I have a 1978 F150 i am trying to restore. I have a 20 LB pressure blaster to do the job. I am having trouble getting it to work propperly. The hose gets clogged and sometimes the sand just stops falling out of the tank When i know its still almost full. Just curious how some people did there frames and what equipment they used and HOW. Im getting frustrated when it keeps clogging up every five seconds. Any advice would be well appriciated.

 

theres not any moisture or trash in it is there?

 

I use a kitchen colander inside of a large diameter funnel. The fine sand still has some pieces that will clog the tip. It is a pain, but not as much as breaking down the blaster every 10 seconds.

 

The first thing with a sand blaster is moisture make sure you use a dryer one placed right at the hookup to the sand blaster tank helps the most. Second is the media itself if there are any big chunks or debris in the sand it will clog the tip fast. Third is make sure you have a compressor that can keep up with the blaster and make sure to get it regulated right so you have the right flow of sand compared to the right flow of air to drive the sand out the tip,this can take some time to figure out,if you are letting too much sand come out of the tank it will clog up real quick. Fourth if you are using real sand (silica based) make sure that you have a respirator so you don't breath in the dust as this will lead to silicosis in your lungs and you can die from it.
I have a good supply of casting sand nearby it is really fine and won't clog the tip and it is dry when I pick it up.I just make sure to get it in containers as soon as I get it home to keep it dry. The way to tell if your sand is too wet to be using is to take a piece of newspaper and lay it down on a dry surface(like your workbench) then take and make a good pile as high as you can on the paper. let it sit on the paper for a at least a good half hour then check the paper if the paper is wet at all then the sand is too wet to be using for blasting and will need to be dried out.
I hope this helps you out.......

 

I'm not sure about your pressure blaster setup, but mine has 3 ball valves on it to control air and sand mixture. 1. is just to control the air entering the blaster, 2. controls the amount of sand flowing out of tank into the the hose and finally to the gun, 3. this last valve is an air bypass/splitter valve.
The 1st valve use is obvious, but the use of valves #'s 2 and 3 can be a little tricky until you get a feel for it. When I start blasting I start with the bypass valve (BV) open between 1/8-1/4 and then just open the sand valve a little bit at a time till you see a fine stream of sand leaving the tip of the gun. This is best seen while you point the gun at the work surface and see how well it is working to remove your rust etc. Like others have said, moisture is your worst enemy when you are blasting and the type and consistancy of media is also very important. I typically use a good quality "dry" play sand and I sift everything through a screen before I put it into my blaster. Even if your air/sand starts out good and dry, moisture can start to become a problem if you blast for real long time and your water separators / dryer is not up to the task. The act of compressing air causes the build up of heat and warms up your air supply and the warmer your air supply gets the more moisture it can hold. Your water separators will only do their job if the air is cool when it reaches them. That is why they say to put your separators as far down stream from the compressor as possible, usually at the point of use, so the air has the chance to cool and the water vapor to condense. If your blaster is connected directly from your compressor through rubber/plastic hose and a single water separator you are going to have moisture problems when you do large blasting projects. The longer you blast the warmer the air gets and the more moisture it will hold and if the air does not get a chance to cool the water separator will not be able to remove the water and your media will get wet and clog up your blaster. When this starts to happen you can adjust the sand and bypass valves to compensate for the wet sand. Usually by opening the sand valve alittle and closing the BV until the flow of sand resumes. When the blaster is plugged up I open the sand valve all the way and close off the BV to clear it. You may also have to remove the blast tip from the gun as well to clear it.

 

welcome to FTE.i think you have posted in the wrong forum for the best response to your question. shouldn't it be in the paint and bodywork forum. then you would get a more specific and /or accurate response. im not trying to condemn you , just trying to help you get the best help possible -just a thought

 

need to buy #4 sand blasting sand. I tried to go cheap before and It never works. I tried play sand and regular sand it all sucked and wasted a lot of time. You can sift it but a lot of time wasted. If your haveing a water problem thats a different problem need a water trap on system.

 

Thank you for all your help. I found some sand at a lumber yard called Black Diamond. Pretty cheep stuff. I think i will try the expensive stuff unless anyone knows where to find something cheap. I do have a water trap on my blaster and on the compresser. But from all your info i cand help but think it is still a problem.

 

A buddy of mine has a sandblasting/mediablasting business so I just drop it off there and a week later it is all done.

 

I know I had to play with mine also. I open the bottom valve slowly until I get a decent bead of sand going and leave it. I have a smaller compressor, so the slightest piece of grit will clog the tip. And as a side note, If you do have any access to a shop that does blasting, I would consider it. Blasting a frame doesn't take long and well worth the money. It took me about a little over 1 1/2 hours to do mine with a commercial blaster. You'll be spending alot more time with a 20lb one. Those blasters are good for small projects, but really can be time consuming for the larger stuff.

 

Cujo is exactly right.... If you're coming straight off of your compressor you're doomed because of water vapor. You mentioned you have a trap on the compressor and on before the blaster. If the first trap is close to the compressor chances are you're passing water right through it in the vapor form.

Here is a link to some pictures of my setup...

My Shop pictures from rides photos on webshots



Because i used black gas line pipe, sloped it and used risers most of the water gets dropped out of the air before it gets to my trap. I run my blaster in the heat of summer in 100% humidity and have no problems. All of this info is at TP Tools & Equipment