inside of my deck lid, the heatitgenerated stretched the metal and I ended up with a clearly visible outline of the roof and deck lid supports/braces showing through. I had to skim coat the roof and deck lid tosmooth it out. Be careful with the angle grinder/wire wheel on body panels. It will stretch the metal and warp them very easily. The same thing can happen when sand blasting body panels. That's why most shops use walnut hulls or plastic beads on body panels.

 

If you use some aircraft paint remover before blasting it will make things much easier. Make sure to use the correct protection equipment and protect your lungs, eyes, and ears and anyother exposed body part. I like a DA on the flatter areas and a blaster on the concave areas that the roto sanders cant reach. A high pressure steam cleaner will help remove undercoating. Good luck.

 

Thanks for all th e advice - plan is currently to wait till spring and push car into an open area by my house - no neighbors to worry about. I'll make sure I get some protective gear - I'm going to use it for engine bay and inner wheel wells only. For thebody areas I'll probably use aircraft stripper and sander. thanks again

 

I have the same one. wprks well when you learn how much sand vs air you need..

Good open space is a must..

I would make sure and do itwhen it is cooler. You need to wear a lot of protective clothing, gloves, and hood.. It get hot quick..

 

What size compressor do you have?