Sand Blasting Question

[jbollis]

Originally Posted by loghouse

Can't you get a pretty good sand blasting unit from Harbor Freight for between $100 and $150 or is all their stuff junk?

Greg K.

You could, But if you are talking an enclosed one, what will fit in it ? And if it is a open air one, do you want the mess ( probably 100 plus pounds of sand and whatever comes of the tractor ) in your driveway or yard ?

[Matt G.]

I use a similar model to the HF one, and it works pretty good. A partial enclosure would be a good idea though...I used to put down a big tarp to catch all the blasting media, but if there's ANY wind, half of it blows away, which gets expensive after awhile. We've got part of some sort of large steel box that we'll use for an impromptu blasting cabinet.

If you get one, don't use sandbox sand or any other silica sand. Use only sandblasting sand or other blasting media like Black Diamond, Black Beauty, etc.

That's one of those things where if you're going to pay someone $200 to sandblast stuff, you could spend the money on the equipment and it'd pay for itself the first time you use it.

[eastonct124]

Here in CT., you're looking at about $300 to do the frame, fenders, front axle, tower, etc.
It's based on how long it takes. It should take an hour....so whatever they get hourly plus sand and overhead.

[CMA's129]

Sand blasters are cheap, It,s getting a compresor that will make enough air that will kill ya! I used to rent an 110CFM one for $35 or 40 bucks a day that did a pretty good job as long as you used a smaller nozzle. Now we have a 150CFM at work that I can tow home and use all weekend for free. I just have to fill it back up with fuel. With the 150 I can blast till the sand is gone and clear about an 2" swath pretty fast. Blasting sucks even worse when it's hot out so the quicker the better.

[bignastyGS]

It cost me 300 bucks to have my frame,all suspension pieces(less the rearend) tower piece,grille pieces and small items blasted as well as powdercoated. I stripped the rearend with stripper and painted them myself.I will also do the engine myself by sanding and repainting to keep sand out of unwanted places. Iwould look for either a commercial blasting company or perhaps a powdercoater in your area as they have the equipment already. You could drop 3-4 hundred pretty quick if you don't have a blaster or compressor,but like Matt said,you'd have a setup for the next time.