Have any of you guys blasted your cars at home using a media other than sand? I am looking for a source to get some media. There is a place that does plastic blasting a little over an hour away, but I would like to do it at home my self to save the hassle of borrowing a trailer to drag the car down and back. I am not sure if its gunna be cheaper and easier to do it myself, cause i dont imagine the media is cheap, and I have the whole inside and outside of the car to do.
Any input?
Mike

I blasted a bunch of parts this past winter in my back yard, what a mess! This I would list as one of the biggest downsides of doing it at home. How big of an air compressor do you have? I have a 5.5hp single stage with a 30gal tank and it ran the whole time. If you decide to do it at home, there are many different medias you can use, depending upon what you're blasting. There's sand which is a good all around media & mixes well with the surrounding area. Glass bead is better, but there's always the silica to contend with later. Nickle slag & garnet are very aggresive medias and come in different grits. These must be used with care. They will be VERY noticeable in the area that you are blasting. (nickle slag is green & garnet is purple) The last point to bring up is that you can actually heat the metal up to distortion if you or the person who's blasting is careless. IMO, I would take it to the business and have them do it. I try and do most things myself, but some things you should outsource.

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67 Camaro LS6 454/TH400/12bolt 3.73

I would do the blating at work, so air supply would not be a factor. I would be able to blast on a concrete pad, so I could contain the blasting media. The guy I bought the car from used black ---- media. I forget the last part of the name. The biggest problem I have is finding any sort of media. I can get regular sandblasting sand, but I wanted to find something a little less abrasive. I Talked to some suppliers online and they said shipping alone is $30 dollars for 50 pounds. Ouch. I might just take my time and be real careful and use sand, if I dont get it professionally done. Any one have an ideas?
Thanks

check your local aggregate(concrete,etc..) supplier. Lot's of times they'll carry other types of blasting medias. The plastic media works the best overall. Doesn't heat up the metal like the others will.

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67 Camaro LS6 454/TH400/12bolt 3.73

[This message has been edited by cardude (edited 04-14-2000).]

I think I know the black stuff your talking about. My local parts store sells it and its pretty good stuff. Doesn't heat the metal like sand. Won't get off heavily pitted rust but works good for sheetmetal. Its called Black Beauty and I believe its silica and coal if memory serves. Pretty cheap too.

You can also use ground walnut shells. A little more agressive than glas beading. It also doesn't heat up the metal.

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Hugger Orange & white 69 Camaro with supercharged 350, Tremec TKO, and 3.73 12-bolt

See my website updated 4/5/00 at:

www.geocities.com/gheatly (http://www.geocities.com/gheatly)