The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts Sand blasting with water

Hey guys I think I may have found a way to bast my dump box my self. I have posted this twice once in the Tool box and once in Gen.truck talk.
Not much responce.
Anyway Northen Tool & Equipment sells them and there are cheap one at $62.95 and another at $109.95. They are powerd by a pressure washer insted of an air compressor. They are powerd by a pressure washer insted of an air compressor.
Have any of you used one or seen one in action? Also thinking one of these may work with a soda abrasive that would help with flash rust and could be washed away with a hose later.
What do ya think Good, Bad, Try it and see? :rolleyes: ?

I have used the sandblaster at work, it is no fun.
I found it much more enjoyable to pay to have my frame sandblasted.
Although if you must do it yourself do it in cool weather so the sand does not stick to you so much and you can wear more clothes without being hot.

hevyhauler, i have a small sandblaster,approx. 50lb capacity. it works pretty good, but requires allot of air. my 6 horse 80 gal compresor runs steady. also use a good respirator not just a dust mask! it'll take a long time to do a dump body and at least acouple hundred lbs. of sand. wahoo40.

Oh d-m I forgot the point of this post these sand blasters are powerd by a pressure washer not an air compressor. That is now fixed to get my piont across.

No experience with them, but it sounds like it would work well. I've been doing some regular sandblasting on my frame and it really eats the sand up. Not sure how your system would work, but let us know how it goes...

Sounds to me like the makings of an even bigger mess than sandblasting. Best stick to tried and true methods but having done a lot of it myself I can assure you that nothing as big as a dump body should be done at hone with DIY equipment. Take it to a pro blaster.

heayhauler, do a little scouting around your area. If you go to someone that does only blasting for a living it is going to cost. I would like to suggest looking for a mechanical erector or someone who works on big equipment. There is a place close to me which I am lucky to have a son in law work at. They are set up to do big jobs and heavy metal. The sand is coarser but they don't play around. I have him so some small "solid" pieces for me and they look good. Maybe someone in your area does this and will be more reasonable as well. Heck, some paving outfits also do sand blasting! Just be careful with the "precious" pieces like fenders etc. Hope this helps get you in the right direction.

I work in the surface preparation business, manufacturing portable shot blast and grinding equipment, mainly dealing with concrete surfaces, and steel surfaces such as aircraft carrier decks and storage tanks. Though I do not have first hand experience with soda blast, we have had customers who have used that process with good results. One downside of water/soda blast is the slury thats left over when you're finished. Depending on how much soda you inject into the water jet, this could range from a light haze on the ground to a soupy mess. Clean up can take as long as the job itself. In many locations, the contaminates that were removed and are now mixed in with the slurry are an environmental concern as they are washed away in the water stream.

Don't get me wrong , it's a very efective process in the right situations. Soda blast is used largely for the removal of hazardous coatings and contaminates, the residue of which is disposed of using hazardous materials guidlines. But it also is used in auto body prep because it leaves behind a clean light profile.

One thing I would be concerned with what you're talking about would be putting water on your freshly blasted white metal finish. It doesn't take long for rust to start setting up.

Glass bead blast works well also but can stick into the metal and produce fisheyes in the finish if you don't catch them during prep. I have a hand held blaster called a Speed Blaster that works very well on small or narrow items such as frames, axles, wheels, trim etc. I run glass beads or sand in it with good results. You could do large body parts with it but it will take longer that a larger unit.

Personally, I would stick with the sand blast as it can be contained easier, plus you can recycle you blast media. Or you can just blast away in your back yard and just rake the sand in when your done..... Hard to do with soda.

Rezman

Oh! I forgot...One more thing....Achipmunk, you mention those industrial blasters. You're exactly right. Here in Oklahoma, there is a lot of oil & gas equipment and related business. And along with them are also outfits that do the big blasting jobs for that industry. Sometimes if you catch them at the right time, they will put your job in with theirs and do them both at the same time, saving $$$.

You have to be carefull though. Sandblasting creates heat and those big guys can warp the crud out of those ultra straight panels that you spent all summer searching for.

Rezman

I've used that particular blaster on the frame of a 83 GMC truck. The pressure washer I used was putting out just over 3700 psi with a pump rated at 4 gallons per minute.

Your results may certainly be different than mine, but I found two thing's are VERY important:

#1- The media you are using MUST be carefully screened and dry. This blaster, in my use, pulled through Black Beauty coal dust (I tried both fine and medium grades) in clumps. One moment I had terrific results. The next, I was simply spraying water. VERY uneven, and I'd tried to take every precaution.

#2- Be prepared to make a HUGE mess. Dry media was somewhat easier to control. The wet mush that you'll be spraying will continue to travel with the water AND portions will fly through the air in a semi-dry state. It will hit you AND stick to you! Dry media can be swept-up. Slag mud, on the other hand, is tough......even worse when it dries!

That water blaster will work, but it has its own quirks. Halfway through the job, I went back to my small dry-media pressure-tank blaster. It worked slightly better, even though it nearly killed my compressor.

Hope this helped, and Good Luck!!!

Thanks Sandy that was thh kind of info I was looking for. I have a 6hp 80gal compressor but I don't want to put it through that. The box on my truck is not that bad maybe I'll just use an 8" grinder and some cup brushes. I used my pressure washer close up and that just about striped it by it's self.

We used a lot of crushed walnut hulls to blast Terry B's '53 body parts. Had real good results, it's just a bit time consuming. Cleanup should be easy with a good shop-vac. Good luck.

rezman, OKC? Notice you don't list a "Bolt" so what are you driving?

I bought a Campbell-Hausfield water-powered sand blaster from Wal Mart several years ago. I used it to sandblast a tractor and for several other small projects. I bought sandblasting sand from the local concrete dealer and found that I needed to screen it using a window screen. After I did that I had no problems.

I was sandblasting at my friend's farm so the sand and residue was no problem. I would think that cleanup might be a difficult job. I wore a rainsuit and got along pretty good. I had to adjust the pressure on the power washer to around 2000 psi otherwise the motor on the power washer would overheat.

The water kept the dust and dirt particles to a minimum. The sand particles that would bounce back and hit me did not hurt NEARLY as bad as a dry sandblaster. I did do a little tinwork and did not have ANY problems with warping due to heat. I would recommend a water-powered sandblaster to the average hobbyist.

If you're going to use a grinder, I've had good luck with a 4 1/2" with a twisted wire cup (fewer projectiles than straight wire!) for rusty areas.

If you have a lot of fairly flat, open surfaces that involve simple paint removal, you may find 80 grit disc's on that grinder will be a lot easier! That grit will leave a good 'tooth' for filler/primer/paint to grab.

Either way, go slow and don't generate too much heat by staying in one place too long.

I've found that cup brushes have a nasty habit of developing an out-of-balance vibration that drives me nuts.....and beats the hell out of my hands.

Don't forget the mask and eye protection.....

After listening to all the problems with the water jet I decided to do it the old fashioned way. pay some one else. I have the pressure washer but it sure sounds like a mess.

Hey Martin,

I have '48 Chevy 2-ton. Dark green with a 13 foot grain bed with red side boards and hoist. Bought it out of Okarche. I'm also trying to buy a red '52 or '53 Chevy COE about a mile and a half from my house, but I had a little set back in cash, so I'm playing catch up untill I can snatch hat baby up. When I get it, I will probably go ahead and sell the green one. As soon as I can get some pictures, I'll post them here.

Rezman

Hey Martin,

I have '48 Chevy 2-ton. Dark green with a 13 foot grain bed with red side boards and hoist. Bought it out of Okarche. I'm also trying to buy a red '52 or '53 Chevy COE about a mile and a half from my house, but I had a little set back in cash, so I'm playing catch up untill I can snatch hat baby up. When I get it, I will probably go ahead and sell the green one. As soon as I can get some pictures, I'll post them here.

Rezman

rezman, Way too cool! Check the Gallery for my '54 4100 1 1/2 ton.