To each his/her own.
I found an industrial blaster who blasted body/sheet-metal parts for less $$ than I would have spent on good material.
I bought a large blast cabinet for smaller parts than the big sheet metal pieces, and I wish I had bought the cabinet earlier. CASO is correct about needing the bucks AND needing the room. You also need a good compressed air system - more $$$.
I do not use silica/sand in my blast cabinet. I use a combination of aluminum oxide and plastic bead. The bead turns to dust and the al-ox lasts a long time. I add each media as needed.
Only cleaned metal gets into the blast cabinet:
- paint-removed, usually chemically
- chemically de-rusted as much as possible
- washed/cleaned as much as possible
