It's like making a big blasting cabinet outside . Cheap tarps work great for the bottom so you can reuse the media and anything for sides work well too , especially if it's windy out . You can also keep the dust down from going every where if you lay some cheap plastic over the top making a big box to work in . That way you keep the neighbors happy and get to save just about all the media to sift and reuse over & over till it's real fine . Then just sift it really well and keep dry in sealed 5 gal. containers to use in a small media cabinet for doing small things . I am cheap so I just keep reusing it till it's just dust ! The cheap Black Beauty you find at Tractor Supply and other places has a **** load of silica in it . That's why it's so cheap . On most parts I use gl*** beads in my media cabinet . I can get just about anything I need done in there . I am considering on making a bigger media cabinet from plywood so I can get an engine block , rear and front end parts in it to clean . I would rather do it that way than outside to keep the gl*** beads to reuse . I don't like using sand because it will warp metal really fast ! It also will remove Good Metal very fast as well and once that metal is gone , it's gone forever ! On frames I use a grinder with flap wheels and they do very well . I use a face shield , respirator , welding gloves , a welding coat and a welding beanie to keep me clean and safe ! I haven't had any problems yet . I have 4 grinders each with different grinding wheels on them for different tasks I am doing . That way I don't waste time changing disc all the time for different grits ! I have a De-Walt I have used for 5 years now with no issues yet ! I have 4 HF grinders I use too . I buy the $12 ones when they are on sale . I had one die on me so far , bad trigger . I used it for a good year before it quit so I have no complaints for $12 ! Got my $$$ worth from it and works as good as a $70 name brand grinder . I never had problems with it making my hands feel like "Jello" either ! I wear thick gloves ! Like someone said before , There are safety items made for a reason , USE THEM ALL no matter how hot it's outside ! Your eyes and lungs are the most important to cover up very well ! Good cloves will protect your hands when the grinder kicks too ! Had 2 pairs that saved my fingers already because they were thick leather ! So just be very safe so you can enjoy the things you build when you get to be 80 years old ! Retro Jim
They also make one that uses a high pressure washer no dust no heated metal but you have to blow it dry to keep it from rusting. One uses 100-175 lb air the other 2000lb water.
That stuff is good but that very fine dust will hide in every crack it can find . It always seems to come out when you paint the car no matter how well you think you cleaned all the car up from the soda media . Why don't you just use a media like gl*** ? It's a very good cleaner , very safe to use and genital on sheet metal . I have used it many times and never had a problem . If the person does a good job the right way , you shouldn't see any body filler at all ! It will all be removed during the blasting right down to bare metal . All you should have is bare metal with all the filler and rust removed . I did my 55 Ford with a .........razor blade ! Yes a razor blade and works like a charm too ! I have maybe #35 in my entire car striping the old paint off . I had someone from the HAMB show me this trick and works really well . It will remove the paint but not the rust or body filler . That is the only real draw back to doing a car like that . Give it a try sometime and you will save a ton of cash to use someplace else on the car ! Good Luck with your Merc build . Hope to see some pictures of the Merc when it's done ! Just a thought . Retro Jim
Retro Jim, i put brake fluid on the roof and hood of my 64, let it sit about 30 minutes and it s****ed off like ****er with my razor s****per.. I didn't play with it too much, seems like too harsh of a chemical to just play with.. How did u use you're razor, a specific angle I'm sure? I do agree with wiring the frame, I wire as much as I can because the blaster is a h***le.. It's just that 'occasional' tool for me.. I did have my gloves on today by the way and the wire still got my knee lol... I don't always dress appropriately for metal fab I guess.. Especially when it's 98 degrees with 800 percent humidity here in bama..
I hung tarps around the inside perimeter of my garage walls and then lifted the garage door up 5" so the dust would be ****ed outside..Worked pretty good but really the best place to sandblast is in your inlaws garage
I used gl*** filter media for swimming pools with the 40# harbor freight setup. It's something like .05 co****r than the standard gl*** grit from the same manufacturer. Low dust with and take paint and bondo right off leaving the bare metal finish.
I've also used the Home Depot cheap tyvec coveralls to keep out the dust. They are a bit flimsy and baggy-careful with the wire wheels (now). Also hold in body heat-sort of sweatin with the oldies (cars). My neighbors get a big kick out of it, but keep their distance when the cloud is out. RB
I'm gonna try that blackjack.. The media I was using wasn't too good with the bondo! Haha, everyone thinks its a hazmat issue when you walk around in a full suit rb35!!
Media is called Vitro Clean Aquatic, which is the swimming pool media. The actual sandblasting media is called vitro grit, just in case you need to look it up. I talked to the manufacturer and he said the grit is primarily a west coast product as the shipbuilding industry uses it a lot.
Now that's good to know. It's obviously good stuff if they use it on ships.. I'm gonna check it out now
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