[AntnyL]

Hi all,

I'm prepping to sandblast my 55 chevy truck body to get it down to bare metal, mostly the nooks and crannies and stubborn areas where the chemical stripper/DA can't work well or get to. This will be AFTER I chemically strip the panels individually to get the bulk of the paint off. All of the panels and the cab will be off the chassis, all glass removed, etc. I have the 5hp IR 18 cfm compressor (thanks for the advice guys!), a large hunk of property that I can tent off to recapture sand (if that makes sense?), and lots of patience! What type/size sand blaster do you all recommend? Is a 20-gallon unit too small for this type of work?

Alternatively, I can rent a commercial blaster for about $250 a day. But if buying one in the same price range (or less?) will work, well, I rather buy one.

Let me know what you would do/which model you recommend.

Thanks in advance guys.

Antny

[Slomotion34]

at Northern and got the second cheapest siphon feed model. It's about 3' tall (I just looked and there's no model number on it). It works okay, it's just slow. I was told that the pressurized ones put more media through faster and that was the major difference, besides price. It was around $50, and the $200 I saved over the pressurized model went towards other stuff. I wouldn't recommend the siphon feed if you plan on blasting large body panels or anything with a lot of area. It was great for the nooks and crannies on the frame and small parts like steering boxes and intakes. It does require patience for the larger items. If I was planning on doing larger blasting projects, I would definitely go with the pressure fed (tank type). Oh yeah, get a decent sandblasting hood - it sucks trying to get media out of your ears. I heard.

[AntnyL]

Originally Posted by Slomotion34

at Northern and got the second cheapest siphon feed model. It's about 3' tall (I just looked and there's no model number on it). It works okay, it's just slow. I was told that the pressurized ones put more media through faster and that was the major difference, besides price. It was around $50, and the $200 I saved over the pressurized model went towards other stuff. I wouldn't recommend the siphon feed if you plan on blasting large body panels or anything with a lot of area. It was great for the nooks and crannies on the frame and small parts like steering boxes and intakes. It does require patience for the larger items. If I was planning on doing larger blasting projects, I would definitely go with the pressure fed (tank type). Oh yeah, get a decent sandblasting hood - it sucks trying to get media out of your ears. I heard.

Thanks Slomotion34! Yeah, I read that the siphon feeders use up lots of energy sucking up the media. The pressurized tanks seem to be the way to go for larger work. Good tip on the hood for sure!

Antny

[F&J]

I bought a TIP pressure blaster in 1976....still working it. Don't buy anything smaller that 50-60 pound capacity, you will need to fill it too often on larger jobs....yes I know most of yours was already chem stripped, but what about the future projects

[Lost in NJ]

Siphon blasters are a poor choice for doing sheet metal over any larger area.

Panel warpage comes from too much stuff hitting the panel. If you hit a panel with too much pressure or a lower pressure and a lot of sand you will move the metal on the surface. This expands the surface metal making it warp. Think of it as lots of little hammers for low pressure and lots of sand.

A siphon blaster has no control over the quantity of media allowed in to the air stream. So even at a lower pressure you can run the risk of panel damage.

Pressure blasters allow you to control the media flow rate.

You really need to use low pressures and low sand flow rates to not damage panels.

If you are doing structural or seam areas and do not plan on doing large sheet metal areas than a siphon blaster would do fine. If you are thinking about an all around use blaster than go for a pressure blaster.

Bear in mind if you are chemically removing paint from most of the surfaces then you need to be sure the metal is properly "etched" for the paint to adhere. This means sanding or using an etching primer. Consult the data sheets for your paint products.

[AntnyL]

Originally Posted by Lost in NJ

Siphon blasters are a poor choice for doing sheet metal over any larger area.

Panel warpage comes from too much stuff hitting the panel. If you hit a panel with too much pressure or a lower pressure and a lot of sand you will move the metal on the surface. This expands the surface metal making it warp. Think of it as lots of little hammers for low pressure and lots of sand.

A siphon blaster has no control over the quantity of media allowed in to the air stream. So even at a lower pressure you can run the risk of panel damage.

Pressure blasters allow you to control the media flow rate.

You really need to use low pressures and low sand flow rates to not damage panels.

If you are doing structural or seam areas and do not plan on doing large sheet metal areas than a siphon blaster would do fine. If you are thinking about an all around use blaster than go for a pressure blaster.

Bear in mind if you are chemically removing paint from most of the surfaces then you need to be sure the metal is properly "etched" for the paint to adhere. This means sanding or using an etching primer. Consult the data sheets for your paint products.

Thanks for the info! I agree and will go with a pressure pot. I will probably want to blast the entire truck to give the metal some tooth for the primer. Either that or hit it with the DA and 80 grit. Blasting is probably better to avoid gouging the metal though, right? While the metal on this truck is very heavy gage, I will definitely use precautions for avoiding warpage issues.

So a pressure blaster with no less than 50-60 pound capacity sounds like the way to go.

Thank you everyone for the helpful input.

[71corvette]

yes pressure blaster is the way to go. also avoid sand as your media. the silca it produces is very bad for your health

[speedydeedy]

I have a TIP pressure blaster also since 1997 and it has seen more than normal hobby use and it still works great. Definitely a pressure blaster is the way to go. 71corvette, What part of LA. are you from? I am from Raceland.