Blasting/Offgassing questions

[ACinVA]

I'm looking at trying my hand at powdercoating but I'm having trouble sourcing a recommended sandblasting system. I can't seem to locate one from Caswell, so does anyone have some suggestions on what type of outfit to buy? I also need a blasting case, and hopefully large enough to prep motorcycle frames. I've got a good handle on automotive painting but not so much on powdercoating and the associated prepwork.

My other question was regarding offgassing of aluminum pieces. I'm not using an oven but instead have a 1500w IR lamp so I may find it difficult to heat the entire piece up to 250 degrees all at once. Any suggestions on making this work or am I asking for trouble?

Thanks,
AC

[non-stick]

First of all...... welcome to the board,AC. I hope you have a good time as the rest of us do and consider this place as part of your coating "family" if you will. Congrats on your newly chosen hobby

Need some sandblasting stuff, huh? (makes the Emeril motion) BAM! : http://www.caswellplating.com/aids/cyclone/index.html

did ya try that one out yet? lol. You might be in the area of pressure pots (PT100 or CY1200 maybe?) and a blast room for motorcycle frames and such. Lots have done exactly that on here with great success. I have no doubt you'll have the same amount of luck. (side note. years ago I sent a frame out to be blasted and it cost maybe 60 bucks. I bought a pressure pot and built a room quickly after that because within the space of a few frames, the unit basically paid for itself. Not to mention.... people come out of the woodwork if they know you have a sandblaster that big for some reason. You can also pick up a few extra side-jobs by blasting things. When they come in for the blast.... kindly remind them that you also refinish and you're locked into getting all of the work in most cases old metal lawn furniture is a HUGE business that this is beneficial to).

Outgassing.... hmmm. I can't say as I feel you're going to have a major problem with it with the IR system. You're not asking for trouble at all. IR heats but heats a different "way" if you will. The temperature curve has a bigger slope, if you will. Keep the part (or substrate as I always say) at the "farther away" distance of things so to speak, and I don't foresee any problems with it at all. (further away means lower heat and a slower "heat up" curve). For comments on IR, you might want to check out this thread : http://www.caswellplating.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?t=1497 . We touched on the whole IR process there for a while and I think we gained some good ground. Be sure to look at a lot of threads here first and if you have any questions.... don't hesitate to ask,k? Good luck with it all and again...... welcome to the "family". Stop back and read/post often!..... Russ

[ACinVA]

Wow! I don't know how I missed those!

I'll have to look into putting together a blasting room. Are there some general guidlines for safety equipment to use when blasting in the open?

So when using IR lamps for curing there isn't such the necessity to preheat the item compared to oven curing?

[non-stick]

I wouldn't say no necessity for caution when looking for outgassing.... but you can certainly be a little more carefree about it, I wanna say? You're not subject to quite the same maladies in an IR system as you are in a big "indirect heat" chamber.

As far as safety equipment in a blasting room..... Get a good particulate respirator for your lungs. Heavy gloves to protect your hands and some sort of heavy gauge suit to wear because sand hurts like a you know what when it's at that velocity. Make sure you have a good industrial-grade exhaust fan to take away any of the particles that are airborne. It's all common sense I suppose. Protect your eyes,lungs,skin and ears.

[tomg552001]

DO NOT use anything with crystaline silica content and make sure you wear a set of air tight goggles...abrasive in the eye is not a nice feeling.

[non-stick]

HEY! don't you have a forum to moderate somewhere?!?!?!??! . All kidding aside, I agree with Tom. Good eye protection is a valuable thing. Never skimp on the department of safety equipment. After all... how many sets of eyes do you have? Same goes with lungs,etc. Don't be afraid to "buy the best you can afford" when looking around to protect yourself. After all... without you being in good health, the work doesn't get done


As a side note..... I'd like to publicly welcome tomg552001 to the moderator level for polishing. A good well-rounded choice for assistance if there ever was one. Take a breeze by those threads and if you have any assistance to offer or insight as you've done here..... please do so. I think it'd be good to see if we all weren't "one-trick-ponies" and learned to cross-train in abilities so that we may all become better metal finishers as hobbyists. Tom is a good representative in that field. No doubt he's been helpful here in the PC threads and is a good example of that (much as quite a few of you are in other areas). Don't forget to come back and play with us once in a while,bud. Congrats on the "promotion". Now that I've sufficiently blown enough smoke "up your alley".... go and straighten out the polishing threads and get some pictures posted. The way I see it..... we're kicking yer backside (and I'm loving every second of it. Good work,folks!)

[tomg552001]

Thanks for the kind words Russ. As far as powder coating kicking out butt...give it some time and the polishing forum will be more active

[ACinVA]

Here's another question... How would industrial grade vapor barrier standup to a sandblaster? I'm currently considering using it for lining my portable spray booth (still in design) and wondered if it would be up to the task.

[non-stick]

you mean like Tyvek? Where would you use that in a sandblaster? just curious.

[ACinVA]

No not the thick weather barrier you see installed on the outside of a house. The thick transparent plastic that is installed overtop of isulation in floors, walls, and ceiling. Great stuff...super durable, transparent (good lighting!), high melting point and even higher ignition point.

[non-stick]

I can't say as I've ever had the pleasure of seeing it firsthand. I dunno... it sounds interesting. If it's anything like plexiglass it might be ok. Of course... it will "fog" very quickly from sand hitting it but still be opaque enough to let light through I guess. There's only one way to find out, bud..... be the innovator and try it out. If it works, let us all know the results and we'll have you to thank for it!