I should clarify, I'm NOT using builders sand. I'm using aluminum oxide. / Butch Thanks Steve, I did not know there were carbide tips. Where do you get yours? I'm going to go back to zero with this cabinet and set it up again, all fresh, new gun tip, new media, etc., and will use the tips you all are providing on the forum to see what works best for me. While the blaster did not work well with the gun that came with the cabinet, it did work great for awhile with the gun off my $50.00 outdoor Sears blaster that uses builders sand. I think now that the ceramic tip in that gun is shot. One thing I'm thinking, because I only have been "trying" to use my cabinet once a month or so that moisture is probably an issue with mine. I'm going to get one of the water collectors like we use in boats and rvs around here in the winter and put one them in the cabinet, see if it collects any water and if that changes performance. Because I'm running out of time to get this car ready for Hot August Nights in Reno, I took the wheels to a professional powder coating shop for media blasting yesterday. He said he never uses these types of cabinets that count on gravity feed, that even his small portables are such that the media is in a pressurized tank and the media is discharged under pressure, which he finds more reliable, I have not looked at any of those set ups. Liked that...... "like a white shirt in a bar fight". :) Thanks/Butch/Ferndale, WA ----- Original Message ----- From: "Steven Charette" <stevec@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: 1962to1965mopars@xxxxxxxxxx Sent: Tuesday, July 20, 2010 8:50:50 AM Subject: RE: Media blaster troubleshooting Butch, We run our Harbor Freight blasting cabinet 8-10 hours a day 4-6 days a month. As others have mentioned, moisture can be a problem. We've also discovered that having too much abrasive in the hopper prevents the siphon hose from pulling well especially with a coarse media. You may also want to look into a carbide tip if you don't have one already - aluminum oxide is great but ceramic nozzles last like a white shirt in a bar fight... SC -----Original Message----- From: Butch Edison [mailto:waedison@xxxxxxxxxxx] Sent: Sunday, July 18, 2010 6:30 PM To: 1962to1965mopars@xxxxxxxxxx Subject: Media blaster troubleshooting I bought a Northern Tool Media blast cabinet some months ago. It is way smarter than me and it hurts to say you've been outsmarted by sand and compressed air!. I have a large snap-on 7 HP 175 PSI 80 gallon compressor so think I should have enough air. I'm trying to use 70 grit aluminum oxide to clean some wheels. The thing barely draws for awhile, then it will work like magic for a couple of minutes, then back to nothing or next to nothing. I've tried changing guns, running the media pickup tube in and out of the media. Nothing seems to work for more than a couple of minutes. I have an air dryer in line with the media cabinet. If you've had some lessons learned with these things, please tell me what you've found out through your use. This thing could easily end up in the scrap yard, but I think it's probably something I'm just not understanding about how to use it. Thanks for any help. /Butch/ Ferndale, WA ---- Please address private mail -- mail of interest to only one person -- directly to that person. I.e., send parts/car transactions and negotiations as well as other personal messages only to the intended recipient, not to the Clubhouse public address. This practice will protect your privacy, reduce the total volume of mail and fine tune the content signal to Mopar topic. Thanks! 1962 to 1965 Mopar Clubhouse Discussion Guidelines: http://www.1962to1965mopar.ornocar.org/mletiq.html and http://www.1962to1965mopar.ornocar.com/general_disclaimer.html. ---- Please address private mail -- mail of interest to only one person -- directly to that person. I.e., send parts/car transactions and negotiations as well as other personal messages only to the intended recipient, not to the Clubhouse public address. This practice will protect your privacy, reduce the total volume of mail and fine tune the content signal to Mopar topic. Thanks! 1962 to 1965 Mopar Clubhouse Discussion Guidelines: http://www.1962to1965mopar.ornocar.org/mletiq.html and http://www.1962to1965mopar.ornocar.com/general_disclaimer.html. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ---- Please address private mail -- mail of interest to only one person -- directly to that person. I.e., send parts/car transactions and negotiations as well as other personal messages only to the intended recipient, not to the Clubhouse public address. This practice will protect your privacy, reduce the total volume of mail and fine tune the content signal to Mopar topic. Thanks! 1962 to 1965 Mopar Clubhouse Discussion Guidelines: http://www.1962to1965mopar.ornocar.org/mletiq.html and http://www.1962to1965mopar.ornocar.com/general_disclaimer.html. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ---- Please address private mail -- mail of interest to only one person -- directly to that person. I.e., send parts/car transactions and negotiations as well as other personal messages only to the intended recipient, not to the Clubhouse public address. This practice will protect your privacy, reduce the total volume of mail and fine tune the content signal to Mopar topic. Thanks! 1962 to 1965 Mopar Clubhouse Discussion Guidelines: http://www.1962to1965mopar.ornocar.org/mletiq.html and http://www.1962to1965mopar.ornocar.com/general_disclaimer.html. This email was sent to: arc.6265@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx u/?bUrDWg.bSONJP.YXJjLjYy ?p=TEXFOOTER