Re: Going to try Sandblasting in my garage, have a ( possibly stupid) idea.

I'm interested in hearing how it goes...I'll be waching for your post. Good luck

 

Re: Going to try Sandblasting in my garage, have a ( possibly stupid) idea.

I give you a lot of credit for trying this Ray, it just might work, but we will learn from it. I've wondered the same thing, keep us posted. Also, that is not a stupid idea, its well worth trying it.

Rob

 

Re: Going to try Sandblasting in my garage, have a ( possibly stupid) idea.

If you could put a vent hole with a tube connected to it going outside, otherwise the air will blow it up, like a vac on a bead blaster, it would also clear the air so you won't have to wait to long to see.

 

Re: Going to try Sandblasting in my garage, have a ( possibly stupid) idea.

I sandblasted industrially for years and would be interested in seeing if this works.

The plastic will get torn up pretty quickly (i.e. every time a piece of sand hits it) and you will won't be able to see much under there. I'd think you'd get about 15 minutes blasting in before you couldn't see from the dust/rust/sand/frosted plastic...

But, let us know how it goes.

 

Re: Going to try Sandblasting in my garage, have a ( possibly stupid) idea.

My biggest wory in a situation like this is air quality......you may have to use a diver's tank or something similar.

 

Re: Going to try Sandblasting in my garage, have a ( possibly stupid) idea.

My biggest wory in a situation like this is air quality......you may have to use a diver's tank or something similar.

I think his idea was to stay outside the plastic. You may want to put some kind of suction ( shop-vac ) to clear the dust. Can't wait to hear if it worked. good luck

 

Re: Going to try Sandblasting in my garage, have a ( possibly stupid) idea.

I tried something similar but got fed up with the plastic and just blasted away and swept up the abrasive and screened it thru a window screen and kept reusing it over and over. Use a good respirator, silicosis can kill you.

 

Re: Going to try Sandblasting in my garage, have a ( possibly stupid) idea.

I tried something similar but got fed up with the plastic and just blasted away and swept up the abrasive and screened it thru a window screen and kept reusing it over and over. Use a good respirator, silicosis can kill you.

My point exactly.....just today I was at harbor freight and was looking at their respirators....none of them were recommended for sand blasting (that I could find). Doing it in a closed in garage will only amplify the toxicity of sand blasting.

Be careful!!!

 

Re: Going to try Sandblasting in my garage, have a ( possibly stupid) idea.

Small world, I was sand blasting today in my garage. I just bought the "hobbyair" fresh air system. This was the first time I used it and thought it worked very well.

 

Re: Going to try Sandblasting in my garage, have a ( possibly stupid) idea.

I sandblasted my car in my garage. I started out with a tarp, but after a while said screw it and let the sand fly. It sure made a mess (black beauty) but my garage was a working garage, not one of these showrooms some guys have that they try to pass off as garages . Big deal,it got messy then i cleaned it up.i was able to reuse the media three or four times by shoveling it up and sifting it through the wifes colander. Anyway i knew i was moving out of that house ina few months.The new owner is probably wondering about the black sand on the rafters.

 

Re: Going to try Sandblasting in my garage, have a ( possibly stupid) idea.

When I did it I had sand places I thought it could never get too! Wish you luck!

 

Re: Going to try Sandblasting in my garage, have a ( possibly stupid) idea.

I set up one of those plastic shelters inside my shop with a couple of box fans sealed into the wall to push plenty of air inside. The walls contained the sand and kept it from getting everywhere. I plan to use the same shelter to make a paint booth when it is time to paint the car.

Don

 

Re: Going to try Sandblasting in my garage, have a ( possibly stupid) idea.

Thanks everyone for the feedback

I'm going to also make sure I use blainedoe's idea of the shopvac.
I've previously built a little canvas tent around the backside of the car and stuck the 2" shopvac tube into the area to pull the dust out and it helped immensely while I was wire brushing with an angle grinder.
I will carry that idea into the sand blasting experiment tomorrow.
I agree with everyone that visabilty will probably be the biggest problem to overcome. I may try to keep modifying with trial and error to see if maybe I can end up with a process that works.

Thanks
Ray

 

Re: Going to try Sandblasting in my garage, have a ( possibly stupid) idea.

i did my shell inside my garage by building walls out of clear plastic attaching to ceiling and floor in front of my exhaust fan. Also cut holes and duct taped air filters to plastic to let in fresh air and contain sand. You'll need to let the high volume of air used to sandblast out somehow. I blasted the cowl, floor, rockers and inner structure only with outer sheet metal off. Used around 2100 lbs of black beauty. I didn't have much luck reuseing it as it created alot more dust second time through blaster. That contained 99% of sand. Not much fun, you should get some quotes from professonal shops first. I would also scrape any chaulking off before sandblasting.

 

Re: Going to try Sandblasting in my garage, have a ( possibly stupid) idea.

This worked great for me:

I left the very back open for ingress/egress and ventilation out the garage door.

Reclaiming the media (all-purpose playground sand) was as simple as lifting the plastic and working it towards the back of the car where it was scooped up, strained through a wire mesh collander, and re-used several times before it became too powdery and had to be changed.

An appropriate "sand-proof" suit and a quality respirator are a must, but that should go without saying.

And before anyone asks, yes, the car is rock-steady like this. I wouldn't have gotten under it if it weren't.

Eric

 

Re: Going to try Sandblasting in my garage, have a ( possibly stupid) idea.

This worked great for me:

I left the very back open for ingress/egress and ventilation out the garage door.

Reclaiming the media (all-purpose playground sand) was as simple as lifting the plastic and working it towards the back of the car where it was scooped up, strained through a wire mesh collander, and re-used several times before it became too powdery and had to be changed.

An appropriate "sand-proof" suit and a quality respirator are a must, but that should go without saying.

And before anyone asks, yes, the car is rock-steady like this. I wouldn't have gotten under it if it weren't.

Eric

Eric, I don't want to put even more of a damper on this project or be critical, but in the interest of safety, that is not as rock solid as you think. ALL those blocks need to be rotated 90% before you get under it again. Have you ever seen a house or building built with the holes turned so you could see through them? That is not just to keep the draft out, all the strength of the block is when the plane of the block is vertical. Yours are horizontal. I see you have the 4x4's are centered over the web, and that helps, but it is still not safe. If it fails, it will give no warning, all of them will break at once. Please change them. Good luck on your project! Kevin

 

Re: Going to try Sandblasting in my garage, have a ( possibly stupid) idea.

I'd have it soda blasted professionally. By the time you buy all of the equipment, then blast all of that abrasive into the garage (real mess), you might be much better off having it done for you. There are shops who would blast an entire body for between $500-$700.

 

Re: Going to try Sandblasting in my garage, have a ( possibly stupid) idea.

Update so far.

It's going as expected. Three things right off the bat go wrong.
My new Sand Blaster Pressure tank from Tractor supply had a busted air gauge. The 4 mil clear plastic was to opaque to see through and Duct tape or packing tape does not stick well to sheet plastic
I got a new gauge ( replaced by TSC), Bought clear 2 mil plastic and found 2 or 3 inch 3M masking tape works well on the car body and the plastic.
So far I decided to tackle just the back of the car, from the Front spring perch back.

1. I put down the heavier 4 mil plastic (10' wide) on the floor completely covering the underneath running out the side a bit and folded up and taped and sealed around the front area by the front leaf perches and jack stands. This will stay in place to catch the sand for recovery and block the sand from getting out the front area.
2. I ran a strip of masking tape around the car around the middle of the quarters and the tap pan.
3. I then took some 2 mil ( 10' by 100' roll) and unrolled the plastic roll down one side , around the back and up the other side with the 10' width still folded up laying on the ground.
4. I took the 2 mil that was on the ground and unfolded just enough to reach the taped masking tape strip that i previously put on the car and retaped it to hold it up.
5. I taped the front sides down but left the excess plastic that was folded up on the ground kind of pushed up under the car all the way around the sides and back.
6. My plan is once the plastic gets to hard to see through I can pull some more of the excess folded plastic up from the ground and cut and retape and start again.
7. I bought some cheap air filters and plan to build a little filter box and hook my shop vac up to it to pull the dust out while blasting.

Post more updates once I get a little further.

Thanks
Ray

 

Re: Going to try Sandblasting in my garage, have a ( possibly stupid) idea.

Would'nt it be just as easy to leave the sub frame and rear end on the car and blast it outside,??? wheel it in and out as need be,.. That is what I did with my 69 bird vert. and am doing now with my 68 Camaro.. I to use the tractor sales blaster,, I use the cheap cloth hood that came with my blaster but I took the lens out and I use a full plastic face shield to protect my face,, & it helps keep the dust out.. Cuts down on fogging issues.. I put a sheet of seran wrap over the shield to keep from etching the lens, just tape it on and when it (seran wrap) gets etched I just take it off and replace with a new one.. Very cheap, but it really works.. I also use a dry wall (good for fine dust) two rubber band nose/mouth mask and I have never had a problem with dust in my nose or lungs.. Between the cheap hood,, full face shield and dust mask I have never blew any black dust out of my nose, ... If you really want to be safe, go to Sears and buy a twin catridge respirator for about $30... Also, I am now using a full paper body suit to help keep my girlfriend happy, and my clothes clean.. :hurray: ... As far as recycling the blasting material,, I to use plastic sheets around the car to reuse it.. Believe me, it is a lot less hassle and safer to do this outside in the fresh air.. :yes:

 

Re: Going to try Sandblasting in my garage, have a ( possibly stupid) idea.

I agree with Bob. Its not worth it---The only roeson for me to do it is if there is n't a blasting company around that you trust within a 100 mile radius. You will be finding sand in you garage for the rest of your life. It goes everywhere.

 

Re: Going to try Sandblasting in my garage, have a ( possibly stupid) idea.

MAN, I can still feel the sand trapped in unmentionalble places just thinking about the idea. Been there done that! IT just not worth the aggravation for the minimal cost of having it professional done. If there is no professional shop in the area then I would look into other alternatives to striping it.

IT may be a one time experience for you but becareful of silica sand if you want to be around long enough to enjoy your Camaro.

I found an old walk in Cooler in the FREE section of the paper, actually 2 units. I disassembled them and removed the from the owners building and hauled them home. It was easy they are all modular and have cams holding them together. I use one for Media blasting and the other larger one I turned into a pretty decent spray booth. Can't beat the price. Look for a walk -in cooler or freezer from a vaccant restaurant or grocery store and see in the owner will give it up if you haul it away.

 

Re: Going to try Sandblasting in my garage, have a ( possibly stupid) idea.

The blocks are wrong but theres not that much weight on them. Ive seen people set up much more weight than that with large fishtanks and not have problems. But he is correct that is not the correct load bearing direction.

Do you have a Northern Tools near you? I would get some black beauty from them to blast with. I think its easier to clean up since it doesnt turn as much into dust as sand and Silicosis is nothing to mess around with! Not when you can get 50lb of black beauty for $7-8 and re-use it.

 

Re: Going to try Sandblasting in my garage, have a ( possibly stupid) idea.

Eric, if I said something to upset you I certainly didn't mean to. I had nothing in mind but your safety. I agree that there is not a whole lot of weight on the blocks, only that it would safer with them turned the other way. I was enjoying pics of your progress! If I offended you, I apologize. :beers: Kevin

 

Re: Going to try Sandblasting in my garage, have a ( possibly stupid) idea.

Kevin;

No offense was taken. I started to type a lengthy response last night, but after thinking it over, I just didn't feel it was worth the effort to try to explain ("justify"?) my methods, so I took the pictures down lest anyone else get the wrong idea.

Eric

 

Re: Going to try Sandblasting in my garage, have a ( possibly stupid) idea.

Menards carries black beauty.

 

Re: Going to try Sandblasting in my garage, have a ( possibly stupid) idea.

Thanks JimM

I got a couple bags from Tractor Supply but will check Menards for comparison.
I just got the sandblasting part working today. The tip on the Tractor Supply pressure pot was not big enough to shoot the Black Beauty. They don't sell bigger tips so I wound up buying a 5 mm Diamond drill bit and drilled out one of the tips ( that took a few hours ).
I just got my pressure and amount of media to feed to the gun adjusted in tonight.
It actually is working quite well. I can only blast for about two minutes and have to stop to let the Vac suck out the rust dust and clear the air inside the tent. so far NO dust is getting outside the tent in enough quantity to worry about. It is slow going but it seems to work OK and I have all winter to work on it. The biggest issue is visabilty. After about 60 seconds I have a hard time seeing what I'm blasting. I have a big Shopsmith Vac that I am going to add to the Tent along with the existing vac to pull more air and dust out and a higher volume to see if it helps.
So far I am satisfied it was worth the effort to do this.

Thanks to everyone for the advice and feedback.
Ray

 

Re: Going to try Sandblasting in my garage, have a ( possibly stupid) idea.

Blasting really leaves nice clean parts. Glad to hear its working out for you. I will have to drill my tips too because I clog every 5-10 minutes with black beauty. Good tip.

 

Re: Going to try Sandblasting in my garage, have a ( possibly stupid) idea.

Ray, if you could get one of those 500 watt lights in there, they really work good for blasting as far as seeing, I hold one in one hand and blast with the other.

Looks like your making it work, good for you.

Rob