HizAndHerz Posted July 7, 2007 Author Share Posted July 7, 2007 Just curious about your wet sandblasting tryout... Was it on a Z fender or a thicker skinned part? (My 57 Chevy fenders could take anything I threw at them) Did you run your hand/palm across the fender before and after cleaning? I had a Z hood that was straight until I used my pressure pot sandblaster on both sides. When I ran my hand across it after stripping it was waaaay wavy. Had the same thing happen with a couple other spots. It's funny how sandblasting can seemingly "suck" the metal out towards you. It might be that you had a weak pressure cleaner which didn't exert too much force. Was it one of the 1500 psi/1.5GPM models. Using one of those with a 4GPM tip in your wet blaster would be fairly gentle. Maybe you found something:) It's a 2700psi/2.5GPM pressure washer. No waves detected on the fender. I'll be doing another fender "for real" tomorrow before I shoot some primer on it. I'll report back with the results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexideways Posted July 7, 2007 Share Posted July 7, 2007 Hi Alex,In the context of wet blasting using a standard pressure cleaner.. The size of the media determines how fast you can remove finishes. I think the soda might work OK for metal that was bare. (I'm assuming it is fine stuff.. Finer than glass beads) It would be kind of like using 400 grit paper that could reach into very small pits pockets in the metal and root things out. Regular sand would need to be used for removing paint/undercoating of course. You are going to end up using phosphoric acid after the wet blasting so reaching into pits,etc isn't as important. It was neat to see the giant air rig in one of your links. I was mailed a pot style advertisement that you used with a pressure washer. From what I've read, there is different sized soda crystals you can buy depending on the job you're trying to do and the base material you're trying to clean. I saw a video of one guy who stripped a whole muscle car in about half a day. I didn't read much on WET soda blasting but, from what I've seen and read, with the wright sized media, DRY soda blasting is quicker than sand and doesn't built much heat in the panels... The best feature is the lack of need for personal protective equipment and the fact that it just dissolves in water once you're done. You could probably wash the shell with solvent instead of water to prevent flash rust... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Careless Posted July 15, 2007 Share Posted July 15, 2007 Guys, Northern Tool comes highly recommended. I bought the smaller water blasting hose at $19.99 (Item# 2242), and a pair of chemical and abrasive resistant blasting gloves at $2.19 (Item #170135). I later received a call from my parents, stating that I had received two packages in the mail. One was heavy, and one was not.... I've put together pressure-blasting guns before, and I know those aren't that heavy... and a pair of gloves? can't be that heavy either..... Maybe they sent me the up-rated pressure-blasting gun? Nope, that couldn't be heavy either. Instead, they delightfully sent me a 1.5 x 2 foot box of gloves, because they love me so much. 6 plastic wrapped packs with about 8 pairs each inside. Love you, Northern Tool! What ever will I do with 48 pairs of heavy duty long-arm gloves.... <3 Raff. p.s - their database is having issues on their website. Perhaps they couldn't afford their monthly hosting bills due to a warehouse slip up? p.p.s - Love you, Northern Tool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerryb Posted July 15, 2007 Share Posted July 15, 2007 Cool you can remove the heavy rust and create a thin layer of flash rust?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Careless Posted July 15, 2007 Share Posted July 15, 2007 Cool you can remove the heavy rust and create a thin layer of flash rust?? it's a good thing i have a lot of metal layin around in the backyard, and it's a good thing i have a friend comin over with some rusty bike wheels =) i'll be trying it today. thing is, i don't have a powerful pressure washer, so i have to use what I have. a simoniz 1500 psi 1.7 gpm. this hose works at 1800 psi at 7 gpm, or upto that. I'll see what happens, and let you know. I also have a bottle with concrete etcher so we can spray that on afterwards, to get it to stop rusting. I don't want to try it on my car just yet. ill let you know, and take pics of the aftermath (i dont have the digi here right now) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
v8wannabe2 Posted July 15, 2007 Share Posted July 15, 2007 I tried playground sand in my dry blaster and the inconsistent size of the grain was a pain. The draw tube kept plugging up from the larger grains. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HizAndHerz Posted July 16, 2007 Author Share Posted July 16, 2007 I tried playground sand in my dry blaster and the inconsistent size of the grain was a pain. The draw tube kept plugging up from the larger grains. That's what I have found too. I had one of my boys sift it using a window screen. When we use up the 200 lbs we have, I'll look for something better. The pressure washer has turned out to be a great tool. The only trouble is being able to use it without the neighbors seeing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Careless Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 I tried playground sand in my dry blaster and the inconsistent size of the grain was a pain. The draw tube kept plugging up from the larger grains. the best thing to do is try and keep moisture out of the sand by putting it in a sealed container or something, and having the smaller tube (vacuum tube) far away using some sort of rubber hose. spray from the washer enters the vac tube and causes it to clog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted July 17, 2007 Share Posted July 17, 2007 I came to the end of this thread, and VIOLA! there is a Sponsored Link to a DRY ICE BLASTING SERVICE! I wonder if they do housecalls? Wouldn't that be a kick? Besides, sublimation KICKS A$$! I had occasion to use Dry Ice Blasting earlier this year whilst up in Canada (Timmins, in March...) and was pretty impressed by the control it had and the lack of cleanup compared to other methods I have seen employed for the same duty (cleaning electrical winding of large motors in place). They blasted the hell out of everything and the dust was flying---but nothing to cleanup BUT what they dislodged! Media....sublime! LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HizAndHerz Posted August 8, 2007 Author Share Posted August 8, 2007 A little update on DIY wet sandblasting. Play sand and levelling sand are cheap but both clogged up the blaster since I could never get it completely dry. I bought 100lbs of "Black Diamond" abrasive for around $30. EDIT: 2003z is correct below: $8/50lbs at NorthernTool, so I actually payed $32 for 200lbs. This stuff is heavy and did not come out evenly from the blaster, but still did a good job of removing rust from the nooks and crannies of fenders and suspension parts. I feel confident that blasting + Ospho treatment is good way to remove rust. No way would I do this in my driveway. I ended up doing it all in a corner of the backyard. The results are great, but I still hope to find lighter media that is inexpensive. Maybe Black Diamond in a finer grit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Careless Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 A little update on DIY wet sandblasting. Play sand and levelling sand are cheap but both clogged up the blaster since I could never get it completely dry. I bought 100lbs bags of "Black Diamond" abrasive for around $30. This stuff is heavy and did not come out evenly from the blaster, but still did a good job of removing rust from the nooks and crannies of fenders and suspension parts. I feel confident that blasting + Ospho treatment is good way to remove rust. No way would I do this in my driveway. I ended up doing it all in a corner of the backyard. The results are great, but I still hope to find lighter media that is inexpensive. Maybe Black Diamond in a finer grit. Yeah, black diamond or metal shavings are good for a contained unit because you could re use them. However,if you have pets, i dont know if blasting that stuff around is a good idea. Play sand works, as long as you keep moisture away from the container it's in. I would put it in a tote and seal the end off with some regular duct tape so that no moisture gets in. Maybe put a hole on the lid, and tape a waterproof filter sheet of some sort on the other side, to allow it to suck some air into the sand supply, without any moisture. UPDATE ON MY BLASTING UNIT: Still haven't found a coupler to run it on my unit. I have to see if northern tool sells one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2003z Posted August 9, 2007 Share Posted August 9, 2007 black diamond is about $8 for a 50lb bag at northern tool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HizAndHerz Posted August 9, 2007 Author Share Posted August 9, 2007 Yeah, black diamond or metal shavings are good for a contained unit because you could re use them. However,if you have pets, i dont know if blasting that stuff around is a good idea. Play sand works, as long as you keep moisture away from the container it's in. I would put it in a tote and seal the end off with some regular duct tape so that no moisture gets in. Maybe put a hole on the lid, and tape a waterproof filter sheet of some sort on the other side, to allow it to suck some air into the sand supply, without any moisture. UPDATE ON MY BLASTING UNIT: Still haven't found a coupler to run it on my unit. I have to see if northern tool sells one I've got a 12 by 30 foot area next to my garage where my parts washer lives. That area is fenced off from the rest of the yard and I now use it strictly for wet blasting and paint removal. I can contain and clean up any mess I make pretty easily except for the blasting media. Pretty soon it will look like it was purposely black topped with asphault! All of the H/W stores around here keep the sand outdoors so it is never completely dry from the store. I'm sure there are better places to get levelling sand. For now, I'm going to use up the Black Diamond I have and then try smaller grit to see if it will siphon more evenly. The good news is that we are making major progress on the body work on my son's Z. At first, he thought we'd never be able to do it ourselves but he's encouraged to see some results. Fenders, hood, doors are about ready for sealer primer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Careless Posted August 9, 2007 Share Posted August 9, 2007 The good news is that we are making major progress on the body work on my son's Z. At first, he thought we'd never be able to do it ourselves but he's encouraged to see some results. Fenders, hood, doors are about ready for sealer primer. And is this due, in part, by the sandblaster rig? If so, I definately need to get mine going. I'm gonna blast the entire dang car before the summer ends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antimanifesto09 Posted November 14, 2007 Share Posted November 14, 2007 interesting thread... any updates for it? anyone have pics to help out and show some results? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Careless Posted November 15, 2007 Share Posted November 15, 2007 Instead of using a coupler for my unit, i took the head piece off the blaster that came from Northern Tool, and screwed it onto a Princess Auto pressure water gun replacement. The tube is longer, and its easier to hold firmly to blast a specific area, and it works great! But you have to be quick with some fluid film or WD40 after drying it off to stop anything from rusting. I found a rusty brake rotor in the back and cleaned up real nice, then wire wheeled it for about 2 minutes, and then applied some fluid film, and it looked somewhat new! I say for 20 bucks, if you're willing to experiment and have a pretty good blaster, its ok! But i think using that aluminum oxide stuff might be better than sand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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