Sandblasting yourself, why would you do it?

I hate blasting but for economic reasons I am doing my own blasting this weekend. I got a quote of $1000 to do my frame and body and I know that's a fair price, especially after working all weekend doing it.

I should clarify what I mean by all weekend. First I had to buy 20 bags of sand, I know about silicosis and know the dangers. I am using a blaster borrowed from a neighbor that is home built and works good once you get it set up correctly. Yesterday I spent 4 hours setting it up. Some of the parts were worn out from normal use so I had to drive around getting parts. The I spent 6 hours blasting, could have gone longer but I could feel the dampness coming on and the rain clouds were forming to the west. Just about had everything put away for the night when the rain starting coming down and still had the frame outside. It was a race to get everything under cover. Today I'm wasting time waiting for the rain to go and clear Skies.

I'm lucky, I live on a farm and I have a place to do the dirty work and don't have to worry about the sand left on the ground. Most of the posts I've read about doing blasting the posters are on a city lot where you have to be concerned about neighbors. Also, you have to worry about sand getting in places you don't want sand, and it will. I also have equipment to move large items around.

I've also seen a lot of posts from people who don't even have the basics to do blasting. Too small of a compressor or none at all. It's a big expense to buy the correct equipment and if you're only go to do your project you're going to put out as much, or more, as it would cost to have some one else do it.

Experience blasting. Anyone can blast a frame without much problems but sheet metal is another story. It takes a lot of care to blast sheet metal and not warp the hell out of if. I have experience blasting, I didn't it many years while working in a body shop and know there are different pieces of sheet metal can tolerate the blasting and which pieces to stay away from. Not every pro blaster knows how to blast sheet metal either, you have to shop around and find someone who does. Ask for references.

If I could afford it I would have some one else to it in without a second thought. Why would anyone want to do it themselves when you can drop it off at a shop and pick it up a week later and have it all done with no set up time and no mess to clean up?

 

No money to spend on it or they want to do everyth ing they can themselves. I would rather not have others touching my car and have found many times that the work most others do is not adequate. There are a lot of people that don't care if they damage your car. I have had to redo work done by shop's that friend's and family have taken thier cars to.

 

I was doing the same yesterday and only because I like to do it all myself... You have to love the weather here in wisconsin one min nice next rain snow sleet you just never know

 

Sandblasting yourself really hurts, and damages the skin. Aim the other way.

This is what I used for my painting room or grinding room...
I looked for and found a few positive-pressure face masks on ebay for a good low price. You can hook one up any of them to any fan type air blower for the fresh air. I bought about 20-30 ft. of cheap clear hose from Ace for the air flow to the mask.

I picked up a few LP gas bottles from the junkyard (the kind that stand about chest high), turned them upside down to make them self-draining (no water buildup), then hooked them to my air lines for an unending source of air pressure. It takes a while for the compressor to build them up, but I can spray or use air tools for a long long time before running low on pressure.

If anyone warns you about the safety of using the bottles, just remember to fill them with water then pour them out. That displaces ALL of the old gasses and replaces them with clean safe atmosphere air.

Remember also that they are very thickwall containers, and you will use them with ONLY 100-120 lbs pressure, far below ANY design limits. You will NEVER split one of those. If you are worried about leaks, remember that a "bad" tank comes from small diameter rust pits on the inside making small round spots that are thin, then blow thru with a pinhole leak. You will NEVER blow out a thickwall tank with only 120 lbs. pressure. The worst that ever could happen is a pinhole hissing, then you toss the tank. I have only had to throw out one tank.

I can spray almost forever or grind almost forever without running out of air or buying a huge compressor.
It also gives me much cooler and much dryer air than I would otherwise get with smaller tanks or a single tank.

 

I took a Brookville body to get blasted and when I picked it up the bottom of the passenger's side cowl was bent in. The blaster made good on the deal and knocked off what it would cost me in time to fix it.

But it was still annoying, the time I spent fixing the cowl I could have spent blasting the body myself. Live and learn, I try to do as much as I can myself for reasons like this.

 

When I was a kid I used 2,500 lbs blasting my 39, I don't think I will ever sandblast anything that won't fit in my blast cabnet ever again.

Someday I might try something like baking soda or walnut shells, but not sand.

 

I understand what you are saying but, following that train of thought would lead to, why build a car at all when there are so many folks out there that will build it for you? You should be enjoying it or at least be getting a sense of satisfaction from doing it yourself or else why be involved in this hobby at all?

 

AHA! A volunteer!

I would love to skip the sandblasting part myself if I had it in the budget.

I do everything else. I don't blame anyone for getting outside help for some areas, just don't do it too much.

 

I am doing the same thing this weekend and am blasting my Model AA wire wheels. I have one of those HF 40# pressure blasters and it works pretty good once you get it set up. I am using starblast that I buy at Northern tool.

The only thing that I don't like about it's performance is the dead man valve that came with it. I would like something that I could operate with one hand and maybe has a slightly larger fan to it. Any suggestions.

 

Sorry, didn't mean to hijack this thread. I apologize. I do my own sandblasting because I have the space to do it and the equipment and I just hate hauling stuff here and there to get things done. I truly try to be totally self sufficient. It's something I learned from my Dad. The only thing I don't do myself on my projects is the machine work requierd in engine overhauls.

Happy labor day everyone!!!

 

LOL, that is quite an extension of logic.

So you are saying since I don't want to sandblast EVER again, I should just give up on cars?

Any satisfaction that I might gain from sandblasting an entire car is overcome by the miserable feeling.

No matter the respirator, forced air mask, or whatever, you will still taste the sand, you will get the sand all over your body no matter how wrapped up you are, and I will always remember sweating like a pig under the hood and clothes.

I enjoy chassis work, metal work, fabrication, paint, (even blocking), engine, tubes and hoses, wiring, and about everything else, even considering doing my upholstery, but not sandblasting.

 

Why pay someone else to screw up something that I can screw up myself for free?

I do my own blasting for the same reason I do most of the other work on my stuff.

 

Sandblasting can be carcinogenic, depending on the media. Always use protective breathing gear. I only sandblast with a cabinet. Big things I let the pros do. Much less of a mess.............

 

A buddy of mine owns a blasting operation & does soda & media blasting. He usually charges under $500 for a frame and body. I guess it depends on where you are and who does it. The other guy in town here charges $125 an hour flat. So if it takes him 10 min to blast a part its $125!

 

When I did the last build on my old '56 F-100 (see avatar) I had both a sandblast cabinet and rigged up a tent around the cab. I had a fresh air supply from the air conditioner rigged up to the blast hood I bought, wore an old pair of coveralls and had an air hose with nozzle close by to blow the glass bead off me when I was done for the day. It took a couple of days, and all it cost me was some glass bead, electricity and however many beers were in the garage refrigerator. I never once considered having anyone else do the blasting for me.
Some people don't want to do the dirty work and that's fine, to each his own. The way I look at it though is, why pay someone else to do the work I am perfectly capable of doing myself? That doesn't make sense to me, and that money can be spent elsewhere on the project. Plus I have the satisfaction knowing the job was done the way I like it.
I don't even have a garage nowadays, but if I did I'd rig up another sandblast tent in a heartbeat, put some beer in the refrigerator, turn up the Iron Maiden CD and let the sandblast fly!

 

I don't pump my own septic tank either, even though I am more than capable of doing a great job of it with a minimum investment....

You know why, because I don't like shit, and I don't want that merit badge.

Thanks but no thanks.

<I rented a trailer mounted compressor and a serious sandblaster, took me the best part of two days, despite me being a kid and a true amerture I didn't mess this one up, I already got that badge.

Squirrel, last I looked about a year ago, lots of that 2,500 lbs of sand was still visible over there in Sierra Vista, might be able to screen it out and re-use it......

Oh yea, another reason not to sandblast, that shit blew around the shop for years, through every little crack in the building...

Should have cleaned it up, but I was a kid, more too willing to sweep it up 1,000 times instead of picking it up just once... .

 

DO IT MYSELF & SPEND THE $ $ $ $ s ON CANDY BARS.

 

I figure why pay someone to do something I can do myself...

 

Because I can I try do all my own work it saves me money & keeps me out of trouble.

Later, Mark

 

I was blasting a little this morning ,Outside ,If you blast you should wear a mask ,Only reason I sand blast is I store my dads blaster ,He ended up buying a new one ,So the old one is mine ,I also store his engine hoist ,His pressure washer and a few other things,He's out of room and I have 2 sheds plus a 2 car garage .When I get to be his age I hope I dont store and save as much as he has ,He;s got Citroen cars and parts everywhere .Total of 10 cars ,2nd floor all car parts and 2 sheds full of you guessed it more car parts /

 

I blasted my frame a couple of summers ago. I used one of those Harbor Freight blasters that looks like a grill propane tank and it worked well. I had to hook up a coffee can style filter to it because the water trap didn't work adequitely enough to keep the moisture out of the sand. I actually did it on my driveway and spread out a big piece of painters plastic so when the sand settled I could sweep it up and use it again. I know, how cheap can you get but I figured if I am doing all of this myself to save money why waste the sand when I could re use it. I blasted my 65 truck frame with 75lbs of sand and had half a tank left by doing that. I think all around it cost me $150 to blast it myself.

BUT, I also want to make this clear. I'm not doing it again. It was a ton of trouble, a ton of work, and one of the dirtiest nastiest things I have ever done. I didn't know I could get sand in some of the places I had it one me . The only thing I use it for now is small things like exhaust manifolds and what not.

 

It's time VS $.... At at least a $hun an hour,and if it takes 10 mins,it's full boat regaurdless. Just blasted yesterday,and luckily,I did it in my alley,so the yard wasn't too bad. $5.50 for a 50lb bag,7 bags....how much of a mess is that? It is a pain in the ass!,but,for my time,which I got to see everything I did,make sure everything was clean,and was happy,I figured I saved myself a bunch of cash that I can use for supplies for the car-primer,reducer,catylist...the list goes on.....
If I'm going to take something to someone and pay for it while I can do it,I'de better be makin' that cash back somehow to cover it.=Sidejob. I'de rather work on my own stuff than someone else's,hence- as much in house as possible.

 

every ones sanity has a price. I know how to swap a front pump seal, but my buddy at the trans shop charged me $80 including the seal. Thats well worth the money to me, and I don't think it makes me any less dedicated to the cause.

My two cents... do it all once, and if you can have someone do it for cheaper than your time and mental health is worth, you might wanna weigh the options

 

As far as DIY blasting, I worked a lot in commercial shops and once we even tried to set up to do it ourselves. In the end it was cheaper to farm it out. Therefore, commercially, unless you can get real dependable labor real cheap, farm it out.

The only reasons I can think of to DIY is if there isn't somebody else within a hundred miles that does it, or if one is emotionally invloved with the concept, and is doing it for love

 

I do my own as well, but I hate sand in my crack...and ears....

 

Like has been said its time vs money. I have one of the harbor freight blasters also and they do have a one hand dead man valve that you can buy seperately.

 

Used to work at a die shop with a huge compressor, it would power dozens of guys using air tools all day. We had a room about 12' X 30' dedicated to sandblasting, with an OSHA aproved hood and breathing air supply. We could bring in any parts that would fit through the door in the room to blast for free. That was a good deal, but they took the room out after the OSHA rules got too complicated to make it worth having the sandblaster there. We went to a large cabinet blaster, but you couldn't get a hood or fenders in it. Now I'd have to do it at home in the driveway, but in the last two years since i retired i haven't had to blast anything, but I would do it myslf before paying anyone to do it.

 

I was quoted 1800 for inside/outside, but not underside. Soda costs ~800, plus gas to run the compressor. All the equipment is a friend's, so I'll be doing it myself. As said, time VS money....

 

I do my own stuff on small parts (fender size and smaller) and farm out anything larger. It's a matter of time and cost, the big guys can do it faster and sometimes that translates to cheaper.

Frank

 

American Dry Striping in Milford, Ct. is were I've had all my stuff done along with a lot of East Coast car people. They even offer PICK UP servive with an enclosed van and trailer. Sounds like a plug, it is from a happy customer.