Getting in on this conversation late, but I use play sand with my 30lb pressure blaster. I use a respirator that is actually rated for silica (not many are, so be careful). The sand is inexpensive and can be collected and reused once.
For my blasting cabinet, I use aluminum oxide. Great stuff, but not cheap. It is very effective in removing paint and rust. Also does not pit the metal as deeply as sand or the more course abrasives and it lasts a long time.
When I had my cab, frame, and sheet metal professionally media blasted, they used plastic to clean the dirt and crud off the frame and sheetmetal. They then switched to aluminum oxide to remove the rust and control sheetmetal distortion.
Last edited by DavidF; 04/26/2013 10:22 AM.
