Blast Cabinet: What Media to Use?

[BillyM]

I haven't seen much blast cabinet discussion on here, but does anyone happen to enjoy the use of a blast cabinet and have an opinion on different blast media?

I just upgraded to a nice big floor standing unit and have only previously experienced that quartz sand stuff. I've heard alot about aluminum oxides and glass beads as being good for the automotive hobby type uses. I obviously don't do any fancy delicate stuff, and utilize it for stripping and metal surface prepping, and would like to hear what others have found to work best.



Thanks in advance.

--billyM

[SilverMk2]

I use glass bead in mine for cleaning up aluminum casting and basic stripping.

[robidunno]

I haven't used any for blasting parts, but in High School I worked in a Glass shop doing etching and glass carving. Most of what we used was Silicone Carbide, Walnut shells or just plain Sand depending on the desired effect. Used both a Siphon (shown) and a straight Pressure system. I believe that the Silicone carbide would be too strong an abrasive for just wanting to clean something up, and the Walnut shells might be a too soft for surface prep. I don't remember exactly how tough it was. Sand would probably heat up the surface too much causing some warpage depending on the part or surface.

[zuprax85]

glass bead and straight pressure system do the job, i use it to clean, brass, aluminum, steel and other materials.

[pdupler]

I've been using Dupont "Starblast" for just the general purpose you describe.

[ABUSEDDOG]

I used sand on parts that have oil/grease/carbon deposits, and some of the specialty product on cleaner/oxidized parts. We did this to avoid contamination of the reservoir. Beads loose some of their effectiveness when they have sludge attached. You end up changing the media more often.....I was assuming that this is a recirc unit and not an external supply.

[SupraFiend]

Buy some medium grit sand and some glass bead. You'll end up just leaving the glass in most of the time. Its all you want to use on aluminium, and will resurface most steel parts that don't have anything too tough on them. Sand will leave a very rough, abrasive finish and is too much for aluminum. I only put my sand in when I want to strip the stock powder coating off a set of 5m valve covers or something similar. Changing media is kind of a pita, to be honest its really best to have 2 cabinents. I would like to get another at some point just for sand.

Can't say as I've ever run into an item where I thought the glass was too much and that I needed walnut shells. Alot of people say to use them on aluminum wheels but I've always been happy with the glass finish and as it is glass takes longer then I'd like to strip things down.

[moonpie33]

baking soda
i use a homemade sand and soda blaster lol
the soda works pretty good

[Pooods]

For rusty items I use alum. oxide. It doesn't slide down as well in the cabinet but a couple thumps with the knee and it's where it needs to be. You can use higher pressure than glass and it lasts longer IMO.

For metal items with not much corrosion and aluminum I use glass beads. Use low pressure (60psi or lower if my memory is correct) or the beads turn into powder fast.

I have used plastic beads on interior parts. Works great on plastic and shines it well.

For a cheaper alternative buy play sand from the box stores. It cuts pretty fast and cleans well.

Harbor freight has a pretty good combination of media.

[BillyM]

Guys, thanks so much for the input.

How do you guys vent yours? Do you have an actual dust capture unit, or do you just run a shop vac like I plan to?

--billyM