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SANDBLASTING EQUIPMENT

Snowcat Operations

Snowcat Operations

Active member
I am looking into purchasing some type of portable sandblasting equipment. I want something that actually works! I have found one company that looks like it may work. Texas Sandblasters. http://www.texasblaster.com/index.html

Now I am not a Sandblaster by trade. Does anyone know if this is a good product for stripping paint off of snowcats? I would be using glass beads most likely. Thanks for any help.
 
Mike, I looked into sandblasting equipment a year or so ago. What I found was that most sandblasters of this type will work, but you need a LOT of air pressure. A 2 stage high volume air compressor is a must. I don't have a big enough compressor (mine is a 33 gallon Sears Craftsman single stage unit).
 
Mike, Is that a pressure blaster?I mean is the tank also pressurized to push the sand (media) out? It looks like a good one ,I have one similar to it and it eats up alot of air. My compressor is 80 gal 7.5 hp.2cyl 2stage 14.6 gal/min...and it suffers after 4-5 min.of blasting.I've used the gravity fed blasters with no luck.Mine has a cap on top an inexpensive one like from nortern tool which helps keep the moisture out ,which is key with sand or any media. Luckily if I need extensive blasting done there is a guy locally who does it for less than I can buy the sand for(he recycles it)and I dont have to spend days picking it of places I forgot I had!!!
 
I've looked into buying media blasting equipment several times, but have always come to the conclusion that, unless I want to use it for hire, it's just cheaper and easier to pay someone to do it. The last vehicle I had media blasted I hauled home on an open bed trailer. The entire way home there was the blasting media blowing out everywhere. When I got it home I filled almost 2 5 gallon buckets with media that I sucked out with a shop vac. Then, when the resto was finished, I nearly blasted my eyes out when I pulled a vent knob open the first time while driving down the highway. :smileywac

Unless you really want to get into it big time, or just like doing it, I wouldn't buy the equipment. I have a small blasting setup to do individual parts. It uses a really fine powder type of sand. Even using goggles when using it, my eyes are bloody red and very painful the next day and they hurt for several more days. Now I just don't even use what equipment I do have.
 
Snowcat Operations said:
I am looking into purchasing some type of portable sandblasting equipment. I want something that actually works! I have found one company that looks like it may work. Texas Sandblasters. http://www.texasblaster.com/index.html

Now I am not a Sandblaster by trade. Does anyone know if this is a good product for stripping paint off of snowcats? I would be using glass beads most likely. Thanks for any help.
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We have been very happy with the pressurized pot sandblaster ours came from a rental company that was upgrading holds 300 pounds of sand. but to do it right you need a lot of air we use a portable that puts out 190CFM at 175 psi a Davey vane with a 4 cylinder diesel. the smaller units will work but not as effectively. you need to wear a air supplied hood if you are going to any amount of blasting. if blasting Aluminum use crushed glass in the medium
grit everything else we use black slag. you also have to cover everything you do not want etched.rubber sheet works good for large areas. or small areas you can get by with 2 layers of duct tape but do not spend a lot of time there of it will be gone.

Good luck
 
Wow seems like a lot of you have been down this same road. Thanks for all the advice. I just want to be able to do these smaller jobs myself. The company I poted above uses a pressurized pot. It needs 7 CFU per minute. Thats alot of air. I am looking at at least 1,200 in equipment. Thats not bad since two jobs would pay for it. The one problem I would need to check out is the amount of crap that would be everywhere. I have a huge area I need filled in and I was going to just use this area as my dump for all the used glass. I like the glass since its non toxic and is oly classified as an irritant in its airborn state. Thanks for all the input. It trully has helped.
 
I have done a lot of sand blasting for many years and I,ll tell you what it takes to to have a sand blaster thats worth having. First you need at the very least is what we call a TRUE 5 hp. motor on your compressor. That motor will have 3 capacitors on it and need a magnetic starter to start it and the motor is about the size of a 5 gal. pail, not the size of about a 1 gal jug of wind shield washer solvent like you see on these compressors at local home & improvement stores that even rate them as high as 7 hp. although they are decent compressors for the money but they WILL NOT make a good sand blasting compressor. Second Thing, the compressor it self NEEDS to be ALL cast iron NOT aluminum that means the head and the cylinders. A compressor like that runs around $2.300 new with a 80 gal. tank here in Michigan. THIRD , the blaster it self, really the only thing you want is a long hose (about 10 to 15 feet) and what is called a dead man gun/valve with a CARBIDE tip not ceramic. Ceramic tips are cheap but wear out far to fast. And the last thing is tip size don,t even think of using anything but the smallest tip which is a 3/32 size with this size of compressor. believe me when I say I know what works and what dose not work because I to learned the hard way a long time ago
 
Thanks Weatherby. I realize I am not at that point yet to purchase a "real" sand blaster outfit. I just payed for all my paint and related equipment and that was just at $1700. But I now have the best paint gun and all my paint, primer plus everything need to paint and also 4 bed liner kits plus a gun for that stuff. I have enough to paint and bed line two snowcats. My next big purchase for body related equipment will be for sand blasting. That will be in a few months though.
 
Snowcat Operations said:
Thanks Weatherby. I realize I am not at that point yet to purchase a "real" sand blaster outfit. I just payed for all my paint and related equipment and that was just at $1700. But I now have the best paint gun and all my paint, primer plus everything need to paint and also 4 bed liner kits plus a gun for that stuff. I have enough to paint and bed line two snowcats. My next big purchase for body related equipment will be for sand blasting. That will be in a few months though.
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Can,t wait to see how the bed liner stuff works because thats is the same thing I plan on using in certain places on my cat. I will be waiting to see what you think of it. One more word on sand blasting, unless a person wants to make a business out of sand blasting the only blasting equipment I would have would be a blasting cabinet. On the few times a person needs something blasted thats to big to fit into the cabinet just pay somebody to do it. It would be much cheaper.
 
I have a small bead blasting cabinet and it works pretty well. I will buy new bigger one when the time comes. I have several big sand/bead blasting jobs I can do and just use the cost of paying someone else to purchase they equipment and always have it. If I was only doing one or two snowcats then I would agree. So far I have 4 cats that need blasting but I can wait till after I get this first one completed.
 
I will let you know everything I do on the bed liner stuff. I actually recieved all of my kits today plus all the piant and primer. I also purchased a bed liner spray gun to apply the product. I will give you all the info needed to get yourself everything you need and at a great cost. Thanks for all your advice.
 
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