Need a compressor recommendation for sandblaster.

[supacharged21]

First wanted to say hello to everybody! Great site and looking forward to getting into the hobby and seeing where it takes me.

I am going to be doing mainly smaller car parts, but will do rims also.
I am looking into getting a sandblasting cabinet, and want to know what compressor would get me there.

I know there is 2 types of sandblasting (siphon and pot style). What I want to know is what brands are good without spending a ridiculous amount.

I know there is HF, but does there central pneumatic brand suck or what?
I know there is craftsman, but you pay for brand there most of the time. (plus they have crappy warranties for most things like that)

So are there any other brands that i should be looking at?
I am trying to get by with the smallest that would work, but would be reliable, and possibly rebuildable. I know you get what you pay for most of the time, so steer me at quality without being too outrages.

Any help would be great people.

Julian

[hp246]

I'm not a professional at all, but i can tell you that I have a sipon feed set up and a small bench top cabinet. The cabinet was purchased at my local tractor supply store, and does a great job on smaller items. I've seen the identical cabinet under several brand names. If you keep you eye out for sales, you can get them under $100. I bought the Sipon feed through EW. It works fine, but is not ideal. Since I don't use it alot, it does what I need it to do, but if I was doing alot of blasting, I think I would go with one of the more expensive pot type units.

As far as the compressor, this is going to be the heart of your operation. I think the best piece of advice I saw was to figure out the size you need, then double it. Right now, I have a 6 hp Campbell Hausfield with a 60 gallon tank, and it does a good job. Larger would still be better. Every once in awhile, I see that Tractor Supply runs sales on Ingersoll Rands. I had one of these for a car wash I owned, and it was a great compressor.

Good luck

[CarWiz]

It's hard to size a compressor for someone else without knowing all the details of your work and shop. Sandblasting and painting are the most air consuming tasks you will ever place on a compressor. Some air powered tools like buffers and sanders also consume a lot of air. When looking for a compressor for sandblasting, choose one that will provide a minimum of 15-17cfm @ 90psi. Sandblasting uses a huge amount of air VOLUME (cfm). You could go smaller but you'll be stopping to let the tank refill.

The size of the tips you plan to use plays a large roll in how much air is going to be needed. A standard 1/4" ID air hose will pass around 21cfm at 100psi. You'll want tips much smaller than that.

[nuttyman]

I have a 10HP 120 gallon Eaton compressor & am quite happy with it. check 'em out>>http://www.eatoncompressor.com/page/page/504413.htm

[cruizer]

I am using a benchtop sandblaster I bought off of Ebay for somethig really cheap, and it is a cheap cabinet. It came with a gun and it was siphon feed. but I didn't like the setup. So I fashioned a hose to the bottom of the benchtop unit to drain sand into a bucket below. I bought a sandblasting gun at Menards and ran it into the bucket then to the cabinet.

I recently acquired a 1994 LUX compressor, 5hp 2 stage pump 60 gallon that puts out 17 cfm. And when I start blasting, it keeps right there with me. When I start blasting qt 90 psi, it it's keep me right there at 90 psi. I love it!