Where does everyone get cheap media for media blasting?
I've heard of playground sand is cheap. Wondering where to buy...

 

I get my supplies from a local building materials supply store. Where they sell masonry supplies; bricks and mortar, etc., not the big box hardware/lumber stores. I can get a bag of 70 grit silica sand, perfect for sheet metal blasting, for about $4/100 lb sack.

 

Just a waring, search "Silicosis". Do it just you know what you can get into trouble with.

My personal feeling is as long as you don't sand blast on a regular basis and use a good respirator for dust and do it outside you shouldn't have too much to worry about. Or you could use some other type of media that isn't plain sand.

What kind of blaster are you using and what are you going to blast? Sheet metal can be kind of tricky. It will warp if you consentrate the blast in one spot too long. Keep the nozzle moving. If you have a stubborn area hit it quickly and move on, come back later and hit it again.

If I'm using my syphon blaster I use slag, sometimes called Black Beauty. It's aggressive but with a wimpy syphon feed blaster it helps. I wouldn't use it in a pressure blaster especially if you're doing sheet metal.

I blasted with play sand, just make sure you buy it in paper bags. If you go cheap and buy it in plastic bags it's going to damp and it won't go through the blaster. You need dry sand. I used sand in plastic bag and has to spread it out in the sun and kept turning it to dry it out. I also laid out a tarp under my project and was able to catch a large percentage of the sand. This was good for both sifting the sand and reusing it and also for clean up. Sand will get everywhere so do it out in the open where the sand won't cause a problem.

My best suggestion is to find a professional to do it for you. I blasted many years and hate it. I only do it now for myself because I don't usually have the money to pay someone else to do it.

 

I have used playground sand, but can't tell you if it is better than actual media blasting material or not. I got it at Home Depot and Lowes for a few dollars per bag.

 

I'm only doin little spots on the firewall. Just using a cheap gravity feed blaster gun. Hooks up to my air compressor. Nothing special. I've read about silicosos already. Gonna blast sheet metal. Media at harbor freight is about $30-40 per 50 pound bag.

 

Check with your local hardware store. I buy Black Beauty slag at my locally owned well stocked hardware store for about $10 for, I think, an 80# bag. A lot cheaper than Harbor Freight and Northern Tool. 50lb of dry sand in paper bags at the local farm supply store is about $2 a bag.

If you're doing small spots with a gravity feed blaster I would use the slag. It works a lot faster than sand and you'll be able to reuse it more times.

 

I'm not sure if you have the stores in your area, but I have been able to buy several different types of media at my local Tractor Supply Store

 

I should have mentioned the hardware store I go to is an ACE hardware store. It's a big one so they might stock this stuff on their own, I don't know if all ACE stores would have it.

 

our local tractor supply has all different types of media available. I had a lot of trouble using sand, it was too wet although it did not seem wet it was and clogged alot. You probably know to make sure your compressor has driers/filters to make sure you provide clean air to your blaster.

 

i think just about every lumber yard carries sand and black beauty my little local lumber yard is actully cheaper then the big places

 

It's your life, only you know what it's worth to you. If the very real threat of silicosis isn't worth a few bucks to you, you probably will cheap out on mask and other protective gear as well. I can only hope you won't endanger family or neighbors nearby.
Besides the health hazard, play sand is a poor blasting media because the fragged grit will embed itself into the much softer steel making it into a very effective sandpaper that you will never be able to get smooth. I'm surprised that if you researched silicosis you didn't research properties of blasting grits?

 

20+ years ago I worked in a truck body shop where we used washed beach sand with a heavy duty industrial blaster to blast truck frames and semi trailers, the worst were the car carriers with their multi-angle surfaces. I'd spend days at a time blasting them. The only protection we had was a hooded helmet and a simple respirator. Back then I was a young twenty something kid and never heard of silicosis. All I know it was a b*tch blasting in 80°+ temps.

I'm not saying there isn't a danger and I wouldn't encourage anyone to do it but I'm still kicking without any noticeable problems. Maybe I'm just lucky. I really hate blasting and I only do it once in a while, I would say I do major blasting less than once every two years, at most. I try to farm out that kind of stuff unless I can't afford to do so. The minor blasting I do is in my cabinet I do with vacuum sucking out the dust and a wear a respirator. I also only use slag in my booth.

 

What is a good respirator to use when blasting?

 

A full suit fresh air system is the best but those are out of the financial grasp of.most hobbyists. I'm not an authority on respiratory protection so I can only state what would do. Find a.good quality dust respirator , which is different than one used for painting.