Which Sandblasting media

[Mick40]

My sandblaster came with the sand already in the unit. It Looked to be the type of media that looks like sand without the silica. It was really dirty and had broken glass in it so I replace it with Black Magic media. The problem it would not suck up through the pick up tube. The Sand did not have a problem. Should I invest in one of those pressurized hoppers that keeps the media at 40psi?? Or just go back to the sand/ without silica?

What do you all use? By the way my compressor is 80 gallons so lack of air is no a problem

Your thoughts,
Mick

[speeddemonrodsteration]

check all the fitting and connections on or going to the gun. I had a tiny hole in the pickup tube once, and drove me freakin nuts!

[Mick40]

Good idea, however, it did work prior to switching to the other media. How do I know if the nozzle has the correct size to support this grit of media? I bought the unit used and like I said it did work with the sand (again no silica). Just won’t suck the Black beauty. Frustrating

[sswee]

Did you back pressure the nozzle to check for a blockage? I use glass bead but it still compacts in the tube and has to be back pressured out.

[Mick40]

Yup, and it still would not flow.

[pickleboy]

i use black beauty and have no problems. it could be the pickup tube design. what does it look like? mine is one tube inside of another, straight. if yours is a slow curve piece and only single layer with a hole in the middle of the bend which sits in the bottom of the sump then maybe you need to open the hole up in size. if this is the case go slow in the step up or you will get it to big and it will do nothing but spit in pulses.

[customandsound]

Black beauty dose a fine job i got a 1000 pound skid of it .. and as for sand DON"T USE IT it will take a toll on your health.. use oxide instead..

[trsick]

Re: Which Sandblasting media

My sandblaster came with the sand already in the unit. It Looked to be the type of media that looks like sand without the silica. It was really dirty and had broken glass in it so I replace it with Black Magic media. The problem it would not suck up through the pick up tube. The Sand did not have a problem. Should I invest in one of those pressurized hoppers that keeps the media at 40psi?? Or just go back to the sand/ without silica?

What do you all use? By the way my compressor is 80 gallons so lack of air is no a problem

Your thoughts,
Mick

Hey Mick:
A couple of things.
A: What size Black Beauty are you trying to use? It comes in Fine, Med & Course. You should be using fine. The course may not feed thru your nozzle size
B: Make sure there is no breaks/holes in the rubber/plastic portion of the pick up hose that runs to the media (hard pipe) pick up tube.
C: Is the media dry? It's been very humid here lately
D: Is the nozzle clean & open?
E: Is the media falling back done into the hopper so it can get ppicked up?
F: If your media pick up tube is one hose with a hard pipe pick up feeding into the media, does the pick up tube have a hole in it's side about 1/2 up the tube & located outside of the media? If not ,you may need to drill one, because different medias need different lift pressures If you already have a hole, you may need to make it smaller (tape over 1/2 the hole with electrical tape.
All in all the syphon sytem is pretty simple. But you must make sure all of the above is in order.
Good Luck
Bob

[customandsound]

bob monday i will give you a ring...

My compressor puts 125psi out right at the pump corkscrew..

Fine and med mesh is about all you need unless you are cleaning a bad rusted part..

[Mick40]

My media is course. The pickup tube is in the bottom of the hopper and is clear plastic, so I can see inside. No hard line the end is cut at a 45. What is strange is the media goes up the tube and just stops at the gun. So, I swaped guns, lines and nothing. Are there different sizes orfices on the gun to use with the various media? Maybe I have the wrong size?

I really appreciate the help, I PC'ed my first parts and they came out fantastic!!!

This is what I did;

1. Sandblasted part prior to switching to Black Beauty.

2. Degreased the part and air dryed

3. Placed in oven at 400 for 15 minutes

4. Took out and let cool to 125

5. Sprayed part ( Gun worked EXCELLENT ) Remove the tip!!!

6. Placed back in oven at 400 for 15 minutes

7. Took out and let cool.

Will try the oxide on Monday. Once again I could not have done this without this forum and all your help!!!

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[sdold]

My sandblasting cabinet has a tube that runs from inside the cabinet down alongside the suction tube, the bottom is open right next to the bottom of the suction pickup tube. I think its purpose is to supply air down at the bottom of the pickup tube so it's not just sucking on media alone. It seems to work because the feed is always steady and doesn't come in surges like my other cabinet which doesn't have this extra tube.

You might try rigging something like that up if you don't already, it might make it easier for the gun to suck up the media.

I use Aluminum oxide and it works great, but it's dusty.

Hey Mick, did you remove the tip of the paint gun? Why, for a different pattern? What was the pattern like?

[Mick40]

Sdold,

How much air runs near the pick up tube? Where does the air come from? I would love to give this a try, just need more info.

I removed the tip because I read here that it flow better out of the gun. Well I did my first two parts, one with the tip and the other without. Without worked much better. The cloud of powder was more controlable.

What gritt Aluminum Oxide did you use? I started a brass overflow tank for my Cobra and want to finish it Monday. This PC'ing thing is really fun. I have several tanks and will ebay the others if they come out as good as my first parts.

Thanks for the help, let me know more about the air tube. Sorry if I "just dont get it". I'm new to this

Mick

[customandsound]

Don't use anything but a fine mesh on the brass... 75-80 psi will do... But for brass i use a #8 glassbead at 50-70 psi

[trsick]

Re: Sandblast media

Sdold,

How much air runs near the pick up tube? Where does the air come from? I would love to give this a try, just need more info.

I removed the tip because I read here that it flow better out of the gun. Well I did my first two parts, one with the tip and the other without. Without worked much better. The cloud of powder was more controlable.

What gritt Aluminum Oxide did you use? I started a brass overflow tank for my Cobra and want to finish it Monday. This PC'ing thing is really fun. I have several tanks and will ebay the others if they come out as good as my first parts.

Thanks for the help, let me know more about the air tube. Sorry if I "just dont get it". I'm new to this

Mick

Hey Mick:
If your pick up tube is only the hose that runs from the gun, might want to try this.
Cut a piece of electrical conduit or copper pipe (sized so it will fit into your pick up hose about 2"), Clamp the pick up hose on to the new pipe. This pipe should be roughly 12". Push the pipe almost all the way to the bottom of the media in the cabinet. Then about 4" - 6" above where the media in the bottom of the cabinet is mark & drill a 1/4" hole in the side of this new pipe. By your description "the media makes it all the way up to the gun" it sounds like you are picking up too much media: aka clumping/surging. The hole you put in the side of the pipe will act like a carburator / ventura. This will help the media mist thru the gun. You may need to make the hole bigger or small depending on the lift you need & the media you are using. This hole can be adjusted by covering some of the hole with eletrical tape as needed. It may take some adjusting, but it is not difficult.
Good Luck
Bob

[Mick40]

I will give the pipe method a try before I switch over to a different media. Thanks of the tip- pun intended.

You’re correct; the brass tank is soft and only has loose paint on it so I do need to be careful. I hope that the oven won’t hurt it, there have been several repairs to the tank. How long would you put this in the oven to bake, 10min?

I have to say this is a lot of fun. Despite the sand blasting issues, very smooth so far. Now I want to try "almost chrome". It was mentioned to apply this over black, anyone try this?

Thanks for all the help!