Need advise with media blasting

[Finster4]

I'm looking into picking up a media blaster to strip the paint and rust off my boat trailer before repainting, and a few other projects around the house. I have a 60 gal. 7.5 hp compressor. Any recommendations as far as what blaster and media to get? How much media can I expect to go through on a 16' boat trailer? Anything I need to stay away from? I'm not looking to spend a small fortune but any advice would be appreciated. My selection here is somewhat limited so I'll probably be driving up to Harbor Freight or Northern Tool.

 

[SBTOM]

Re: Need advise with media blasting

I have this one and it is OK for light work on stuff that won't fit in the cabinet, but I don't know if I would try and strip a trailer with it. I guess its worth a try though. I would think that you would probably go through about 100-150 pounds of sand... maybe even more depending on how much you were trying to remove. I use the "fine" grain sand that you can buy at the home depot, but if you want to spend a little more you can get actual blasting media.

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=portable+sandblaster&cid=16613340730491463199&sa=title#p

 

[erikgreen]

Re: Need advise with media blasting

Cheapest blast media I know is the coal slag northern tool sells. Just make sure you watch the dust and wear a respirator.

I have the smaller pressure pot HF blaster... it works ok unless the media you're using clogs. Also, you need a decent sized compressor to use it, but you have that.

Are you sure you want to blast all the paint off, or could you just use a high powered pressure washer to remove loose paint and clean, then maybe a bit of sanding and repaint?

Erik

 

[Finster4]

Re: Need advise with media blasting

I figured blasting would be the way to go. I could spend hours with the angle grinder or da sander and still not be able to get into the corners and harder to reach areas, but I don't have much experience with blasting. As funny as it seems I actually work on blast equipment in a foundry. But thats completely different from what im looking at. Their blast cabinets are about the size of a two stall garage.
As far as media goes I saw Northern tool has Black Diamond blasting abrasive in 20/40 and 30/60 grit for less than $10/50 lbs. Thats probably what I'll go with.

 

[Finster4]

Re: Need advise with media blasting

Oh, and I did try pressure washing already. It didnt do much with the paint thats on there, its bonded fairly well. Just took a bit off the rusty spots. If im gonna go through the hassle of painting it, id like to get it back down to bare metal first.

 

[Walkenvol]

Re: Need advise with media blasting

Google "electrolysis rust removal" and read some of the examples of this process. I made a large wooden box lined with some heavy plastic sized to accomodate a Jeep frame. Cooked it for a couple of days then hit it with a home sand blaster to clean off the soft gunk and prep it for painting. Longest part was making the containment pond. Worked great!

 

[89nissanbassboat]

Re: Need advise with media blasting

I would caution you regarding your media blast idea...not trying to bust your idea, just a warning...I would ask other experienced local blasters in your area first before doing a first attempt on your boat...even a experienced blaster would have cautions about blasting fiberglass...have you tried using paint stripper...less dust, less up front investment and you can still clean those hard to reach places...may not be as quick as blasting but you're gonna go thru about 3-400lbs of media depending on how you can contain and re use yours.

Good luck with your paint removal.

 

[osborn159]

Re: Need advise with media blasting

fyi nissan, he is working on his trailer, not the hull.
would b nice to blast a f/g hull and eliminate all the time involved, im sure the dust would still be a pain tho.
D