blasting wheels Newbi blaster..

[xpackken]

Hey guys, hoping for a.little bit of help to get me setup with blasting.. I am a mobile alloy wheel repairer, however just got myself a small lock up so i can start using a sandblaster on the really bad wheels (usually i reject the job) ..

First of all im not budgeting a massive amount on this as it will prob get used a few times a month so not massively..

Im running a 200ltr Abac compressor.. and i will making a cabinet..

1. Whats a good pressure pot? Upto £200

2. Whats the best grit to use on alloywheels? I have had someone blast for me in the past and they came back looking worse than before..

3. I also read alot about the nozzles getting clogged up? Whats the bet way around it as cba messing about every 5 mins..

 

[brightspark]

quite frankly i wouldnt waste your time and money on a small set up . been there done it and got the teeshirt i ended up with a 90cfm compressor and a decent home made pot copied of a well known manafacturer with a 6mm jet and thats entry level for making a profit. anything less is diy and hit and miss if u have all day to spend on them

 

[xpackken]

Not sure what your trying to say lol? Would do you mean by small setup? Cheap or Is my compressor to small? Can you recommend a pot?

ALSO..

How does a proper cabinet work? Do you run a preasurised pot or does it have something built in?

Sorry to be thick!!

 

[brightspark]

compresor 90cfm minimum not 14 cfm. pot a decent make clemco minipot there a grand unless u make your own to a simlar design

 

[xpackken]

So whats the point of selling these pots then? How many people have 90cfm compressors?

 

[brightspark]

at 90cfm u need a shed to do it in and have an airfed helmet a cabinet isnt suitable unless u use a 28cfm comp and a smaller pressurised pot with a 3mm jet in the cabinet with a decent extracta

 

[xpackken]

Ahh.. so your not saying i need 90cfm.. lol?

Lets make it easy..

Whats the best i can get for £200 that will do the jo ? Not including cabinet or compressor

 

[brightspark]

So whats the point of selling these pots then? How many people have 90cfm compressors?

not many unless u mean business and pay a few grand at least for a setup .cheap diy pots are rubbish but sell well because people dont know any diffrence till they buy them and then find there not as good as they expect it to be

 

[ben8vgte]

If they are silver a coat of sparkle or light small glitter over the silver base before topcoat hides a lot, does not have to be ott vauxhall use "sparkle" on corsa wheels for example.

I run a 50 cfm and 4.8mm nozzle setup with home made pot, does the job ok but i'd not want to be removing powder coat from wheels with it.

 

[rtbcomp]

I run 2 x 3hp compressors and a 20 gall Ebay pot to blast scooter frames &c. and it works well. 90cfm in a cabinet would blow the cabinet away.

Modern alloy wheels are a pain, the primer is usually tougher than the metal and if you concentrate the blast in one place to shift the coating you end up blasting the metal away.

You need a fine grit to get a good finish and that won't shift the paint, so you really need to chemically strip the wheels first.

After spending a whole day on one wheel I don't accept this type of work anymore.

 

[clarkey31]

Pretty much as said above, I run a restoration and blasting company and have got a big set up 100+cfm largest pot on the market in a 20x20 room, alloy wheels can be a big pain to blast i would just find someone local to blasted them for you..

 

[steveo3002]

have you looked at the acid strippers you can soak the wheels in ? at least you wouldnt need to smooth out all the blasting damage afterwards

 

[SmartWerks]

Vapour blasting appears the best form of blasting to remove powder coating. But their is a reason most wheel refurb places use chemicals. Popping the bead and tarting up is vastly different market from proper refurbished wheels and are 2 different markets and priced accordingly.

 

[rtbcomp]

Vapour blasting appears the best form of blasting to remove powder coating. But their is a reason most wheel refurb places use chemicals. Popping the bead and tarting up is vastly different market from proper refurbished wheels and are 2 different markets and priced accordingly.

I thought vapour blasting was a mild process, used for items like carburettors. I wouldn't have thought it would shift powder coating.

Edit - fix typo

 

[SmartWerks]

I


I thought vapour blasting was a mild process, used for items like carburettors. I wouldn't have thought it would shift powder coating.

Vapour blasting is very effective on powder coating, the water keeps the coating cool. Loads of vids on youtube demonstrating it's effectiveness.

 

[rtbcomp]

Couldn't find any vids on cleaning powder coated wheels - any links?

 

[brightspark]

Vapour blasting is very effective on powder coating, the water keeps the coating cool. Loads of vids on youtube demonstrating it's effectiveness.

u cant have it both ways .vapour blasting with fine beads cleans bare parts without damage. it would have to have a cutting media to remove a coating of paint or laquer

 

[langy]

u cant have it both ways .vapour blasting with fine beads cleans bare parts without damage. it would have to have a cutting media to remove a coating of paint or laquer

I agree with BS, standard vapour will clean and peen the the surface, It won't remove anything with an aggressive media involved

 

[SmartWerks]

Sand is used in the water stream. Quite a few coaters use it already for coating removal

 

[brightspark]

Sand is used in the water stream. Quite a few coaters use it already for coating removal

well there u have it its abrasive . i use sand for removing coatings on alloy engine casings ect thats ok if u are going to recoat them with paint as it gives a good etched finish to key to . if the casings are bare but slightly coroded i use beads the only diffrence is i just use compressed air instead of high pressure water as the propellant. vapour blasting alloy parts gives a very slight better finish, heres a bead blasted finish and a sand blasted finish as an example of both proceses