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Tue Nov 11, 2008 9:17 am

I am working on a bus. I have lots of little items I want to sandblast before painting. Wheels, engine tin etc. I am looking at buying a sandblasting cabinent because it may be cheaper or about the same price as actually taking it somewhere to get it done, plus then I will have another tool. I dont have lots to spend, but what do you all think of this one?

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=94978

Seems big enough for wheels, tin etc but what about quality? I know its from harbor freight and its cheap and you usually get what you pay for, but will it be good for small jobs? Thanks.

Tue Nov 11, 2008 9:32 am

also a cheap cabinet will work, if your compressor delivers enough air.
Usually the air consumption of the blasting gun is higher than what your compressor delivers.

Tue Nov 11, 2008 10:11 am

Ive got a 33 gallon compressor. It runs nuematic tools fine, but has trouble with grinders, sanders etc. Will I have problems with the cabinent?

When you say a cheap cabinent will work, are there cheaper than this? Thanks.

Tue Nov 11, 2008 10:32 am

I have this exact same cabinet and it does work really well for little parts. Wheels will not fit in it. The air consumption is not to bad but I think you should have at least 12+cfm at 90 psi for it to work good. I have 19 cfm at 90 and it doesnt run to much. If you get it clean all parts first and then sand blast them in the cabinet, any grease and stuff tend to clog it. Also use a quality dryer because this is very finicky with moisture.

Tue Nov 11, 2008 11:35 am

I have 14" rims. Why wont they fit? It says the dimensions are

18-3/4" L x 22-3/4" W x 18-1/8" H

Thanks.

Tue Nov 11, 2008 11:40 am

Prolly won't let you slide the wheels far enough to get the edges? Nothing worse than a too small cabinet! I just bought the 20lbs sandblaster @ Harbor Freight for $50 and it works good!

Tue Nov 11, 2008 11:56 am

Hey Mike, did you get just the sandblaster? I am thinking of going this route and just building a temporary blast box. Im not sure my compressor is going to work though. Ive been doing some research.

Tue Nov 11, 2008 12:22 pm

I think I got my 20lbs sandblaster w/hood/funnel etc. for $40 on sale! I just drape a queen size air mattress inside a 4' square wooden bow about 12" tall. I can save/filter/reuse my sand. Your air compressor will be fine!

Tue Nov 11, 2008 12:24 pm

Well a 14in rim may be able to fit but I will check later to see if it wil fit the lid hole. I use small parts and it works good for that. I have blasted a brake drum in it and it has enough room but when you start to fill the space it gets hard to work. If you have the money to go bigger than definately go bigger but this one is good for the money and size.

Tue Nov 11, 2008 12:27 pm

Mike, is yours one that is pressurized or is it gravity fed?

I may just buy a portable one like I said, but I like the idea of having a box.

Iowa VW, If you could try and fit a rim in, that would be great. Let meknow how it works out. I realize it will be TIGHT, but if it will fit, I can probably blast it. Thanks.

Tue Nov 11, 2008 12:32 pm

mine's pressurized!

Tue Nov 11, 2008 12:39 pm

Like this one? Seems like this will get the job done, but Im still not sure on the air requirements. Cant really afford tools that wont work at the moment. Decisions, decisions....

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=34202

Tue Nov 11, 2008 12:45 pm

In a previous life I built a blaster cabinet - In that case I had a good sized metal cabinet and made racks and a funnel on the bottom to feed it. You could just as easily make one out of plywood. Use a metal grate on the bottom (stove rack would work nice) and use a big funnel at the bottom. Tractor Supply sells a chicken watering container that would work great if you flip it upside down. Cut out for a window (regular glass works fine) Cut 2 holes below the window for the biggest set of heavy rubber gloves you can find. Mount a light in the top and go to town.

Just take a look at a picture of one they sell and you wil get the idea. Once I break down and get a bigger compressor, I am going to build another one. The thing that is nice is that you can use any media that you want in it.

Tue Nov 11, 2008 4:39 pm

busmania24 wrote: Like this one? Seems like this will get the job done, but Im still not sure on the air requirements. Cant really afford tools that wont work at the moment. Decisions, decisions....

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=34202

I have this blaster (or the bigger one, can't remember) and it works very well. The dryer that comes with it works very good also, it holds 100lbs of sand at a time and by the time you need to refill sand the dryer is full and needs to be emptied. The deadman valve is very nice and the blaster has 3 valves. I run fine sand. If you have problems with moisture than get a bucket of ice and water and run as much hose as you can get in the bucket to cool the air, this will help the dryer remove the water. Again I have a IR SS5L5 compressor that puts out almost 20 cfm at 90 psi. The compressor never stops but never goes below 90 psi so is good.

busmania24 the door opening is 15 1/4 inches so a 14 inch rim will fit in even though it will be a bit big to handle once in. Should work.

Tue Nov 11, 2008 6:59 pm

Thanks Iowa VW. Im going to mull over it for the next couple of days. I have an old dryer, thinking of making a cabinet out of that! We shall see. I probably will just buy a cabinent.

Sun Nov 16, 2008 11:38 am

So I picked this up.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=94978
They were all out, so I took the one off the shelf. $50 and it was mine. Couple of questions though.

I am using an aluminum abrasive. I cant shoot for more than 10 seconds because the dust makes it impossible to see inside. Iowa VW, what abrasive do you use? How do you see what you are actually blasting? Should I switch abrasives?

I also picked up walnut shell abrasive. I used this first, but it didnt strip the material from the metal very well. I got the fine, maybe I need a corser material. It did not seem as dusty as the aluminum, but did not blast well. Any help? Thanks.

Sun Nov 16, 2008 11:57 am

Well even though it says not to use sand I use the fine sand. I think xx40? But everything you blast in there stays there and it turns to dust. So I removed the back filter and hooked up a shop vac to it and that does wonders. I have never used walnut but I would expect it to be soft and not very good rust remover. With sand it is not that bad even without the shop vac.

Sun Nov 16, 2008 12:18 pm

Awesome, thanks. I was thinking of hooking a fan to it somehow, but that sounds genius because I have a shop vac and I dont need to buy anything else, if it works. Thanks.

Sun Nov 16, 2008 10:43 pm

Ive heard a lot of great things about walnut. Works well with rust, etc.

I've also used baking soda. Is less aggressive, but works well on small parts without pitting the metal.

Looks like a decent cabinet. For small parts that would be ideal.

For bigger stuff a portable sand blaster and some home made screens to enclose your project work very well. Some camping tarps, pvc pipe and some zip ties can create some awesome full sized screens (similar to welding screens) that are a great inexpensive way to create a sand blasting zone. With a 5 gallon bucket and a cheap screen filter, you can reuse sand over and over again.

Mon Nov 17, 2008 5:58 am

Quote: have a shop vac and I dont need to buy anything else, if it works. Thanks.

On the one I built, I was using mostly glass bead - hooked up a shopvac to it as well. Works very well.