Fun with glass beads!

[Redlined]

So. Its been a little over a year since I had my Stroke. I've Looked for work. Even took some temporary work to help stave off the inevitable. I've Sold out of my Beloved SS, Luckily She went to a knowledgeable young man with the means to give her the attention she needs.

In an attempt to save some of my previous marketability I used the funds received from the sale of my car to Set up a small Bead blast shop. This will allow me to use my job expirience without putting myself and/or others in danger.

For those not in the know, Bead blasting is a method of introducing small glass beads to a fast moving air-stream and aiming them at a surface to remove paint, rust, corrosion, etc.

The effect? Glad you asked!

I looked around for something to experiment with, I happened to have an old Turbo-Chimney Laying around.




A little bit of time and It really cleans up!



Kinda a Before and after shot





Decided to clean up the chimney on my RVs Propane water heater

Before



Blasted



Painted and installed (you can see the smoke stain above this pic. Which prompted the rebuild)



Good fun! And it keeps both my hands and my mind busy!

[kimokalihi]

Nice. My friend bought a large harbor freight sand blasting cabinet and I spent a few hours blasting parts for him to paint. Did several sets of wiper arms, a pedal set, hardware for a hood scoop and grill from bis svo mustang and another old muscle car. The rust came off with ease but the paint took forever. The cabinet got so dusty so fast it really made it hard to see and I kept having to stop and wipe the window off inside. It also leaked that dust out of every crevice and by the time I was done I looked like a chimney sweeper.

[originalcyn]

Looks awesome. I wish I had one. Maybe then my paint prep work would improve somewhat.

On those harbor freight sets they seems to use like plexiglass or something for the windows. It seems to get scratched up really quickly. A buddy has one and he was saying that he was replacing the window like every couple months or something.

[kimokalihi]

Yup plexi window. Comes with multiple plastic peel away protectors for the inside that you have to keep replacing. You shouldn't have to replace the window as long as you keep using those shields.

[originalcyn]

Would glass help do you think?

[Redlined]

Glass would take alot longer to get beat up. But would still need to be replaceable. Keep using the sheets and all is well.

I hooked mine up to a 4 horse shop vac and have not problems with visibility or external dust./Dust leaking.

The first thing I tried was the arm from a 2 ton jackstand. It cleaned up the rust but wouldnt touch the paint at all. The Turbo chimney it blowes the paint right off until the compressor gets to about 1/2 pressure. So it seems like the cabinet is to light duty for industrial level protective coatings, But does well with automotive level stuff. I havent tried body parts or anything yet. Ill keep you posted.

I also installed an internal blow-down hose to blow grit off the parts/door before I open the cabinet. Read about it somewhere and thought it was a good idea. Liking it so far!

Kimo, You said you did the grill off a Mustang? How did your cabinet do on Plastics? I am reluctant to put plastics in mine as I dont want to beat the pieces up, and Im used to industrial blasters that tear holes in plywood.

[kimokalihi]

No I did the grill off a satelite I think was the name of the car. It was steel. No plastic parts. Even aluminum gets beat up with the sand.

[jefferson]

I used to work in a machine shop and did alot of glass beading of engine parts etc. The dust is alot worse with old glass beads. New glass helped alot. Ours had the dust collection bag on the back and it still filled the room with dust. Also the newer the glass the better it cuts things. Sounds like you need some new beads and it also sounds like a bigger compressor would be nice.

Jeff

[Redlined]

Brand new beads (the low silica ones) but the compressor is, admittedly, More than a little anemic. Its what I could get with what I had. An upgraded Air compressor is in the plans. but Ill have to see some business first.

Thanks all!

[originalcyn]

Haha, if you were closer by i'd probably be a frequent customer.

[Someperson]

different media produces different results! look into crushed almond shells for finer things. and remember bead blasting takes away material as sure as sanding so be careful!

[Legacy777]

Yeah I'd like to have one of these, but just don't have the room. We had one in HS during shop and it was fun to bring parts in and clean all the rust and junk off.

[Redlined]

Yeah this is one of those items that just screams out to be owned by every automotive enthusiast. I actually managed to fit the cabinet, compressor,two tool boxes and Vac into a 4' x 6' storage shed. If and when I move to a real shop/location Ill have the shed for additional storage!