Blasting sand???

Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2015 11:13 am

Gonna be blasting the track bike frame this weekend. Got dad's sand blaster but no sand. What do you guys recommend and where do you get it?

CB1100F Joined: Jun 18, 2006 Posts: 2527 Location: UK

Is it paint on the frame or powder coat?

Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2015 11:28 am

Original paint.

CB1100F Joined: Jun 18, 2006 Posts: 2527 Location: UK

The guy who does my frames uses steel shot as it removes it quickly, The original paint comes off easily from the frames, not very thick,i use aluminum oxide or glass beads to remove the original paint off engine casings, works well

I asked the powder question as i took him a frame that was powdered and his shot was going to take hours to do, had to use paint stripper which removed it well

If you find the media you can get is slow maybe paint stripper it first, depend on how good you blast cabinet is

Keith

Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2015 12:22 pm

I use 80# Aluminium Oxide in mine, but am shifting to 60# Aluminium Oxide to speed things up a little. Original Honda paint on steel items strips quickly and easily, Honda paint on aluminium is slower .... I agree with Keith that removing PC is best done chemically, its a slow process in a hobby blaster ... (don't ask ...)

I get my stuff off ebay, many industrial suppliers list there, and you can easily compare prices, plus I'd rather have someone else deliver 25Kg bags ...

Regards,

Max

CB1100F Joined: Jun 18, 2006 Posts: 2527 Location: UK

Hondamax wrote:

I use 80# Aluminium Oxide in mine, but am shifting to 60# Aluminium Oxide to speed things up a little. Original Honda paint on steel items strips quickly and easily, Honda paint on aluminium is slower .... I agree with Keith that removing PC is best done chemically, its a slow process in a hobby blaster ... (don't ask ...)

I get my stuff off ebay, many industrial suppliers list there, and you can easily compare prices, plus I'd rather have someone else deliver 25Kg bags ...

Regards,

Max

Max

I needed some new media to blast the head and cylinder on my R

Thought i would try some Glass beads, bought this off ebay uk Link, was suprised how fast it removed the paint, far better than the prevoius 60 grit Aluminum oxide i tried, and was 1/2 the price as well

Keith

Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2015 1:21 pm

Aluminum oxide or black beauty (coal slag) is best and more aggressive than blasting sand. It leaves a nice substrate for better paint/powder adhesion too. As far as blasting off powder - forget it unless you have nothing better to do for a day. Even conventional stripper will barely touch it. The stripper recommended for removing powder burns skin on contact and is very fast. I keep 5 gallons on hand but luckily rarely need it. Nasty stuff.

Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2015 1:37 pm

krgood0 wrote:

Hondamax wrote:

I use 80# Aluminium Oxide in mine, but am shifting to 60# Aluminium Oxide to speed things up a little. Original Honda paint on steel items strips quickly and easily, Honda paint on aluminium is slower .... I agree with Keith that removing PC is best done chemically, its a slow process in a hobby blaster ... (don't ask ...)

I get my stuff off ebay, many industrial suppliers list there, and you can easily compare prices, plus I'd rather have someone else deliver 25Kg bags ...

Regards,

Max

Max

I needed some new media to blast the head and cylinder on my R

Thought i would try some Glass beads, bought this off ebay uk Link, was suprised how fast it removed the paint, far better than the prevoius 60 grit Aluminum oxide i tried, and was 1/2 the price as well

Keith

Keith,

Thanks. I used to use that, but went to the Aluminium Oxide because it lasted longer and cut just as well. May have to reload the small cabinet once I've finished playing with the Soda and do a back to back ...

Regards,

Max

P.S. That is a good price ... hmmm!

CB1100F Joined: Jun 18, 2006 Posts: 2527 Location: UK

Hondamax wrote:

krgood0 wrote:

Hondamax wrote:

I use 80# Aluminium Oxide in mine, but am shifting to 60# Aluminium Oxide to speed things up a little. Original Honda paint on steel items strips quickly and easily, Honda paint on aluminium is slower .... I agree with Keith that removing PC is best done chemically, its a slow process in a hobby blaster ... (don't ask ...)

I get my stuff off ebay, many industrial suppliers list there, and you can easily compare prices, plus I'd rather have someone else deliver 25Kg bags ...

Regards,

Max

Max

I needed some new media to blast the head and cylinder on my R

Thought i would try some Glass beads, bought this off ebay uk Link, was suprised how fast it removed the paint, far better than the prevoius 60 grit Aluminum oxide i tried, and was 1/2 the price as well

Keith

Keith,

Thanks. I used to use that, but went to the Aluminium Oxide because it lasted longer and cut just as well. May have to reload the small cabinet once I've finished playing with the Soda and do a back to back ...

Regards,

Max

P.S. That is a good price ... hmmm!

Max

yes it does not last as long,but i only need to do the head, cylinder and the front brake calipers,Even if i use all the 25 kilos at that price i will be happy

Keith

Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2015 2:21 pm

Uuuhhhhh no cabinet lol. I'll be doing it behind the garrage.

Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2015 2:50 pm

1100russ wrote:

Uuuhhhhh no cabinet lol. I'll be doing it behind the garrage.

Can you rig some tarps or something so that you can either recover the media or get rid of it?

Regards,

Max

Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2015 4:24 pm

Wear a good breathing mask. Sandblasting will kill you.

Potential Health Effects
Inhalation:
a. Silicosis: Respirable crystalline silica (quartz) can cause chronic silicosis, a fibrosis
(scarring) of the lungs. Silicosis may be progressive; it may lead to disability and death.
Acute Silicosis can occur with exposures to very high concentrations of respirable
crystalline silica over a very short time period, sometimes as short as a few months. The
symptoms of acute silicosis include progressive shortness of breath, fever, cough and
weight loss. Acute silicosis is fatal.
b. Cancer: Crystalline silica (quartz) inhaled from occupational sources in sufficient
concentrations is classified as carcinogenic to humans. In its Ninth Annual Report on
Carcinogens, the National Toxicology Program (NTP) listed crystalline silica as a known
human carcinogen, based on sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity from studies in
humans indicating a casual relationship between exposure to respirable crystalline silica
and increased lung cancer rates in workers exposed to crystalline silica and determined
that “crystalline silica inhaled in the form of quartz or cristobalite from occupational
sources is carcinogenic to humans (Group 1).”
c. Autoimmune Diseases: There is evidence that exposure to respirable crystalline silica
(without silicosis) or that the disease silicosis may be associated with the increased
incidence of several autoimmune disorders, -- scleroderma, systematic lupus
erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis and diseases affecting the kidneys.
d. Tuberculosis: Silicosis increases the risk of tuberculosis.
e. Nephrotoxicity: There is evidence that exposure to respirable crystalline silica (without
silicosis) or that the disease silicosis is associate

Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2015 5:52 pm

Got a good respirator. Tarps.......hmmmmm. I like that idea. Thanks Max. I was thinking of a cardboard but I like tarps better.

Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2015 9:12 pm

+1 on the respirator! ... plus eye protection ...

Regards,

Max

Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2015 9:13 pm

... also ... show pictures, because that is going to be a mess!

Regards,

Max

Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2015 11:59 pm

Hondamax wrote:

... also ... show pictures, because that is going to be a mess!

Regards,

Max

Lol. Ok. I'll get some pics.

Posted: Sat Nov 14, 2015 12:52 am

Yep, silica powder/dust is serious stuff and will kill you if you breath it. Be careful.

Posted: Sat Nov 14, 2015 1:07 pm

I use kiln dried builders sand - mainly because i'm limited with my compressor air supply / gun nozzle size - fully aware of the hazards = I have a sealed cabinet with external vent fan + mask
for me - a key thing to do after blasting is a salt neutralising wash

Methylene Chloride is the stuff for removing powder coating - again nasty to breath, it works a treat especially if I knew what to mix it with to thicken it up a bit ( jelly etc..) so it can be held in suspension whilst having a bit of tack to the parts that I can't submerge in the fluid - any idea's what I could use for this ?

Posted: Sat Nov 14, 2015 8:26 pm

Use stripper on the paint to remove some of it and then blast, you'll save bundles in media cost, the paint dust wrecks the media.

You MUST use googles as well with external blasting, don't ask how I know, even one shot can bite you. Hospital visit over it. The media bounces off the target object and into your face.

I've swiped road construction sand to blast with before, they pile it up in the street and don't miss 50 lbs. at all.

Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2015 12:16 am

Tractor Supply has a good selection of medias in small amounts. Walnut shells might be of interest? Air fed hoods are the safe way to blast along with a proper hood. My lungs are fucked,so I notice these things,,,