Air compressor for sand/bead blasting?

[Suburban]

I'm looking into buying a compressor to blast parts before parkerizing and Cerakote. I occasionally need an impact gun for auto work too, and my electric impact wrench is dead. About how much compressor might I need?

I was looking at a detail blast gun. The specs on the blast gun show air consumption of 7.0CFM @ 90PSI, but to get 7CFM requires about a $600 compressor and a 20 or 25 AMP circuit to run it. I don't really need that to blast a 1911 frame, do I? That seems excessive.

[762xIan]

7 CFM is at the low end for sandblasting use. I have a 9 and it wont keep up, but what I have done is added another air tank (from a friends dead compressor) I got for free. I can blast for a reasonable period before I have to stop and wait for the compressor to catch up.

You can probably get away with a small compressor if you are doing small jobs, just be aware the use will be intermittent as you wait for the pressure to come back up.

[tonyfac]

i have a 2hp 7 gallon, it doesn't keep up at all. for small parts, it's alright. I am looking at one of those vertical ones that hold about 60 gallons. Look on craigslist and such, might be able to find a deal.

[Suburban]

You can probably get away with a small compressor if you are doing small jobs, just be aware the use will be intermittent as you wait for the pressure to come back up.

I'm okay with that. Adding a 2nd tank or a larger tank down the line is not out of the question.

[streaker69]

I haven't sand blasted, but I do use my compressor for a lot of stuff around the garage. I have a Craftsman 33gallon 1.5HP model that will maintain 150PSI. Since I'm only using one tool at a time, I have yet to have it drop pressure where I could use the tool.

I've had it for about 10 years and have not had a single problem with it. I would definitely get something bigger than a 5gallon because once you have a compressor you'll probably find more uses for it.

[RBELARDI]

Its really not about pressure when sand blasting its more about volume and capacity. The smaller the tank the more the compressor will have to run to keep up. If you have a large holding tank it will run longer bot not as often.. Hope this helps

[Suburban]

I haven't sand blasted, but I do use my compressor for a lot of stuff around the garage. I have a Craftsman 33gallon 1.5HP model that will maintain 150PSI. Since I'm only using one tool at a time, I have yet to have it drop pressure where I could use the tool.

I've had it for about 10 years and have not had a single problem with it. I would definitely get something bigger than a 5gallon because once you have a compressor you'll probably find more uses for it.

Home Depot and Amazon have a 2HP/15 gallon compressor kit with tools and a spray gun for under $400. If it was going to take a $600 for a compressor with a tank, then I was just going to have to pay someone else to do it.

[streaker69]

Home Depot and Amazon have a 2HP/15 gallon compressor kit with tools and a spray gun for under $400. If it was going to take a $600 for a compressor with a tank, then I was just going to have to pay someone else to do it.

I didn't realize how much they've increased in price since I bought mine. I think I got it on sale all that time ago for around $200.

[t1066]

I've got a Quincy compressor with a 200gal horizontal tank. It is designed for a 20hp motor, but I've got a 15hp 3-phase motor on it. I don't mind because I've only got 100amp service to the garage and the start-up surge runs close to 99amps.

Paid $1300 for it about 5 years ago.

[dkf]

I have a pretty big blast cabinet I fabbed myself. I run a 5.5hp 80gal 175psi compressor. It can keep up with the blast cabinet and does not have to run all the time. The gun on it take 18cfm @ 90psi. It is nice to have as big of a tank with as high of psi as you can afford so the compressor can run less.