Yep, if you want to remove material in a hurry, aluminum oxide is the
way to
go. We use it for anything that doesn't have a surface that needs to be
maintained - it will remove rust, paint, whatever in a hurry, but it
will
also chow down on the base material if given the opportunity. We use
glass
beads for work that needs to keep it's surface.
Any kind of silica sand is strictly verboten (forbidden, that is) for
any
kind of indoor blasting around here - the fine dust left from the
shattered
silica causes silicosis, whereby the small particles of silica cause the
formation of scar tissue that diminishes the capacity of the lungs to do
their thing. We will use it outdoors once in a while with proper
personal
protective equipment - respirator, goggles, hood, etc. Sooner or later
the
government will outlaw sand...
We use Maxus guns - we get them from WW Grainger. They are relatively
inexpensive ($30-ish) and they have a consistent flow of replacement
parts,
unlike some retail outlets. We generally end up replacing the gun every
8-12 months after the aluminum oxide has destroyed the carbide tip ($35
last
time I got one) and then proceeded to eat the gun. We need to check the
tips more often :)
The carbide tips generally last 3-4 months, while we can eat up a
ceramic
tip in a day with the aluminum oxide.
SC
-----Original Message-----
From: Butch Edison [mailto:waedison@xxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Tuesday, July 20, 2010 12:06 PM
To: 1962to1965mopars@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: Media blaster troubleshooting
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
----
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----
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.
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