Sanblasting a flat stainless worktop... how??

[geoffno6]

Im thinking of sandblasting (or glass, ally oxide whatevers best) a flat 304 stainless steel worktop. Any one have any advice? I have a 1.5hp compressor. Any ideas of a good sandblaster? Which might be the best type of grit? do you reuse it? or would 20 gallons do a a 2m x 1m worktop if you just lost all the grit? i would prefer to recyle the grit but not sure how easy that is to do.
Any advice would be appreciated, thanks in advance

 

[Shox Dr]

Firstly why do you want to use blasting as a means to clean it

 

[geoffno6]

why sandblasting

Good question and thx for asking.....spose im always looking to do things a bit better? I like a random finish because unlike a linear polish it doesnt show scrathches up very much. At the moment I use rotary type sanders which give a good finish but its hard to avoid patterns on the surface and im guessing a balster will be totally random....or will it?

 

[Shox Dr]

Your biggest problem is lack of air, you really need at least 12FAD CFM anything less and you will be all day. As for a consistent finish, I guess it would be possible, whether it would stand up to use is another thing. Have you thought of using a DA sander

 

[geoffno6]

Reading this has put me off sandblasting!

Just found this excellent piece on DIY sandblasting on the forum....ok i should have looked before making my post.
http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/sandblasting.htm
Superb little article and what it does explain is that sand blasting of large pieces is never going to be a quick, clean process so i think i'll plod on with my current stainless finishing methods.

 

[geoffno6]

Da

Thx Shox Dr, DA is what im using now and although its a bit tricky to get a perfect 'random' result it's so much easier and cleaner than blasting that i'll stick with it.

 

[Shox Dr]

Out of interest what are you making

 

[Hitch]

How about finishing off with a coarse pad on an orbital sander after a fine DAing?

 

[geoffno6]

I make cookers

We specialise in induction hobs mainly for the commercial market http://www.controlinduction.co.uk
Last year I got fed up with paying a fortune for poorly finished stainless tables that we put the induction hobs in so based on experience as a draughtsman and my mechanical engineering qualifications and several hours migging and metal bashing building and racing hot rods i decided to do it myself. We now have a nice little workshop, a great CNC pressbrake myself and a fulltime welder fabricator and turn out some nice looking cookers for restaurants.

What is always hard work though is finishing so I'm always looking for an easy option.

 

[Shox Dr]

very nice, I also work with SS all day building bespoke Extraction systems for commercial kitchens. We use 0.9mm Brushed SS. Once welded (TIG) and the grain put back in you cannot see the join

 

[geoffno6]

Brushed stainless

Yes we've done well with brushed stainless, a drum sander made that a lot easier and we can get invisible joins but the brushed finish marks up quite badly when used as a worksurface. The random DA type finish seems to take wear much better but im never quite satisfied with the randomness (or slight lack of randomness) Customers haven't complained but I suppose im just being fussy.

Since starting the tig welding ive really got into it making the workshop part of my work now seem like playing which is, i suppose, a good thing.

 

[geoffno6]

Thx Hitch, I'll give the coarse pad on an orbital after a fine DAing a go

 

[Shox Dr]

I hear what you are saying, but whatever finish you use it will never stay that way for long. I would be inclined to use DP1 (Brushed) and polish/regain the welds, that way you will have a nice looking product, with reduced manufacturing time, the customer will expect the finish to tarnish some what, and at the end of the day, it will look no worse than any other, SS item in the Kitchen, after a few weeks

 

[drjim]

Nice product range, do you do domestic ones??

Used induction hobs when I worked in a kitchen as a summer job from Uni, so familiar with the concept. They'd be a good safety feature for houses with children in like mine!

 

[geoffno6]

Induction hobs

Yes we do domestic ones http://www.controlinduction.co.uk/c...ts-range/domestic-induction-hob.html?Itemid=1 this two ring one that we supply to Jamie Oliver is a couple of hundred quid and is a good heavy domestic unit that we always have in stock.

 

[eil]

A very nice looking range of products you make there, I wouldn't like to be the fridge man who has to work on the low level counter fridge though

 

[Delgado]

Have you ever seen what sandblasted stainless comes out like?(a kind of dull grey colour) We do it a lot at work with mig/tig welded pressure vessels, spools, valve sets etc... it's a good quick/cheap way of making them look good/professional, removing the burn marks etc. but IMHO it would look terrible as a work surface, not to mention it would be a PITA to clean. You'd be much better off going in a different direction, as already suggested.

 

[drjim]

Yes we do domestic ones http://www.controlinduction.co.uk/c...ts-range/domestic-induction-hob.html?Itemid=1 this two ring one that we supply to Jamie Oliver is a couple of hundred quid and is a good heavy domestic unit that we always have in stock.

I saw that just after I posted, but I am thinking about a more domestic oriented industrial setup design wise, with perhaps one of those french plancha things in it. I am in need of a new kitchen and will probably have a big gas hob, halogen/elec not an option as I hate it. gas gets hot though and you make stuff that doesn't.

I suspect what I want doesn't exist - something like your 4 burner with french plancha table, but in a domestic compatible design. The knobs on the front of the table are too industrial looking.

I'd love to test drive a hob as part of the kitchen design process, will be in touch.

Jim