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Sand Blasting.....?

B

banjoman09

Well-known Member
Since Im learning on this site- and the restoration process- so far I have used "sand paper and an air sander" to restore with; is there a "portable sand-blaster" out there that I can buy to do my wheels and frame? Never have looked to this point- maybe some of you have one? Thanks.
 
I'll start by saying I hate the term restore since few really do that since to do so it to bring it back to what it was the day it rolled out of the factory. that said

I have used sand paper and or a grinder and even a couple types of sand blasters and each has it place and each has it wrong place. In side engine parts NEVER sand blast since it may leave sand behind and sand and oil and moving parts do not work well with each other. I have 2 types of sand blasters. A siphoned type and a tank type. The siphoned type works ok if the sand and air is dry but not so well if you have any thing with moisture in it. The tank type again you have to have good dry air or it will not work well. The tank type I have is a H-F one and while it works I did have to remove the valve on the bottom because it caused problems
 
yes i have a 10 gallon sand tank with a gun thats goes on a air comp. you need at least 10 gallonat 100 psi to workvery well. if you have only 5 gallon you will have to stop every sooften and let get pressure back.

i would only use on tin that is off tractor

do not use on casting on tractor. sand gets in places you do not want

it is also slow going
 
Ok..."Old"...wrong word choice:) But I guess I will stick to what im using- sounds like "blasters" are trouble.....just more time the old way- but I think I have more time than money! Thanks!
 
The biggest problem with sand blasters is humidity and compressors are known to suck a lot of water from the air and that in turn causes big problems with both sand blasting and painting.

As for the term restore I have learned to hate that term since many do not understand it. Or like at a car show I went to a guy had a car there a 1950s something and it had aluminum valve covers and he said it was All original but the valve cover could not have been original since the company did not offer them as an option and boy did he get mad when I called him out on that
 
The small blaster you can get which is just a hose a container and a gun do work ok, but it takes forever, and you will get sand everywhere. Just wear a good respirator. If it's all rust just soak it in molasses 9 water to one molasses for a couple weeks it will come out no rust. Stan
 
A sand blaster works great on wheels and the frame too if it's a bare frame with no delicate parts attached. One thing everyone who has a sandblaster should do is take a scrap piece of light tin, hit it with the sand blaster and watch the tin warp. Then you will know what could happen to the light sheet metal parts of whatever you are sand blasting.

Old is right about the water problem. If you sand blast for a long period of time you will want to drain the compressor tank regularly unless you are in a dry climate like Arizona. Water coming through the air line will plug up the works when it hits the sand. Once you have your hot protective garb on you won't be happy about disrobing so you can unscrew clean out plugs to remove the wet sand. And finally , never under estimate sand's ability to get into everything.
 
There are lots of cheap sand blasters out there, think Harbor Freight.

What's not cheap is a big enough compressor to keep one going. They use a lot of air. And the air needs to be dry, more expense.

And, as others have said, they are messy and can be destructive.

For what you are doing, if you really need to get some sand blasting done, might be best to take the parts to someone already set up to do large pieces.

Have you taken the tires off the wheels yet? If no, they may be beyond repair. Rusted out wheels are common on old tractors. Be sure they are usable before investing in having them blasted.

For smaller pieces, night want to look into a small blast cabinet. It contains the blast media, reuses it. Still needs a decent, dry air supply, but not a much volume. You can also use gentler media for delicate parts.
 
OK...I was mainly interested in doing/or having done- the 4 wheels; I like the "spoke wheels". I maybe can take them somewhere. Maybe just as easy to use sandpaper and air sander. Thanks!
 
If you have a 3500 lb psi pressure washer you can get an attachment for it that will pull sand from a bag. They work really well, fast and dust free. Then you can buy stuff that treats the metal for rust. I got my pressure washer blaster from Northen Tols and Lowes had the metal treatment material.
 
I agree with Eastwood.com to find all you need. My dad has a pretty big shop, but we are at the point where we almost need a pull behind compressor to keep up with my blasting. Currently we have the largest compressor motor available from his local tool shop with dual 80 gallon tanks and I can still out work it.

Kicker is water in your air. In line water/air filters between the compressor and the blaster helps a lot. I live in Iowa and it can be super humid or very dry and I've blasted in the heat of summer and in winter with snow on the ground.

Don't care for Old's definition of restore, but hey keep pointing out what's wrong with everyone's stuff, but then don't complain when a younger generation has no interest in this stuff and it heads to the scrap yard. When it comes to restoring something, to each his own because it means that item will live on to see another day.
 
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