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Sandblasting was my trade for thirty years. I started out doing antique auto parts, industrial equipment, and fiberglass fabrications (tanks and aerial lift buckets mostly) that needed repair. One of my first customers was the local IH/Dresser dealer. Everything that needed a paint job was blasted by me. They did the prepwork, I did the blasting. I must have done 200 dozers, backhoes, trailers, and loaders for this one outfit. Never had a complaint. The prepwork is tedious and I am sure more man hours were spent doing that than blasting. Anything that is fragile has to go or be carefully covered. Flat sections of sheet metal will warp. In some cases, the warpage can be reversed by doing both sides. A Farmall hood would be an example. I always used big compressors and nozzles to match. By big I am talking about 750 CFM and 1/2" nozzles worn out to 5/8+. I could sweep an area from six feet, shatter the paint, and move on. Rusty areas would require more attention. The key thing to remember is not to feel like you are pumping sand onto the surface. You want to imagine that you are striking the surface with billions of little ballpeen hammers. Any areas with thick gaskets or shaft seals have to be treated with care from a distance. Sandblasting is really not a skilled job but good equipment and some experience will make alot of difference. The question of carbrueters came up. The cast iron ones are fine. The aluminum one will have a non factory finish when you are done. Alot depends on your level of perfection. Personally, that is a removal item for me. I would want to inspect the inside of the manifold after blasting so it might as well come off before blasting. I am surprised that someone is paying $22.50 per hundredweight for Black Beauty. It used to cost a $1.00 a bag at the plant if you bought a pallet. I never used it much. Most customers didn't like the "polluted look" when I left a worksite. I used a dried pit sand delivered in bulk blower trailers and blown into my elevated silos. Lots of silica but I have no lung damage. Again, it is all about the equipment. I could spend an entire day inside a water tank and have clean mucous in my nose at the end. The helmet never came off and I didn't stop for lunch or pot refills. Time passes quickly when you are having fun.
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