Media,soda,sand blasting equipment

[Jackal]

I'm trying to paint my rifle and I would like to blast it.

Is this a good unit? http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=65902

I don't have much blasting to do, but things come along every now and then and it would be cool to be able to take care of it professionally and maybe do some little jobs on the side for some bucks.

Soda would be convenient for me because it would melt away when it rains and not leave a mess and I can buy it for not much anywhere. But would soda do the trick on a rifle coating?

What else besides that unit on Harbor Freight would I need? I don't have any loyalties to this particular unit but it looks cheap, if anyone knows of a cheaper setup I'm all ears.

[Torch]

I sprayed a rifle with duracoat over the summer and hit it lightly with a normal sand blaster as part of the prep. (I'll look into it but I don't recall how course the media was). Afterwards and on the small parts I used an abrasive pad similar to a scotchbrite.

I believe the directions that came with it said not to use a beadblaster (glass beads) because it tend to polish the metal instead of roughing it up, which is what the process wanted. That's something I would consider- is Soda 'rough' enough?

I will admit I have never used soda and that my overall experience is very limited.

As for what else you would need...Not sure that unit comes with the soda or other media. A blaster is going to want a lot of air, so check that your compressor is up for it.

[Whiskey Delta]

I've done a LOT of reading/research about blasters in the last 6 months since I am in the process of restoring a car or two.

Soda blasting has a lot of advantages, and is much more eco-friendly than chemical paint strippers.

Remember that the SODA is eco-friendly, but the PAINT it removes isn't..lol.

Ahem.

There are various media available, in a variety of coarseness, and hence a difference in how much top coat they will remove, and how rough they will leave the substrate.

Soda blasting will remove paint, but is marketed to those looking to remove paint/rust from a car's panel without warping (Like sand ..NEVER USE SAND or Black Diamond.)

ALL blasters are air hungry.

Look very carefully at your air supply.

I built a pressure feed modified siphon blaster last fall from plans on Ebay. The designer is a buddy of Eric "Ammoman".

It had multiple teething problems that I eventually sourced to inadequate air.

If you don't have a 40 gallon tank minimum, and a 220 volt compressor, you will have problems.

There are likely some 120 volt compressors that work with blasting cabinets, but you really, really need lots of air

Most home shops don't have enough.

I finally had to build a bigass compressor (cause I am cheap) out of salvaged parts, but it has a direct drive head and a two stage compressor with a 220 motor and a 60 gallon tank.

Only then did I have anything resembling a media blaster.

IF you have enough compressor, by all means get blasting cabinet for small parts, or a blaster for big stuff. I don't think that soda blasting will be effective enough if glass beading is too fine.

You don't live too far away, if it was warmer (like spring) I would offer my blaster for you to try or use.

You can check out the setup in any event if it interests you.

[Jackal]

I've done a LOT of reading/research about blasters in the last 6 months since I am in the process of restoring a car or two.

Soda blasting has a lot of advantages, and is much more eco-friendly than chemical paint strippers.

Remember that the SODA is eco-friendly, but the PAINT it removes isn't..lol.

Ahem.

There are various media available, in a variety of coarseness, and hence a difference in how much top coat they will remove, and how rough they will leave the substrate.

Soda blasting will remove paint, but is marketed to those looking to remove paint/rust from a car's panel without warping (Like sand ..NEVER USE SAND or Black Diamond.)

ALL blasters are air hungry.

Look very carefully at your air supply.

I built a pressure feed modified siphon blaster last fall from plans on Ebay. The designer is a buddy of Eric "Ammoman".

It had multiple teething problems that I eventually sourced to inadequate air.

If you don't have a 40 gallon tank minimum, and a 220 volt compressor, you will have problems.

There are likely some 120 volt compressors that work with blasting cabinets, but you really, really need lots of air

Most home shops don't have enough.

I finally had to build a bigass compressor (cause I am cheap) out of salvaged parts, but it has a direct drive head and a two stage compressor with a 220 motor and a 60 gallon tank.

Only then did I have anything resembling a media blaster.

IF you have enough compressor, by all means get blasting cabinet for small parts, or a blaster for big stuff. I don't think that soda blasting will be effective enough if glass beading is too fine.

You don't live too far away, if it was warmer (like spring) I would offer my blaster for you to try or use.

You can check out the setup in any event if it interests you.

Wow.... I think I thought that this was much simpler than it actually is. I thought that I could just buy that 100 dollar thing, blast my 1 rifle and be done with it. I DO NOT have any air compressor or anything like that because I thought that that unit was all inclusive. I take it that that is not the case. So in simple terms, and correct me if wrong, it would cost a lot of money to make a setup just to blast my 1 gun?

Thanks a lot for offering yours. Is it too cold to do it this time of year?

[Whiskey Delta]

Yep, that blaster requires an external compressed air supply. According to the ad, minimum is 8cfm at 90 psi. There are home compressors that could do the job, but yes, your assessment is correct, you would have to spend a few more $$$ to do the job.

The temperature requirement is mostly comfort. That, and I have not had a complete chance to dial my setup in yet.

If you are pressed for time, I can take a stab at it, just let me know.

OTOH, if you are friendly with any decent auto repair shops, most of them have a cabinet blaster to do parts. Auto Paint places too, have them. I bet it would not cost more that $30 to do your parts. You might even sweet talk them (if you give them a lot of business) into having them let YOU run the machine so you get some idea of how to do it. Never let a chance at learning pass you by.

I guess the question is also : What kind of 'coating' is on the rifle right now? Blue? Epoxy paint? Parkerization?

I think there are different processes that work with each.

[Jackal]

Not pressed for time, no. I've got some AK mags sitting in some paint thinner goop, which got rained on today....so I gotta deal with that mess. The rest of it is just my Saiga AKM receiver, barrel, couple other parts. The coatings on this all is black textured paint, sorry can't be more specific than that. And right now, pretty much just the barrel is sanded some with varying grits of paper.

Might be best to just get a shop to do it, don't want to hassle you over it. I do appreciate the offer though. Maybe we can meet up at a group shoot sometime.

As for what shop, do you know anyone in the Chester County Eagle/Downingtown or off route 30 area? Does anyone?

I would imagine also that I would need to wait with it since they are not FFLs and could not be left with my gun? Not that I would want to anyway.

[Whiskey Delta]

I'll ask around.