The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop What blast cabinet media to use?

I recently purchased a blast cabinet, wondering the best media use. I plan on using it to blast various auto parts for restoration. I bought some coal slag to start of with. It seems ok, really abrasive, but maybe this is ok because I will be repainting the parts after they are blasted. How is aluminum oxide? Would it be better? I read that the dust is much lower

I use glass beads in mine. I bought the cabinet from Tractor Supply. It leaks everywhere and the lid doesn't seal so I use masking tape on the joints. I blast a lot of carburetors so the glass beads work great. For rusty cast parts, slag will be OK. I removed the cheap-o outlet filter on mine and use vacuum cleaner bags over a piece of pipe welded to a flange. The flange just bolts in were the original filter was. It works really good at catching beads and dust.

Joe

For most things I use glass beads, but for tough rust on heavy parts I use crushed glass. I've had really good luck with the glass beads on nuts/bolts and real sensitive parts like thin sheet metal, my motto is if it fits in the blaster it gets blasted, I even made an extension for mine to accept 6 foot long pieces, it fits right on the door. I don't see how you can do a restoration without a blast cabinet.

I use aluminum oxide with great result. If I need to clean carbs, I use baking soda with a cheap homemade gun

I have been told that glass beads are more for polishing. Is this correct?

Go to Eastwood's web site, they have a lot of blasting media and what its good for.

Glass beads do leave a nice finish, wouldn't call it polished. They don't "dent" soft aluminum like sand does.

joe

Glass will make a piece of old tarnished stainless steel look nice!

Its easy to change the media in my Skat Blast cabinet so I use sand, glass, plastic(but not often)...just depends on what I'm working on BUT for the most part I use Fine Blasting sand that I get at the concrete mixing plant. Its about $4 a bag for 50lbs. It gets most everything I have a need to blast and its "sized" and flows good. However, there is room for the need of several media's.

The trouble with sand in a blast cabinet is that it has to be changed out often as it quickly turns to dust due to the fracturing of the crystalline sand structure. Aluminum oxide will last almost indefinitely and cuts very well. Also with the aluminum oxide, you don't have the worry of silicosis.

Most likely your blast cabinet has a vacuum/filter? There should be no need to worry about breathing bad things. If you have no vacuum/filter, you should wear a good mask, no matter what you use as media.

My cabinet is used for paint prep - minor rust/paint removal from parts that can fit into my wide cabinet. I remove paint and major rust before blasting. I like this mixture of alumina and silica from TP Tools. I now mix my own, buying bags locally from an industrial blaster (who blasts my frames and sheet metal at a reasonable cost).

Yeah it has two filters on it, but no vacuum. The dust was really good at first with coal slag but quickly became difficult to see what I was blasting. I am thinking of adding a vacuum if I cannot keep the dust down with other media.

It sounds like aluminum oxide might be the way to go. Looking for something long lasting and low dust.

Ok, Next question. I bought some aluminum oxide and gave it a try. Still quite a bit of dust and a bit hard to see when blasting. The blast cabinet I have has two separate holes with filters on them. So I took one filter out and put a vacuum in that hole. It keeps the dust down quite well but it pulls to much vacuum in the cabinet, the gloves blow up like a ballon so it is very tough to work with. Should I cut another hole in the cabinet and supply the vacuum to the new hole? So I would have two holes to allow air into the cabinet. Also don't you lose a lot of media when you have the vacuum running while blasting??

if your running a vacumn on the cabinet you shouldn't need the other hole.
I don't see your cabinet so I'm only guessing and all I have to compare it my skat blast cabinet. I have the vacumn hooked to mine and there is no other holes...even from the factory. In fact, there is a seal around the doors to make it "air tight" so to speak. This is so the vacumn can suck out the dust. As the media breaks down it willg get dusty and worst as time goes by. You can't see, and most likely the media isn't cutting very well either.
Seal up the holes, put in some new media and let us know what happens.

They make vacuum systems for balsting cabinets. These systems don't pull as hard as a shop-vac. My Skat Blast has a media collection box between the cabinet and the vacuum. The box allows the heavy media to drop out for recovery and not get sucked into the vacuum.

Make sure you have a good filter on your shop vac or the fine dust will tear the bearings up in the vacuum motor.

I use medium grit "sand blasting sand" when I use my pressurized blaster outside, but that sand makes to much dust in my cabinet.

Slag works great on heavy iron, but is way to agressive for light sheet metal or small aluminum parts.

TIP sells all of the different medias...call them for there recomendation on a low dust media.

Mike B

Don't you need incoming air into the cabinet to allow the vacuum to pull air out?

Cheap [censored] Stovebolt Owner here, I hated the dust and the hood and the mess it makes but couldn't see the funds going out for something I don't use that much so I built my blast cab out of particle board... A 9" shop light screwed to a hole in the bottom collect sand and drops it in a bucket and provides the supply air for the 2" hole in the top which sucks out dust. I plug my shop vac in and run an exhaust hose out the bottom of the garage door. No more dust. No sand in the vac motor. I'm running green sand. It lasts about 4 or 5 cycles @ 45 psi before it loses efficiency.
Scrap metal lines the inside where I need backing. A removable glass window cut from a busted double pane I saved to look through and the sleeves from old tyvek overalls and the plastic rings from a gal paint can to slip arms through... all scrap recycled... I mean re purposed.
If I had a store bought model I'd make it work for me if it wasn't... if that means retrofitting so be it . Isn't that the essence of this sport.. I mean hobby?

All cabinets need a vacuum of some sort or the dust is too heavy to see what you are doing. A shop vac works well and yes you need an air inlet to replace dusty air with clean air. I simply start with a clean shop vac and then recycle the media that collects in the shop vac bin. I also have a course filter over the vacuum port in the cabinet that stops a lot of the media from entering the vacuum. But, if the filter is too fine is quickle becomes clogged and renders the vacuum ineffective. The vacuum filter collects and traps most of the corrossion which has been turned to dust by the blasting process. Sand should be avoided even with vacuum systems as a certain amount of the dust will escape into the surround air and it is not good to breath long term. Also, sand is good for only about two (maybe three) cycles before it loses its affectiveness.

Ok great thanks for the info! I added another inlet air hole to the cabinet and have corrected the problem of the gloves inflating. Working good now. I also built a dust collector out of a 5 gallon bucket to help save my vacuum.