Any forum members do this?

Tried it with my little compressor, not nearly enough CFM.
It doesn’t take much pressure but you need a LOT of air moving.

quote:

Originally posted by KMitch200:
Tried it with my little compressor, not nearly enough CFM.
It doesn’t take much pressure but you need a LOT of air moving.

Same here, my little compressor won't make much of an impact with glass beads.
I can however use Alum Oxide to prep guns and parts for Cerakote.
It can get the job done for that, barely.
I need a bigger compressor, for sure.

Were you looking for info on having some done or getting into doing it?

Agree far as the air required I agree with the others.
As part of my graphics side business I etched glass plates with a bride and groom, similar to a cake topper image and their names and date... Sometimes on their Champagne glasses as well. Not with beads but Aluminum Oxide and I was just using a suction feed hopper but the amount of air required was ridiculous. I would sometimes have to stop and let my 15 gallon compressor catch up just to do a single plate.

Yes. I've used Harbor Freight 40# blast cabinet and Sears Craftsman 2 HP./26 gal. compressor for several years. This combination seems to move enough air for whatever I'm doing. Tried all kinds of media to see what media produces what kind of finish, etc. For my stainless guns I've come to prefer the Brownells 270+ glass beads. Produces a very fine finish. Just hobby stuff.

I've done quite a bit at my business and restoring a 66 Mustang. I use two cabinets and a portable soda blaster. Aluminum Oxide in the one cabinet for heavy and quick rust removal. I have glass bead in the second cabinet for lighter work and softer materials like aluminum. I use the portable soda blaster (HF) for light removal when I can't get to an air line.

Regarding the compressor, I have a larger rotary commercial compressor and usually run things at 90-100PSI but back down sometimes to lighten the aggressiveness. I have a 5HP 20Gallon portable compressor I use for blasting as well. If you don't mind waiting around for it to recharge periodically it should work fine. Blasting uses quite a bit of volume of air so it can deplete the small tanks pretty quickly.

I have a blast cabinet and a 20 gal compressor to feed it. It works fine. I use primarily glass beads. I haven't needed to use it recently.

Yes.

Yes, some.

We do a fair amount of both glass bead and aluminum oxide blasting at work. What can we help you with?

I have slide I would like to have blasted. Just how difficult is blasting. My old eyes give me trouble with close up work. Should I try it or have someone do it for me.

That is a small project and not very difficult. As a one off job, it is very expensive to buy the equipment to do it yourself. The job itself is fairly easy but requires a good deal of attention to detail,ie. even finish, corners and edges,what do you want blasted and what not, masking if needed,complete disassembly.

If you are on good terms with your regular auto repair shop, you should check with them or a local machine shop. Glass bead blast cabinets are becoming standard shop equipment for cleaning for many jobs.

Glass bead breaks down into a fine dust which can cause dust clouds in the cabinet and make to difficult to see what you are doing even with good eyesight. This means that it will take far longer than it should, also it is way past time to change out the glass bead.

quote:

Originally posted by Wheels:
That is a small project and not very difficult. As a one off job, it is very expensive to buy the equipment to do it yourself. The job itself is fairly easy but requires a good deal of attention to detail,ie. even finish, corners and edges,what do you want blasted and what not, masking if needed,complete disassembly.

If you are on good terms with your regular auto repair shop, you should check with them or a local machine shop. Glass bead blast cabinets are becoming standard shop equipment for cleaning for many jobs.

Glass bead breaks down into a fine dust which can cause dust clouds in the cabinet and make to difficult to see what you are doing even with good eyesight. This means that it will take far longer than it should, also it is way past time to change out the glass bead.

All of what you wrote is true advice.

If the OP can find a Automotive radiator shop, most of them have a blast cabinet with glass beads, as the glass beads are ideal for aluminum and brass fittings.

Years ago, I did much bead blasting/sand blasting for restoring classic cars, and I purchased the equiptment, and morphed into firearms sandblasting, but over the past years have been idle with it. Used the cabinet for Gun Cote and Moly Resin prep.

True about the glass bead dust. If you are getting excessive amounts of dust, it's time to change out the beads. However, I've used those won out beads to put a soft dull finish on stainless parts.

It takes a huge volume of air to do bead/sandblasting. It is easy to wear out an undersized , undercapacity air compressor doing this work. Worn out nozzles need to be replaced asap

quote:

Originally posted by 9mmnut:
I have slide I would like to have blasted. Just how difficult is blasting. My old eyes give me trouble with close up work. Should I try it or have someone do it for me.

SIG did my slide a couple of years back. Turn around was ten days and if I remember correctly cost $90. That may have changed. They inspected everything if it needed to be replaced. Do you need fresh night sights or springs? SIG has a plan to refresh those at a reasonable price. Get the slide done at the same time.

CCR and other shops can do it. Turn around may be longer, cost may be the same or less.

Having a 'pro' do the work insures that the slide internals are R&R'ed if you're not confident enough to do it yourself.