I'm going to glassbead my chassis in the garage. I currently have the setup for the nozzle with the siphon tube for the material and have the glassbead in a small trashcan. of course after shooting I have to collect it and put it back in.

does anyone have experience with the small 20 gallon sandblasting system (I saw it at 'farm and country' for $140). it has a dryer, regulator and you pour the media in the top nad then close it again-so the entire tank is pressurized. I don't want to spend the extra money unless it will significantly speed the process up. does it deliver more media then the siphon device (like what is used in a glassbead cabinet).

I plan on doing the back half of the frame while the bed is off-can anyone tell me how it took them to accomplish this?

thanks,
Paul

I did the back half of the frame with the bed off, but it was pretty clean to start with - it took me about an hour using black slag media through a siphon type blaster (not the pressurized kind you're looking at). It cleaned up nicely & looks great painted black - I used a rust converter product first, but probably didn't need to.

The glass bead media might be a little soft if your frame is very rusty - the black slag is great & can be purchased from JC Whitney. I like it better than graded sand because it doesn't get wet & clog the blast tip, and it doesn't contain silica, so it won't kill you :)

Good luck - Lee

thanks Lee-I am concerned about the silica getting inside my lungs. do you think a respirator will prevent that? not having any luck finding black slag locally. can you use the black slag on the panels as well or will it be too hard?

thanks,Paul

I've used the black slag on everything with great results - I have an advantage on my supply - a neighbor of mine has a salvage yard & showed up one day with a truckload of 100 pound bags. I have "squatter's Rights" at his yard, so I can get all the slag I want :) the bags are starting to tear from age, but the stuff is free, so I can shovel as much as I want into a container, or be really careful and carry bags to the truck.

As for the respirator - definitely use one if you're blasting with sand. I picked one up at the local farm supply - I'd have to look at it to see what the brand is, but it's a common model - I've seen them at several other locations and I wear it all the time when I'm blasting or painting. If you get one, be sure to get extra filters, they will lose thier effectiveness quickly if you're shooting paint. Refills are cheaper than caskets :) - Lee

Hey Lee, does 'black slag' have another name by chance? at the local 'farm and country' they have three different kinds of media but none were black and the only one that said 'silica free' was a white glass bead.
thanks-Paul

That 20 lb. blaster sounds like the one Harbor frieght has for sale for $44:bowtie:

lol yeah slam, i saw that one... was thinkin of it but i just know my neighborhood will hate me if i shoot that junk in my driveway :eek: sux not having a garage

anyone got a link to this $44 sandblaster? also, any reviews by anyone who uses it? especially compared to a siphon which i have now

I was curious so I 'looked' it up. the one I found was $60 and is a 20 lb unit. 20lb's is not a lot of material!

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=44762

I wonder where the $44 one is hiding and if anyone here has one?

Originally posted by 72C10chevy4x4
Hey Lee, does 'black slag' have another name by chance? at the local 'farm and country' they have three different kinds of media but none were black and the only one that said 'silica free' was a white glass bead.
thanks-Paul

JC Whitney sell it as "Jet Black" 99.9% black slag, 1% free silica. $29.99 for 25#

I bought a 40 lb. model at Tractor Supply for $109.00 about a month ago .... Hope this helps ... :D

I've used one of the 40 pound units I bought from Harbor Freight
for a number of years. It works great if you have a big enough compressor to handle it. ( I've got a big 5 horse Black Max with a 60 gallon tank and it will barely supply enough air for it) It's much faster than a siphon blaster.

I blasted my entire frame and all suspension components on the 71 GMC I'm building in a few hours and a few hundred pounds of sand.
Use a face mask , or hood, a respirator, and ear plugs. You'll be glad you did.

:p Igo to one of our larger paint stores and pick up a 100# bag of black beauty slag they have it in 3 different grits. most of our auto parts stores carry it also. hope this helps you locate some easier.:flag: :bowtie: biglou55

Just looking through my email and came across a sale at Harbor Freight. They have a couple of pressurized sandblasters.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=38375

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=34202

northerntool.com sales black slag for 5.99 for a 50lb bag they sale it as black diamond