Refurbishing Parts - Stripping
I looked into Sand Blasting. I thought of the garages that used to have a bench model cabinet for cleaning small parts and spark plugs so I asked around and pretty soon found a guy who just happened to have one so I made arrangements with him to go over to his place to see if this was what I was looking for.
In the first few seconds I had my answer. Yes, this is would do the job quite nicely. The paint literally flew off a Circular Girder within seconds while leaving a nice smooth surface to work with. Zinc parts cleaned up nicely as well. The only medium I have used is Silica Sand, which is cheap to buy and lasts a long time. Out came more parts, strips, brackets, flex plates, etc. all with the same results.
Powder Coated parts were not affected by the sand and I have since found out that the process to strip them is more involved than with painted parts, so at this time I am only concentrating on old painted parts of which I have enough to keep me busy for a while.
We decided on a price to buy the Sand Blaster Cabinet and the Compressor but I had no place to store them at the time so I left them where they were and was welcome to drop by anytime to use them. In the meantime I poked around on the Internet to find out more about Sand Blasting, Compressors and Painting to the point of becoming confused. PSI, CFM, HP, etc. OK, so what does all this mean. Well for starters the Sand Blaster requires 5 to 15 CFM (Cubic Feet per Minute - volumn) at 100 PSI - Pounds per Square Inch - pressure) The drive motor measured in Horsepower (HP) required to produce these specifications. A 3 HP motor is about the upper limit you can plug into a regular house 15 amp. outlet as the motor will draw 14.1 amps to run.
Scanning the ads on Craigslist to see what else was available soon turned up a new Sand Blast Cabinet identical to the one I had recently bought. This one had only been used twice for a specific job. It came with a 12vdc florescent light , switch and power supply which do not come with the lower priced unit (the one I had just bought). A price of $249.00 was still on the back of the unit and I picked it up for 80 bucks which the seller was happy to get as he had completed his job and no longer had a use for it.
In the first few seconds I had my answer. Yes, this is would do the job quite nicely. The paint literally flew off a Circular Girder within seconds while leaving a nice smooth surface to work with. Zinc parts cleaned up nicely as well. The only medium I have used is Silica Sand, which is cheap to buy and lasts a long time. Out came more parts, strips, brackets, flex plates, etc. all with the same results.
Powder Coated parts were not affected by the sand and I have since found out that the process to strip them is more involved than with painted parts, so at this time I am only concentrating on old painted parts of which I have enough to keep me busy for a while.
We decided on a price to buy the Sand Blaster Cabinet and the Compressor but I had no place to store them at the time so I left them where they were and was welcome to drop by anytime to use them. In the meantime I poked around on the Internet to find out more about Sand Blasting, Compressors and Painting to the point of becoming confused. PSI, CFM, HP, etc. OK, so what does all this mean. Well for starters the Sand Blaster requires 5 to 15 CFM (Cubic Feet per Minute - volumn) at 100 PSI - Pounds per Square Inch - pressure) The drive motor measured in Horsepower (HP) required to produce these specifications. A 3 HP motor is about the upper limit you can plug into a regular house 15 amp. outlet as the motor will draw 14.1 amps to run.
Scanning the ads on Craigslist to see what else was available soon turned up a new Sand Blast Cabinet identical to the one I had recently bought. This one had only been used twice for a specific job. It came with a 12vdc florescent light , switch and power supply which do not come with the lower priced unit (the one I had just bought). A price of $249.00 was still on the back of the unit and I picked it up for 80 bucks which the seller was happy to get as he had completed his job and no longer had a use for it.
Power Fist - Bench Model Sandblasting Cabinet
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Outside the Box
Here is an overall view of the Sand Blast Unit showing the lift up lid held in place by two twist clamps. You insert your hands into the built-in gloves to operate. Holding the part with one hand with the other on the gun you can now work in a dust free environment. This is quite a compact unit measuring 25"wide x 20" deep x 20.5" high and weighs in at 40 pounds. |
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Inside the Box
Here we can see the Florescent Light, Spray Gun and Air Line, Built-in Rubber Gloves and the Hopper where you load up the sand. As the sand is recirculated it will last quite a while. When the sharp edges of the sand wear down you simply siphon it out and replace with a new product. A 10 pound bag costs $10.00 to $12.00 Note that there is a Cone Filter at the upper right side of the unit, This is for hooking up a Shop-Vac, highly recommended, the purpose of which is to cut down the dust with-in the unit so you can see what you are doing. There is also a Clear Plastic Sheet you stick onto the underside of the Glass Lid to prevent scratching the glass. This can easily be wiped clean with a damp cloth or replaced as needed. |
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Air Compressor with Tank
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Well, it has arrived. I picked this unit up at Ca'jun Tire on the week-end and was all set to assemble the unit, but after getting out some tools to do the job I discovered that it was already put together. Bummer. They must have known that it was going to be sold to a dummy like me so rather than have me return it because I didn't put it together right they decided it was best to do it right the first time. So here it sits.
Not too much to say about it other than it is a 3 HP unit with an eleven gallon tank and necessary gauges. The Air Hose is extra. It is rated at 125 PSI. - 6.2 CFM @ 80 PSI This unit is rather noisy but would be OK if you have a proper shop to work in. It does require it's own separate 15 amp circuit breaker as it draws 14.1 amps when running. I have since returned this unit due to the excessive noise. Not suitable for an apartment dweller like myself. So, I am back at my friend's shop where my original purchase is still located. I am fortunate to have a place to putter in without bothering my neighbours. |
The stripping process is straight forward and requires no special instructions other than paying attention to what you are doing and keeping the glass clean. Smaller parts such as brackets etc. can be placed into a strainer. Or a finer screen can be placed over the existing one so that the parts don't drop down into the sand. It only take a few seconds to completely strip a part. I usually do 40 to 50 parts per trip to the shop as I am in his area every day anyway. (Next to my Office - McDonald's)
