What blasting media?

[mpierich]

Re: What blasting media?

Just another opinion, but you can get a paint stripper at wal-mart in the glue section of the paint department. It comes in a brush on or spray, I like the spray, and be careful cause it will burn your skin even if it is just a mist. It says it works in 5 min. on some things it does but some things it takes longer.
Sorry I thought I hit the wrong key, and deleted the first reply.

Hi Fly,

I use Stryp-eze - it's very strong, maybe the same stuff. But it doesn't touch some of the paint I've found on cycle wheel. (could be powder-coating for all I know).

[mpierich]

Re: What blasting media?

well John
with sand bead or glass blasting you dont have to use such a large copressor but you will spend more time sanding and polishing

Hi Jim,

I'll repeat another question I had that maybe you missed: I have no experience with blasting. Is there any type of media which would ease the process of leveling a sand-cast aluminum surface? Not just clean it up, but take out dimples?

Thanks.

[tavo1765]

Re: What blasting media?

Yes, very fine glass beads. You can go right to white on the spiral to polish and finish with a loose with white/blue blend.

[jimcarry]

Re: What blasting media?

Maybe this will help.....
1. Buff & Polish Metal--
A 1.5 hp Craftsman 8 inch buffer (3450 rpm), a .5 hp variable speed grinder 6 inch (2000-3450rpm) with an expander sanding wheel a craftsman dremmel, a detail sander, palm sander, and a good pair of gloves are needed.
The Compounds and Wheels Needed--
There are 3 main compounds needed for buffing. (There are other compounds for plastic, non stainless & aluminum metals)
1. Tripoli compound, which will have a slight cutting ability used for aluminum.
2. Stainless compound, which will also have a slight cutting ability used on stainless steel.
3. White Rouge compound, which has no cutting ability and polishes either aluminum or stainless to a brilliant shine. Again, White Rouge only polishes no smoothing / cutting ability.
Buffing Wheels
There are 2 main types of buffing wheels needed. Each wheel must only have 1 type of compound on it, never mix compounds on the same wheel.
1. A spiral sewn buffing wheel, used for Tripoli or Stainless compound.
2. A loose wheel, used for White Rouge compound. The size of the wheel depends on the application. The 8 inch wheel (spiral or loose) is for the buffer and fairly large metal pieces. They make 1 inch wheels for the dremmel as well as other small buffing attachments for tough to reach areas.
Sanding Materials/Paper...
There are several types of sand paper needed. I mainly use the 6 inch expander wheel to sand with. Then I will use the detail sander, palm sander, and sanding accessories for the dremmel for tight areas.
1. Expander Wheel ? 220, 400, 700, 1200 grit belt wheels.
2. Detail Sander ? 400grit.
3. Palm Sander ? 400grit.
4. Dremmel ? 220 grit drum sander. Getting started on the item... Make sure the part being polished is at room temperature along with the buffing area. This will allow the compound to flow evenly on the part being polished.
Step 1. Sand the entire item. use 400 grit belt then finishing with a 700 grit belt. Do not exceed 2000 rpm using the variable speed 6in grinder and the Expander wheel. Use the 400 grit belt to sand off any casting marks and rough areas. Then use the 700 grit belt to sand the item perfectly smooth. Note: Sanding is an art; make sure there are no low and high spots especially on larger flat surfaced parts. If there are it will show and have poor reflective properties. After using the expander wheel, use the detail sander and dremmel for the tight areas. This is a very important step, if it is not smooth like glass it will not shine like a mirror. A shiny rough surface looks bad and has a poor reflection.
Step 2. Then use the 8 inch spiral wheel on the 1.5 hp 3450 buffer with Tripoli compound. The Tripoli compound will smooth any sanding marks to make the surface smoother. Remember, Tripoli has some cutting/smoothing ability to remove small scratches. For the tight spots use the dremmel and a 1 inch spiral wheel and a cone attachment with the Tripoli compound. This is where 75% of the buffing takes place.
Step 3. After you are done with step 2, you may need to re-sand if there are marks left after buffing with the Tripoli Compound. Remember smooth = great shine.
Step 4. Then use the 8 inch loose wheel on the 1.5 hp 3450 rpm craftsman buffer with White Rouge compound. The White Rouge compound does not have any cutting ability. Remember, White Rouge will only shine the metal. For the tight spots use the dremmel and a 1 inch loose wheel and a cone attachment with the White Rouge compound. After completing step 4, the part should shine like chrome. Reminders & Tips:
1. The metal you are buffing must be warm to the touch or the compound will collect on it.
2. Also, use lacquer thinner to clean the part to remove the excess compound in the cracks after you are complete.
3. Do not mix compounds on the same wheel.
4. Use a metal polish to maintain the shine.
5. Remember, you can shine a rough surface but the reflection will not be as good as a smooth surface. Basically for Stainless parts substitute Stainless Compound for the Tripoli Compound and use the same steps above.

[jrow]

Re: What blasting media? / Back to blasting

Jim, and the Caswell expert,

I looked at the Caswell catalogue and they show a Cyclone TF1000 and TF5000 media blasters. I have a Craftsman compressor that has a maximum pressure of 175 psi. It will produce 5.6 SCFM at 60 psi and 5.1 SCFM at 90 psi. Will either of these blasters work for cleaning steel and or aluminum with the compressor I have?

I am going to start restoring a car and I want to clean the smaller steel parts. The frame I can contract out. The car has some aluminum and stainless steel on it which I will be polishing also.

Will this setup worl for what I want to do?

John

[jimcarry]

Re: What blasting media?

John
this set up should work fine on the softer metals if you refer to the chart I posted in this thread
that will help you also.
For the harder metals tho you will need to step up the CFM of the compressor if you want to remove pits in the harder metals you can sand them out also

[jrow]

Re: What blasting media?

Thanks Jim,

It looks like I'll be buying one of those units from Caswell in the near future. I have also read about a process using electrolyses. It is a home built tank that you use a battery charger and soda to remove rust from metal. I might try that also.

John