Sandblasting

Ok guys...what do i need to use if Im wanting to sand blast all of my bikes parts, and frame to prepare for painting....? as far as equipment,protection, and blast media

 

Can't speak to doing a frame.

I just bought on of the Harbor Freight $99 blast cabinets this weekend. I'm using the standard blast agent that they sell. Glass bead is available too, but I haven't tried it. It's big enough to fit almost anything in (except a frame or swing arm). Does a great job. It needs to be fed with a pretty serious compressor. I have a 33 gal 110 compressor from Sears and it takes all she has to give.

The nice thing about a cabinet like this is that except for the sand and compressor, it comes with everything you need. Nice gloves built into the cabinet etc.

Greg

 

For real media blasting (as geebake mentioned) you're going to need a major compressor -- at least 6 cfm @ 90psi or better (strongly suggest in the area of 10 cfm), and as large a tank as possible.

You'll want to be careful about media though - most standard media is way too abrasive for what we'd want. Soda is a great choice for removing paint - uses Sodium bicarbonate (yes, baking soda) so it's environmentally friendly, safe to use around rubber and plastic parts, and really effective. Doesn't remove rust though. Best choice there would be walnut shell media -- not as abrasive as the sands, but can strip off rust very well, and doesn't do much to the rest of the surface like glass or sand will.

 

Have you heard of Vapour Blasting?

I only found out about it this week... Very good on alloy parts. Unfortunately not the sort of thing that would be easily setup at home but it is a water based blasting system and I have seen some amazing results.