Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion How many bags of sand?

Hey everyone, I'm thinking about taking a couple pumps I have to a local sandblaster I've never used before. They charge per bag of sand, wheras I'm used to seeing people charge per hour or a flat fee. Anyone know how much sand it will take to blast all panels and the base of a 4-ad-glass Wayne 70 with moderate surface rust and 2-3 coats of old paint?

Thanks

No idea, varies from blaster to blaster - my old at-home rig would do 2 bags per pannel. All my other blasters charge per hour...


Travis E. Towle
Topeka, Kansas

785-357-1004

chris

There are a lot of variables kind of equipment grit of sand are you blasting the frame also. If I had to guess 4 bags of sil 7

ward

Chris, most of the blasters I have used reuse there sand several times. Alot of it has to do with how much preasure they use what size sand and what size tip have. I think once he saw what you have he should be able to give you a better idea. I don't like surprises and this could come back to bit you. Richard

chris-- Unless your "old" sandblaster is chopping your hand off on his prices, I'd stay put.

Another idea is if you have a air compressor go to Sears & buy your own sand blaster. They run around $50 give or take. The silica sand is sold at hardware & lumber stores. It runs about $5 a 50lb bag. Then you have one whenever you want.

Chris, I have a guy in Winchester that charges between $65 and $75 per pump - but is he ever slow at getting one finished. Brady

If you can ever find a person to 'dip' your panels in chemical as opposed to sand-blasting, by all means, try it! I used to have a good source in OKC for stripping, but they went out of business. So, I bought a big Scatblast Cabinet that is big enough for a pump door, but that takes too long. So I use it for manifolds, computers, small stuff. I found a pretty reasonable trailer-mounted diesel blaster at a search & seizure auction. Depending on the pump, it usually takes about 2-4 bags per. MAN, I do miss that chemical dip place! The pumps would come back and almost looked polished!

I just had a 4 ad glass Wayne 70 blasted and primed, I paid $75.00 to have the framework, base, bodywork, and sight glass mamafold done. I know prices vary from shop to shop, but maybee this will give you a ballpark figure to compair to. Good luck with your project.

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Thanks guys. Yeah, the guy I used to have do my stuff moved so I've had to try to find another place. I haven't had a pump blasted in awhile so its been kinda a drawn out process. In Maryland there seem to be very few options, so the prices seem to be higher than what can be found elsewhere. There's a sign place that I'm also checking with. They charge $65/hr, but as I understand it it only takes about an hour to blast a pump.


I do have a compressor thats big enough to do it and even have access to a small pressure blaster, but I've never done my own sandblasting before and have heard its really easy to warp stuff, especially visible skins. Any advice?

Thanks
Chris

Chris-- $65 an hour is what Ajax Welding and sandblasting charges here in Van Nuys, CA (Los Angeles). I would NEVER be able to get the stuff as clean and free of rust and old paint as they do. It is a huge timesaver.

Chris,

On the first pump I did, I used one of those siphon blasters that draws sand out of a bucket. Never again, it took countless hours. I started using the play sand and the blaster kept clogging because the sand had tiny pebbles in it. After finding some sandblast sand, I think I used about 5 bags and that was after I captured it on a blue tarp and reused it. It was very messy and a huge waste of time and I will never go that route again.

Steve



[This message has been edited by S Hardy (edited 01-27-2006).]

Well, I'd potentially be using a pressure blaster, so I assume that'd knock a bunch of time off. I tried to use one of those siphon blasters years ago and gave up after taking about an hour to clean a 10"x10" spot. Anything I need to be aware of using the pressure blaster besides keeping it at an angle and using a good medium (like Black Beauty)?

I'd still prefer to find a chemical dip place or another good blaster, but these guys at the sign shop have never done anything like a pump before, and I'm not all that crazy about paying $25-30 per bag of sand when they may not reclaim and could end up getting hit with a $300 bill. Wish my old guy was still around! He did it out of his house, but did top notch work and was very reasonable.

I learned the hard way, I bought a compressor that I was told was BIG enough to blast - and a 40 gal tank presser blaster. Before I could even get the pump blasted my compressor blew up - it cost me as much to fix the compresser as it did to buy it.

I even let the compresser COOL down before each blast for 5 mins. It was a LONG and messy job - hot sticky, and cost me a TON because of the compressor. I would never do it again.

The home blasting kits are great if you have just 1 or 2 little parts that need to be blasted, like the inside of a pump mech or a handle or nozzle.

IF you look at the compresser that the blasting guys are using, it is a gas powered trailer blaster that cost like 5-7 grand. NO 220 home unit - even a doubble can punch out the air needed to do a safe job without running REAL HOT.

Travis E. Towle
Topeka, Kansas

785-357-1004