Source of Blasting Supplies/Media

[schmeky]

I love messing around with my pistols. A couple could use some finish work and I have done some home hot-bluing with commonly available hardware store items and the results were great.

I want to bead blast some small parts, maybe even a slide and do some Duracoat type finishes or some more hot bluing. Where can I get a very small blaster and some blasting media? I already have an air compressor.

Thanx.

 

[rcmodel]

Harbor Freight sells a small blaster gun for little of nothing.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=95793

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=93221

Glass bead media:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=30972

You can make a blast cabinet to catch & reuse media out of a cardboard box. Works fine for small jobs, but not for industrial heavy duty use obviously!


The fine white ashtray sand at Home Depot works well for media.
It's already sifted I think, but you can sift it further with a flour sifter to make sure no big grains get in and ruin the finish.

rcmodel

 

[gb6491]

Hi,
*I see rcmodel covered the bases with Harbor Freight while I was typing this and has given you excellent references.

I have a cabinet I bought from Harbor Freight for about $90. They also have blast media. The cabinet is ok; let's say it's serviceable, but they no longer stock it (mine is similar to item 42202-9VGA). It came with everything you need except the media and and the connector to hook up your compressor hose (Harbor Freight has a connector set for $3 http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=94024) I knew from reading on the web that many bench type cabinets have shortfalls (and what the fixes were). I advise that you do a quick goggle search ("blast cabinets forum discussion" worked for me) before deciding what to get. I may buy another cabinet so I don't need to change out the different grits/media. I like the one here: http://www.mytoolstore.com/astro/astpai08.html

Before I bought the cabinet, I used a hand held spot blaster (similar to this: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=95793]) and silica sand (from Ace hardware). Silica is nasty stuff though and safety precautions must be taken. My back yard was the blast cabinet. It actually works quite well, but there's no reusing the media.
Here's something done with the HF cabinet and their glass bead:

Regards,
Greg

 

[schmeky]

RC,

Man, you're awesome. Thank you so much for the link, this is precisely what I'm looking for. I'll order one right away.

Greg,

You did an excellent job on that Smith, looks better than factory. Appreciate the info, that helps a lot.

 

[.38 Special]

I have a Harbor Freight cabinet, compressor, and gun, and the best that can be said for it is that it works, mostly. Be prepared to rebuild the gun periodically, and don't hold out any hope that the cabinet will be keeping the media in.

And buy the extended warranty on the compressor. You'll likely use it.

Having said that, it has blasted a lot of stuff and cost a lot less than anything else -- assuming I attach no real value to the time I've spent fixing it, tinkering with it, and driving back to Harbor Freight to have them replace stuff under warranty.

 

[Riss]

Get on Harbor Freights mailing list for their 15% off coupons. The big red cabinet for $90 on sale plus the extra 15% off is a good deal. Needs a little sealing up though, especially on the bottom. I use the little glass beads for traffic line painting. Work great but like everything else they do break down and need to be replaced every now and then. DO NOT FORGET AN AIR DRYER. Without one you will get water in the media and it will soon clump up and not go through the blaster. A simple Campbell-Hausfeld expansion type will do. Looks like a little clear bowl attached to an in and out adapter with a tire valve on the bottom to let the water out. No need for one that actually has desiccant in it.

 

[rondog]

These folks have it ALL! http://www.tptools.com/Default.aspx

 

[Eric F]

eastwood.com