The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Silica Sand

It's been over ten years since I sand blasted anything. Went to the Home Depot and they didn't have it. Before I go calling all around town, where do you all buy your silica sand? Tractor Supply has some fancy stuff, but it's pretty expensive, and I'm just cleaning up an old intake manifold, so silica sand would do fine.

depending on what you use to do the blasting. I buy mine at the local concrete place. You know, the place that has the cement mixing trucks and sells block ect.

I can buy a 50 lb bag for less than $350 and it is BLASTING SAND. I can get it in Fine, extra fine, and medium. The good part is true blasting sand helps keep down the clog ups.... true blasting sand is "sized" and its cheap.

I can't afford the Black Beauty from Tractor Supply. At about $9 a bag it isn't worth it. Yes its aggressive on bad stuff but so is the fine sand unless you have used it until its old and turned to powder. I do some pretty rough stuff but the bag of Black Beauty($$) and the bag of Medium sand I keep has yet to be opened.
Just a thought.... if using in a blasting cabinet I only put in a half bag at a time and change it regularly as it gets contaminated. And as Joe points out. Don't breath anymore of the stuff than you have to!

Thanks for the tips guys. I hadn't heard of silicosis before. I'll be sure to wear a respirator and ear plugs along with he eye protection.

Silica sand is getting harder to find, least around here. The brick and stone place in Springfield quit selling it.
When I was in West Plaines I found some at a local building store.

Regular sand, available in different grits, works but not as well as silica in my opinion.

Dan

We get a few kids together and go to a local river, like the Missouri or Niobrara and sift sand, the kids have a blast doing it (no pun intended)! That sand works better than bought sand and lasts 3 times as long, not sure why, but it does, and its free!!!!!