[Boatanchors] Sandblasting tips needed

[WA5CAB at cs.com]

Ed,

I have a blast cabinet but I always use glass beads.  Pressure depends on 
what your cabinet is made of and what gauge material.  For 16 gauge or lighter 
aluminum, I wouldn't go over 40 PSI.  If you do you will stretch or bow the 
material.  For 1/8" or heavier aluminum or 16 gauge or heavier steel you can go up 
to 60 PSI or even 80.

However, if you are using an open hopper outside, glass beads are going to be 
both very expensive and present a serious cleanup problem.  Back when I used 
to do the occasional Land Rover bulkhead of chassis parts I used ordinary 
beach sand and 60-80 PSI.  Of course this was all heavy steel.

In a message dated 6/26/2007 9:29:25 PM Central Daylight Time, 
eh54 at sbcglobal.net writes: 
> I have a cabinet that is worth saving but is heavily rusted in spots. I've 
> considered taking it to a shop but find they are expensive and don't care to 
> 
> take on small projects like this much (maybe the reason for high quoted 
> prices). I have a five horsepower air compresssor with large tank, dryer and 
> 
> gravity feed hopper. What pressure do I start with, type of media to use, 
> and any tricks you may have learned over the years would be greatly 
> appreciated.
> Thanks,
> Ed-KV5I 

Robert & Susan Downs - Houston
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