Need Some Sandblasting Advice...Help

[Buster1]

I just got my makeshift booth set up and picked up two bags of medium glass bead. Running it through the gun at about 90 psi with limited to no results on old fenders, wheels, etc. Emptied 2 or three jars (my gun has a feed can attached, about a quart size).

It seems like the bead is coming out okay, as soon it's all over me and the collection area, but there is no effect on the parts I'm attempting to blast. Any ideas? I think maybe the old paint and stuff is too tough and the glass bead is not aggressive enough. My gun is rated to 116 psi, and I finished at about 100 psi on my last attempt. Doesn't look like it has the ability to adjust flow of media though.

One thing I realized, I need a hood. A respirator and shop goggles didn't cut it.

Please let me know what you think and any advice.

[Henry morgan]

different types of paint and age play a factor... but I would use sand if the glass is not working... also vary
the distance of the gun and approach to working surface.. sand will rip anything.

[Buster1]

Maybe you're right. I was 1-2 inches away and barely anything was happening. Maybe that old paint is tough.

[CCR]

how big of a compressor are we talking about ? If the air supply isn't big enough your psi is really a lot lower than what you think as soon as you pull the trigger.

[Toeslider]

If you use sand, make SURE you use sand approved for sandblasting, not just a cheap bag of play sand you pick up from Lowes or Home Depot. Silicosis will ruin your life in a hurry! Use as much breathing protection as you possibly can, whatever you use.

[Buster1]

how big of a compressor are we talking about ? If the air supply isn't big enough your psi is really a lot lower than what you think as soon as you pull the trigger.

It's a 150 psi, 20 Gallon 1.5 hp! What I would call a decent "shop compressor." It is rated for 4-5 CFM at 50 psi. Though today I was never close to pushing the CFM as I was always stopping to re-fill media. The compressor was keeping up just fine, even at 100 psi.

[Jpromo]

I had this problem my first time using our freestanding sandblaster. I went through a whole bag of sand with no results. I don't know what style blaster you have but mine is a chamber tank with the hose coming out of the bottom. There's a valve at the base of the hose which controls the air to media ratio and mine was all the way to media. I messed with this a bit and, before I knew it, paint was just washing away.

You've got to find that sweet spot of economy and productivity.. like most other things in life

[sensor]

use baking soda....ive used that on a few frames(only 50s-60s) and its come off easily enough....ohhh...if youre using one of the horror fright blast guns those dont work too well(unless you just want a big mess and not much material removal)

[Buster1]

Hmmmm. I'll post a pic of the gun tomorrow. There doesn't appear to have a media control valve. It was a relatively cheap gun. I hope that's not it, but maybe. I went thru 3 jars and basically no material was removed.

[Buster1]

Okay, here's the gun. Seemed to get good writeups on Amazon. I can't seem to locate anywhere that I could adjust media flow on it though. The small allen nut near the nozzle is for removing the nozzle...right?

[shishkbob]

i am going to try this setup, it is cheap and easy to setup.

http://www.aircooledtech.com/tools-on-the-cheap/soda_blaster/

setup in action
http://www.garagenight.tv/diy-soda-blasting-build-your-own-rig-cheap/