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Sandblasting Questions

L

Lanse

Well-known Member
Hey yall...

Welp... Im borrowing a small sandblaster from one of my friends sometime soon... But ive never sandblasted, so im pretty clueless.

How does one cover up the manifold openings in teh head of a tractor?? Can i sandblast the generator, distributor, or starter?? What about the water passages in the exposed front of the block, how do i keep them clean??

Thanks in advance guys :)
 
Don"t let any sand get in anywhere! Duct tape will be your greatest friend. Don"t be scotch in the use of it. Close off all openings far more than you think is necessary. Most of those places you listed, you don"t want sand - take "em off or seal "em up!
 
Hi Lanse,

You are probably going to get a bunch of don't do it replies so I will be the first. It is nearly impossible to protect all the openings well enough to keep the blasting component out of the engine. Then you fire it up and something scores a cylinder and you start over. I am sure some have done it, but it is not for the faint of heart or inexperienced.

YMMV,

Kirk
 
Lanse,
I would recommend that you remove as many parts as you can before you sandblast. That way, parts that are not subject to internal damage from sand can be done safely without subjecting the more sensitive parts to sand.
I have used both a sandblasting unit that you work with gloves through the box and look through glass and also a friend has helped me sandblast larger parts out in the yard, using a face hood.
As an alternative to sandblasting, consider paint strippers and the use of oven cleaner. Oven cleaner is sodium hydroxide and repeated coatings will do a good paint removal job. Dollar a can at your local dollar store.
Also, some parts of your tractor may not require complete paint removal if you wire brush, etc. all of the loose paint and if you properly prepare the bare metal and painted surfaces before painting.
Tom
 
Lanse, Don't let sand get anywhere close to any bearings or any close tollerance items. Also, if you're blasting sheet metal, don't use any more air pressure than necessary to do the job. Too much pressure can stretch the metal and it won't fit right. That sand will get in places you'd never expect.
 
If you do wheels with tires on them don't forget to use duct tape on valve stems sand will eat them up or if old can break them right off. Sand can clean tires right up if someone has gotten over spray on them from a older paint job. Lots of duct tape sometimes more than one layer to protect, paper, cardboard and plastic bags to protect things. Don't point the blast nozzle close or 90 degrees slant it more like 45 so sand cleans but bounces off and doesn't warp sheet metal and don't hold it close in one spot long trying to get it all off in one pass use several sweeping motions across and let the sand do the work not using higher air pressure that can cause damage and warp metal. Have the best moisture traps you can get on air compressor and drain them often and keep moisture out of the air tank blasting on a very humid day will cause lots of plugging problems in the blaster.
 
Also: I use a paint mask, a face shield and goggles, a work cap, something to cover my ears, and old work clothes and leather gloves! And, still get sand in my ears! A canvas hood that covers your whole head and face is great to protect you. Of course, it must have a plastic covered place so you can see out of it.
Only trouble with sand-blasting any thing you want to paint later, will still have some sand hidden away, which the paint gun will surely find! A product called "Aircraft Stripper" is what i have used to remove paint. It washes off with plain cold water, which also neutralizes the chemicals in it.
Sand blasting is not the be-all, end-all in the painting of mobile machinery, or anything else. If not used properly, it will pop out in the final coat!
 
I agree with with Kirk! DO NOT SANDBLAST ANY PART OF A TRACTOR EXCEPT REMOVERABLE PARTS SUCH AS DRAWBARS AND WHEELS AND THEN ONLY IF YOU ARE AT LEAST A 1/4 mile or more away from engine, trans, rearend and axel housings, radiator, starter, generator (or alt.) and any other parts. Impossible to keep sand out of critical places. I have sandblasted gravity boxes and you can not believe how much sand comes out of the seams!!!!! DON'T DO IT1111111 Armand
 
In addition to the other responses about sand getting into everything, you need a good compressor for sand blasting or you'll have a useless piece of junk sitting on the air tank. Sand blasting takes a lot of air and if you run a cheap compressor a few seconds too long, you'll need a new compressor. Dave
 
You don't want to do what you're thinking. No blasting with the engine in place or generator or distributor etc. I remove the engine. I removed it on my 55 Ford and then reinstalled the side rails and front end. I made a cover for the clutch cavity with a 6 mil clear poly gasket and bolted it on to keep sand out of the clutch cavity. Remove all removable items before blasting and do them separately. Do not remove items that will leave open holes to places where you don't want sand, or plug them with a bolt etc.
143697798.jpg
 
You can also see I wrapped and duct taped the steering wheel, and did not have the rear wheels blasted. I will do those separately later by removing the tires and then restoring the rims. I left the wheels on and steering wheel to keep it movable.
 
After blasting, I blow everything off with compressed air, if small enough wash them in the parts washer, then blow them off again. I pay particular attention to blowing out any hoes, threads, passages, seams, etc. I also put grease on taps and chase all the threads. Even after blowing them out, still get sand out with the tap. As said, I don't sandblast any critical parts. For me, to blast a generator, it requires disassembly, then blast the case, end cap, etc.--duct taping critical areas first. then I clean up and reassemble. Sand will get everywhere, it will even work its way past duct tape and into a port, for example. Stuff is magical--gets into everything. Lots of cleanup afterwards, to get all the sand out.
That's just me, though, maybe going too far with it, but sand will ruin components fast if left in them.
 
Besides just saying don't do it I should have offered something helpful as well.

Go over to the Ford boards and search for some of Soundguy's exploits regarding painting tractors. He likes to find relatively good running tractors and fix things as needed and do a reasonably good paint job. Can't speak for him, but I doubt he would say any of them are trailer queens, but good working tractors. In general he removes sheet metal, cleans and paints. Degreases engine/transmission with oven cleaner or similar, cleans and preps and shoots with primer/paint.

I know I have over simplified it, but do a little research and start simple. You can always make the tractor shiny later in life when you can afford the equipment or to have it done professionally.

YMMV,

Kirk
 
Like others have said ... DON'T do it !! ,. If you want it blasted .. look for someone that has a , Baking Soda Blaster ....
I have one but toooo far away .... the soda will do the same thing sand does ONLY it WOUNLDN'T hurt the moving parts or seals and bearings ...
Good luck on your project ...

Mark
 
At a minimum if you are intent on blasting, use grease gun on all bearings till they are overflowing with grease. Try to cover the bearing with duct tape and/or wrap with plastic. When done, pump more grease in to push out any sand particles in the edge of the grease. Use paint stripper on the parts under the tape.
 
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