Welder Dave
Senior Member
I'm looking at getting a pressure washer and wondered if anyone has used one with a sandblasting attachment. The washer I'm looking at is 3.5 GPM and 4000 PSI.
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Anyone used a wet sandblaster?
- Thread starter Welder Dave
- Start date
petepilot
Senior Member
dave it depends on what you intend to do with it.it will work for some small jobs but don`t expect any serious work they are very slow& cover a very small area, flash rust is a problem however there is additives you can add to your water supply to prevent rust for a short period, I have basicly the same setup you are looking at i can run sand crushed glass or soda none of the three work as good as sand and air
Welder Dave
Senior Member
I found a product called Hold Blast that is added to the water or applied directly after to stop flash rusting. I talked to a place that specializes in pressure washers and they would partially sponsor my track by giving me dealer cost which is about 26% off. I could put up their banner and offer a complimentary (or donations) bike wash station so riders don't have to go to the car wash. I looked at a 3 GPM 2700 PSI washer but for $350 more could get the 3.5 GPM 4000 PSI that would work with the wet sandblaster. My backhoe and my skid steer have paint missing and rust that I thought I could clean up and paint. I'm on a bit of a budget right now so not sure if I should get the bigger P washer and add the wet sandblast accessory later or just go with the smaller P washer. I'd have lots of time to do the blasting.
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The "dustless" guy that does trailers and truck frames for me wont go dustless unless he's in an area that he has to. he said it's really inefficient. In my case he goes out back and lets 'er rip. It's strange, however he does it he doesn't leave much mess.
Tugger2
Senior Member
I would be very cautious sandblasting your machines , unless you are dismantling and painting components induvidually. Sand and bearings or bushing dont mix well and a blaster forces abraisives deep into the machine. I use a 5000 psi pressure washer to get the worst off of my machines,a good needle gun on heavy rust and the sander on large flat tin areas. Just my 2 Cents worth.
ol'stonebreaker
Senior Member
I watched a video of a guy using a blaster that used air and crushed dry ice. Completely stripped a '60's something full size chevy car in 45 minutes. Didn't have to worry about hitting any rubber components and when it was over there was nothing but paint dust on the ground. Very impressive!!
Mike
Mike
petepilot
Senior Member
right on .sand blasting wet or dry can & will create problems in any kind of machinery
I have one and it works ok for small to mid sized things but my washer is a 4000 and 4gpm which I felt was the minimum.... but who knows maybe run a different nozzle then mine??? the main thing is keep you sand dry and no oversize grains in it
as for the flash rust.. that's nothing compared to the rust that was on the metal before hand I started hitting it with a shot of ospho right after I finished blasting things.
petepilot
Senior Member
nice pot . will get lots done if you have the air to feed it
gtermini
Well-Known Member
I bought one a couple years back for a project. Bought 500 lbs of dried silica blasting sand for the job. I have a 13HP honda 4gpm pressure washer. You have to buy the correct sized water jet nozzle separate. I couldn't get the thing to draw sand through the siphon tube. Got fed up after a couple failed hours screwing around. Built a pressure pot blaster and used it to feed the pressure washer gun. Results were good, but I'll just standard blast anything else now as it's quicker and I have 100 cfm air available. You will get soaking wet and have wet sand stuck all over you. With my pressure fed gun, it ate about 1 cu ft of sand (100 lbs) per 8-12 minutes running 20 psi on the pot with the sand valve adjusted to where I thought it was efficient. Whatever you blast will flash rust instantly. Ospho or home depot metal paint prep (phosphoric acid) will brighten it back up. I just leave the chalky byproduct residue on and paint over it with oxide primer.
alco
Senior Member
That it does, I borrow a friend’s 185 cfm compressor, but plan on buying something a bit bigger in the somewhat near future.
petepilot
Senior Member
it takes a 375 to really keep up with a 1/2 nozzle. but you can get some really
good production
td25c
Senior Member
We have one the same size as gtermini . 13 horse Honda with the sand blasting attachment .
It works great on smaller projects . I use a plastic 30 gallon trash can to hold the sand & just stick the suction tube down in it .
https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200594733_200594733
https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200660204_200660204
Like Tugger2 I am also apprehensive about sand blasting equipment . To many times sand gets in the wrong place if a feller aint careful .
Used it to blast of the peeling chrome & rust on little brother's BMX bike .
Made it Great Again !
https://www.heavyequipmentforums.com/threads/bmx-bicycles.47280/#post-573659
It works great on smaller projects . I use a plastic 30 gallon trash can to hold the sand & just stick the suction tube down in it .
https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200594733_200594733
https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200660204_200660204
Like Tugger2 I am also apprehensive about sand blasting equipment . To many times sand gets in the wrong place if a feller aint careful .
Used it to blast of the peeling chrome & rust on little brother's BMX bike .
Made it Great Again !
https://www.heavyequipmentforums.com/threads/bmx-bicycles.47280/#post-573659
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