Blasted wheels

[Gregor 4,847]

I got some parts back from the media blaster today. They sure clean up nice. Wipe them with a little mineral spirits, and they are ready to paint. I have no plans for these wheels right now, so they will just get primer.

[pacer 3,174]

Oh yeah!! I sure would hate to do without my blast cabinet (good ole HF!) Both the 8" and the 12" rims will fit in the cabinet. I spritz mine down with phosphoric acid (in fact I apply it to most blasted parts) Course it'll flash rust pretty quickly but I can usually have 24-48hrs to get paint/primer on them.

[JAinVA 4,629]

Pacer,

    What type grit and grade are you using ?

[Gregor 4,847]

37 minutes ago, pacer said:

I sure would hate to do without my blast cabinet

I would love to have one, if I had the space. But if I had the space, I would probably buy another tractor to put in that pace, and then I wouldn't have the space anymore.  It's a vicious cycle.

[pacer 3,174]

58 minutes ago, JAinVA said:

    What type grit and grade are you using ?

 

I use 'Black Diamond' coal slag in fine grit from TSC $9 a 50lb bag.

 

For the big items - hood, fenders, etc I have one of those cheapo siphon blaster rigs. I dump the slag in a 5 gal bucket and run my air outside the shop and set up a couple saw horses and blast away just letting the slag get in the grass. I lucked up on a REAL blast hood, comes down over my shoulders and use a double filter paint type mask with goggles. 

 

A blaster is confusing to many in regards to what it takes to operate one properly. A compressor rating of, say, 150 psi, doesnt mean much, the figure you want is the compressors CFM (cubic feet per minute) To get good results you'll need about a minimum of 15cfm and to get that you will likely need a 2 stage compressor, which of course is one of the big ones, not that HF one for $199, it may put out 4,5 or 6 CFM. For example my compressor is on an 80gal tank with a 5hp motor putting out some 18-20CFM and while it will cycle some if I'm being on/off the trigger some, but if i'm steady on the trigger it'll run constantly.

[JAinVA 4,629]

Thanks for the reply. I think I need to upgrade my compressor. I have had it over 40 years and it owes me nothing,but more cfms would help.

Edited April 22, 2021 by JAinVA

[Gregor 4,847]

I have read some about blasting machines that blast with dry ice. No muss, no fuss. Just water left. They are cashy, and I'm sure the dry ice would be spendy too.

[oliver2-44 9,929]

1 hour ago, Gregor said:

I have read some about blasting machines that blast with dry ice. No muss, no fuss. Just water left. They are cashy, and I'm sure the dry ice would be spendy too.

Before I retired we had a contractor do a demo with a dry ice blaster contractor on some large hydro generator components.  It was complicated as  they have many different nozzles and contraptions.  it worked and he could really control what he removed and what he didn't. But it was very spendy.

[haydendavid380 759]

Man those look good. 

 

I've been doing my best this week trying to re-do a couple. Wire wheeling and hand sanding.... media blasting is the way to go.