Author Topic: Build Your Own....Sandblasting Enclosure! (Read 5297 times)

Bomber · « **on:** September 27, 2005, 04:19:49 am »

My cab is nearly complete. Today the control panel was due to get dropped off for powder coating. Yesterday I had hacked away trying to remove the red paint without much success. Tried belt grinder, orbital sander, angle grinder (last resort). After much swearing and thinking we knocked up a little bucket of sand and an airgun to see how sandblasting would work. You can see in these picks the crappy job the power tools did, and also two small patches we sandblasted.

Bomber · « **Reply #1 on:** September 27, 2005, 04:24:50 am »

Took the CP to the powdercoaters only to find out they don't do sandblasting!! They have chemical compunds to remove paint but nothing that can touch this sucker. This paint was NOT meant to come off.

So what to do? Build your own sandblasting enclosure of course

Bomber · « **Reply #2 on:** September 27, 2005, 04:29:16 am »

The best thing is it didn't cost a cent! Cardboard, left-over polycarbonate, some tape and some imagination...

The top angled sections each have a window - the front one to look through, the back one is just for light. There is a hoe in the back to wedge a vaccujm cleaner tube into, another hole on the right for the tube connecting the airgun to the aircompressor and the two larger holes on the front are for putting gloved hands through (think Homer Simpson

)

Bomber · « **Reply #3 on:** September 27, 2005, 04:32:29 am »

You can see a small 'well' in the back-right corner. This is where the sand sits. The level above it is just a horizontal sheet of polycarbonate to rest whatever it is you are sandblasting on. The red tube sucks the sand from the well and fires it out of the airgun. If the sand level gets low, you just take a breather and sweep from the 'shelf' back into the well.

Not quite there yet - but you can see how well it worked! Maybe a better use of cardboard than junkade?

Skadar · « **Reply #4 on:** September 27, 2005, 10:27:02 am »

Wow! Way to take control of the situation! It's very cool when you can take existing supplies and put them together in a way that perfectly solves your problem. Great job.

ChadTower · « **Reply #5 on:** September 27, 2005, 10:42:10 am »

That is awesome. Please provide more details on the compressor and such...

rdagger · « **Reply #6 on:** September 27, 2005, 10:57:23 am »

How powerful does the air compressor need to be for sand blasting? What's the minimum SCFM & PSI?

ChadTower · « **Reply #7 on:** September 27, 2005, 10:59:13 am »

How does one convince the air compressor to suck sand through the hose? I'm very interested, but have limited experience with this.

hatrick · « **Reply #8 on:** September 27, 2005, 12:34:19 pm »

Quote from: ChadTower on September 27, 2005, 10:59:13 am

How does one convince the air compressor to suck sand through the hose?

ChadTower · « **Reply #9 on:** September 27, 2005, 12:35:53 pm »

Yeah, but I'm missing part of the equation. The hose is directly connected to the compressor, with no way for the sand to get into it... what don't I see?

hatrick · « **Reply #10 on:** September 27, 2005, 12:40:43 pm »

Quote from: ChadTower on September 27, 2005, 12:35:53 pm

Yeah, but I'm missing part of the equation.

AmericanDemon · « **Reply #11 on:** September 27, 2005, 12:41:07 pm »

Yeah what Hatrick said.

ChadTower · « **Reply #12 on:** September 27, 2005, 12:57:37 pm »

Now I get it. Thanks. What is the vacuum for?

PetitMorte · « **Reply #13 on:** September 27, 2005, 01:39:54 pm »

that's so that the wife won't scream about Bomber getting sand all over the floor.

ChadTower · « **Reply #14 on:** September 27, 2005, 01:41:26 pm »

Good call.

I wonder if a powerwasher would work as well. I do have one of those.

Bomber · « **Reply #15 on:** September 27, 2005, 06:28:10 pm »

Thanks for all the feedback. It's working a treat - another 20 mins or so and should be all done.

Quote from: rdagger on September 27, 2005, 10:57:23 am

How powerful does the air compressor need to be for sand blasting?

Bomber · « **Reply #16 on:** September 27, 2005, 06:30:42 pm »

Quote from: PetitMorte on September 27, 2005, 01:39:54 pm

that's so that the wife won't scream about Bomber getting sand all over the floor.

rdagger · « **Reply #17 on:** September 27, 2005, 07:35:28 pm »

Quote from: Bomber on September 27, 2005, 06:30:42 pm

Its a silica sand so it crumbles when it contacts anything and kicks out a hell of a lot of dust.

Isn't blasting with silica sand very unhealthy? I read something about Silicosis (a disabling, nonreversible and sometimes fatal lung disease)

Bomber · « **Reply #18 on:** September 27, 2005, 07:46:03 pm »

Just had a look - the compressor is a 50L capacity with 3HP. Its running at around 100PSI.

Bomber · « **Reply #19 on:** September 27, 2005, 07:49:53 pm »

Quote from: rdagger on September 27, 2005, 07:35:28 pm

Quote from: Bomber on September 27, 2005, 06:30:42 pm
Its a silica sand so it crumbles when it contacts anything and kicks out a hell of a lot of dust.

Isn't blasting with silica sand very unhealthy?

rbarr110 · « **Reply #20 on:** September 27, 2005, 11:39:35 pm »

WHat kind of "gun" do you need for sandblasting? I have a compressor and an auto-sprayer as well as other misc. wood working tools....but sand blaster...... mmmmm.

Minwah · « **Reply #21 on:** September 28, 2005, 08:13:39 am »

A couple of my mates have made a similar enclosure...I used it for sandblasting my coin door.

Their one is made fully of perspex (plexi), with rubber sections to put your hands through. Their gun has a screw on container for the same tho, and you have to scrape up the same every so often to refill the container. Also they have a vaccum cleaner pipe going into the top of the enclosure to remove some of the fumes/dust.

Bomber · « **Reply #22 on:** September 28, 2005, 09:24:19 pm »

Sounds like the deluxe version Minwah

This has worked so well (I'll have some photos of the finished product soon) we will probably make an upgraded version.

The biggest hassle we have found is that a little bit of moisture gets into the gun so needs to be pulled apart and cleaned.

Bomber · « **Reply #23 on:** September 29, 2005, 04:57:01 pm »

Well its finished. It took a whole lot longer than I expected, but the results were great. The paint was incredibly think and almost baked on. Its right back to bare metal now.

I didn't have my camera on me and had to hurry it off to the powdercoaters. So no photos - I know how much you all love photos so sorry 'bout that...


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