Blast cabinet

[abe996]

Oh man, I should have purchased a blast cabinet years ago, makes refreshing things so much easier. Can't recommend highly enough if you've got the room in your man cave.

 

[abe996]

Well that went pear shaped... I was supposed to start with scabby radiator pic bracket first 🤪 but you get the idea 😁

 

[martin t]

Every car enthusiast should have a blast cabinet.

I am celebrating 25 years of ownership this year.

Are you using al oxide and glass bead for finishing aluminum?

 

[Alex]

What do you recoat the surfaces in once you've took the skin off?

Currently looking at getting one of these in my unit for work. Seems like a couple hundred pound well spent.

 

[Adi]

Oh man, I should have purchased a blast cabinet years ago, makes refreshing things so much easier. Can't recommend highly enough if you've got the room in your man cave.

Mine certainly gives my compressor a work out!
Can I ask where you got the collector tub connected to the vacuum from please? It must make a tremendous difference in dust control whilst in use?

 

[kas750]

I have had one in my workshop for over 20 years.
You need quite a large compressor to power it reliably and consistently

 

[abe996]

What do you recoat the surfaces in once you've took the skin off?

Currently looking at getting one of these in my unit for work. Seems like a couple hundred pound well spent.

Hi Alex. I know some prefer to have these items powder coated, but I'm happy with primer then a couple of coats of gloss black non chip metal paint. I've used 2K paint for my other projects which worked well also.

I then waxoiled over these for added protection as it's up front. Probably overkill though 😄

 

[abe996]

Every car enthusiast should have a blast cabinet.

I am celebrating 25 years of ownership this year.

Are you using al oxide and glass bead for finishing aluminum?

Hi Martin. I'm using a medium crushed glass at the moment for a more aggressive approach to the rust and what appears to be powder coating on these steel brackets, I'd definitely use something less abrasive on aluminium if finish was important though.

It's a bit of trial and error exercise at the moment to see what's best.

 

[abe996]

I have had one in my workshop for over 20 years.
You need quite a large compressor to power it reliably and consistently

Yes I agree. I had a 50 Litre compressor before but have upgraded to a 200 Litre unit that delivers a greater quantity of air. It needs to recharge every few minutes, but that's ok for me. If I was doing this as part of a restoration business I'd want something that could keep up with the air draw.

 

[abe996]

Oh man, I should have purchased a blast cabinet years ago, makes refreshing things so much easier. Can't recommend highly enough if you've got the room in your man cave.

Mine certainly gives my compressor a work out!
Can I ask where you got the collector tub connected to the vacuum from please? It must make a tremendous difference in dust control whilst in use?

Absolutely mate. The vacuum filter would be blocked within 20 mins of use, it made using the blaster quite a chore. I've only sorted this mod a few days ago and what a difference, hardly any dust in the vacuum at all now.

The cyclone filter is from Amazon and called a DUST COMMANDER DLX ESD - High Performance Cyclone Filter and this is screwed onto the top of an airtight storage container (you have to cut a hole in the top), also from Amazon: H32 airtight storage container 30 Litre

Can't recommend enough. I'm also modifying the cabinet from a syphon to gravity fed pick up tube for the media. Should use less air.

 

[abe996]

What do you recoat the surfaces in once you've took the skin off?

Currently looking at getting one of these in my unit for work. Seems like a couple hundred pound well spent.

Have you got a decent compressor Alex?
Definitely look at purchasing that dust cyclone unit too if you can, it'll save your workshop vacuum from having a clogged filter every 15 mins.

Also if you buy an unassembled cabinet as I did, make sure you use silicon sealant between all the metal faces or you'll get media seeping through the cracks.

I've spent about 1k so far for the cabinet, compressor, vacuum, cyclone filter and that blue storage container. Will be spending a little more on upgrades too.

 

[Alex]

Yeah it's a few HP and 100ltr. I need something pretty decent to run my Bridgeport Interact CNC Miller & Cincinnati Sabre Machining centre. Knackered without any compressed air.

I'd probably only need one of the cheap set-ups off eBay and already have a 3 phase dust extraction unit for my surface grinder.

 

[abe996]

Yeah it's a few HP and 100ltr. I need something pretty decent to run my Bridgeport Interact CNC Miller & Cincinnati Sabre Machining centre. Knackered without any compressed air.

I'd probably only need one of the cheap set-ups off eBay and already have a 3 phase dust extraction unit for my surface grinder.

Sounds like the perfect bit of kit for you Alex, especially as you have everything else in place already. :thumbs:

 

[martin t]

What is needed is not necessarily tank size it is free air delivery.

Thus my 3hp 50 litre clarke is ideal for all my needs.

3hp is the largest that will run on a 13amp ring main.

I use mine for all sorts of things. principally suspension components ,carbs, brackets, starter motors, alternator bodies and cylinder heads.

I use aluminum oxide on everything and then to finish off alloy components i use glass bead at a very low pressure. This give a beautiful sheen to the finish.

Alloy oxidizes fairly quickly so i coat it with extra gloss polish, which is not polish but a coating that smells of lighter fluid and that keeps it looking like new for many years. Other alloy components i polish to a mirror finish using a bench polishing machine and again a couple of coats of extra gloss. you can also spray some clear lacquer but the problem is that if the lacquer lifts or is chipped then stains appear very quickly which need fully re finishing so the extra gloss is the best solution as all that is needed is another coat.

Mild steel components are finished in 3 or 4 thin coats of smoothrite. That is all that is needed and waxoil or similar is not required. I rebuilt a car using exactly this and 20 yrs later when i sold it the suspension parts looked like new.

Glass beads are very dangerous to use. The break up at high pressure and the dust can easily enter tour lungs hence glass bead at very low pressure and wear the appropriate dust mask and not one of those paper things.

Using sand to blast is just as dangerous, in fact blasting andything is risky if you do not wear the right filter mask, and the dust gets everywhere!!!

Still one of the best tools you can have in a garage.

 

[abe996]

What is needed is not necessarily tank size it is free air delivery.

Thus my 3hp 50 litre clarke is ideal for all my needs.

3hp is the largest that will run on a 13amp ring main.

I use mine for all sorts of things. principally suspension components ,carbs, brackets, starter motors, alternator bodies and cylinder heads.

I use aluminum oxide on everything and then to finish off alloy components i use glass bead at a very low pressure. This give a beautiful sheen to the finish.

Alloy oxidizes fairly quickly so i coat it with extra gloss polish, which is not polish but a coating that smells of lighter fluid and that keeps it looking like new for many years. Other alloy components i polish to a mirror finish using a bench polishing machine and again a couple of coats of extra gloss. you can also spray some clear lacquer but the problem is that if the lacquer lifts or is chipped then stains appear very quickly which need fully re finishing so the extra gloss is the best solution as all that is needed is another coat.

Mild steel components are finished in 3 or 4 thin coats of smoothrite. That is all that is needed and waxoil or similar is not required. I rebuilt a car using exactly this and 20 yrs later when i sold it the suspension parts looked like new.

Glass beads are very dangerous to use. The break up at high pressure and the dust can easily enter tour lungs hence glass bead at very low pressure and wear the appropriate dust mask and not one of those paper things.

Using sand to blast is just as dangerous, in fact blasting andything is risky if you do not wear the right filter mask, and the dust gets everywhere!!!

Still one of the best tools you can have in a garage.

Thanks Martin, I'm still learning so this is all good info. :thumbs: