Sand Blasting

[Audi]

I have a 1967 Triumph Spitfire as a project car. Now all the body work has been done and is great but the mechanical and drivetrain has not. Things like the brake drums, suspension arms etc all have a fair bit of surface rust on them.

One option is to take them some where to be cleaned up, but this might get expensive after a while.

Option 2 is to buy a blasting cabinet myself (I already have an air compressor). This appeals as I will be taking parts off bit by bit and I don't really want to be going to someone else once every fortnight. However I'm not sure how effective it will be.

So my question is, if I buy my own cabinet will it work well for removing rust and tidying thinks up and it will it be cost effective?

Or am I better off just taking it somewhere to get it done?

[mega4a]

i got that sca one from super cheap works great way better having your own one as can be used in future you just need to replace sand every now and then but not to much of an issue

[Mr Revhead]

Is there a project thread?

Have you got a compressor? Buying bit and making your own is quite cheap

[Rick]

What size is your air compressor? I found my single phase compressor couldn't keep up with the sand blaster and it is the largest you can run off a single phase socket. I now use a quite a large 3 phase compressor with a much larger tank.

Why do you want to use a cabinet? don't have an area outside you can do sand blasting?

[Audi]

No project thread, I think that would just depress me even more about the state of things. I never really thought of doing one till now though so I might.

Got a compressor, it's not massive but it can do the cfm that most cabinets I've seen seem to need. I have more indoor space than outdoor and thought a cabinet would be better than just trying to do it outside, they are not too expensive either.

[Dell'Orto]

I've got a reasonably big single phase compressor, and it works pretty hard with the sand blasting cabinet. Works well though

[malc]

If it is just smaller stuff to blast a cabinet would be handy, wish I had one when I did a lot of stuff on my car. Did it out in the open and proceeded to get sand all over the show, it really goes everywhere.
And if it is mostly surface rust, it should be pretty easy going.

[evil_si]

My 14cfm single phase compressor keeps up with my sand blaster fine,

But my sand blaster is arse, its a cheap $250 cabinet type from sulco,

Havent quite decided wether to modify it to work better or to just build my own from scratch

[fangsport]

if blasting / cleaning heavy wall items (not thin panels) don't fook around with sand, it will be powder in no time. use sintered steel instead. we are running about 500kg/day through the gear i am using and only topping up due to losses.

faster, cleaner and produces a better key for cast/ heavy plate items.

[Audi]

Well it seems like it's worth a shot. The next question is would a Supercheap auto one be acceptable or crap?

[92mr2paddy]

look at machineryhouse, they are in east tamaki, have everything you'll ever need and i would say alot better qulaity than repco etc considering tools,
http://machineryhouse.co.nz/Search?S=sand+blaster

[Dell'Orto]

The majority of Machinery Houses equipment is Chinese, so on par with anything else you'll find. They do have some good brands though

[Audi]

Hmm, still trying to decide on this. It seems my flow rate is a bit low for most cabinets so I'd only be able to do short bursts.

I don't really want to upgrade the compressor as well since I'll only be using the sand blaster say 4 times a year?

My other option is to just wire brush things. Would that be comparable?

[92mr2paddy]

ive wire brushed a few ali parts in the vice with a drill and then the wire thing in drill,,, takes, f**king hours!! and a few wire bits always break off every few minutes and nail u

[Grrrrrrr!]

If you do end up wire brushing stuff, remember to give it a bit of a sand before painting/powdercoating to get the paint to adhere properly. Wire brushes burnish the surface and can cause issues with paint adhesion.

[Audi]

Hm I am torn now! I'll see what I can do with what I've got I think.

[malc]

Wire brushing will never be as good as sand blasting for getting rid of rust. I guess if you wire brush your best bet would be painting with a rust inhibiting paint afterward.

[RomanV]

Honestly, if you are struggling for motivation with your project do NOT sandblast your own stuff.

It's so cheap to get it done, they probably have some numpty earning minimum wage blasting stuff all day, so not like you have to pay $$$$$$$.

Getting a whole lot of parts, taking to sandblaster and getting them back primered for zero effort (and some $$$) is pretty much the best thing ever, compared to doing the god awful job yourself.

Save your efforts for more engaging aspects of the project.

[fangsport]

Honestly, if you are struggling for motivation with your project do NOT sandblast your own stuff.

It's so cheap to get it done, they probably have some numpty earning minimum wage blasting stuff all day, so not like you have to pay $$$$$$$.

Getting a whole lot of parts, taking to sandblaster and getting them back primered for zero effort (and some $$$) is pretty much the best thing ever, compared to doing the god awful job yourself.

Save your efforts for more engaging aspects of the project.

what is the blasting rate up your way??
looking at $240-ish/hour down here......unpainted

[Grrrrrrr!]

Standard rate is 2 boxes. Blasted but not primered.