SBC 420 sand blast cabinet. Advice needed

[Ralph Brown]

Hi there, I have a SBC420 sand blast cabinet and it is run by a road going compressor that is rated to about 140CFM. I will mostly be doing alloy wheels.

however it seems awfully slow and doesnt remove a lot of coatings from wheels. I bought it second hand along with the compressor. Ive replaced the gun, nozzles, grit and air lines. it has two water traps, one at the compressor and one just before the foot pedal.

I'm new to sandblasting and am looking for advice on how to make it work better.

It takes up to an hour to blast just one wheel and even then, its far from perfect

any advice is appreciated

thanks

 

[rtbcomp]

An hour? That's quick, it took me a full day to do one wheel once.

I assume you mean modern alloys? They can be a real PITA, the coatings are very tough and those suction guns not very effective. You're better off using a pressure pot.

Try some painted or rusty steel for a comparison.

I used to soak wheels in paint stripper overnight before blasting them.

 

[Ralph Brown]

That was an hour after having most of the paint removing in acid!

Yeah modern alloys, the primer is very tough!

Can I use a blast pot along side my cabinet?

 

[rtbcomp]

^^ Yes, that's what I do. Leave the bottom trap open and catch the media in a bucket. Make sure the bucket can hold as much or more than the pot!

You need good dust extraction.

 

[Ralph Brown]

Will an eBay blast pot do the job? Also does that mean I can use my electric 14.7 CFM compressor instead? How often would I need to keep filling the blast pot?

Thanks for your help, really appreciate it

 

[rtbcomp]

I use a 10 gallon Ebay pot with my cabinet and a 14cfm compressor to do bead blasting.

You need to fill the pot when its empty . I haven't actually measured how long a fill lasts, but it's perfectly usable, and the breaks to fill the pot gives the compressor a bit of rest. You'll need to sieve the media when filling the pot, those suction guns aren't as fussy.

 

[Ralph Brown]

Sounds pretty good, I'll invest in a blast pot then.

I hate running the road going compressor, it's very noisy, hot and takes up a lot of room!

Thanks very much man

 

[rtbcomp]

have a search on here about the blast pots. Loads of info how to set them up and make improvements.

 

[Ralph Brown]

Ive done my research but would just like some confirmation before i buy anything.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/76-L-20-G...458414?hash=item1c0e6313ae:g:CXsAAOSwwpdW3s3K

from what ive read, this blast pot with a 3mm carbide nozzle from Ace engineering should do the job with my 14CFM compressor.

I should also change the metering valve for better one and eventually look into having two compressors connected to each other.

dos this sound about right? anything ive missed?

my blast cabinet has a light and dust extractor already fitted.

cheers

 

[rtbcomp]

Sounds about right, I'd spend my money on the 2nd compressor before forking out on a new mixing valve.

The carbide nozzle is essential.

These do wear eventually, save the worn ones for coarser grit.

 

[Ralph Brown]

thanks for the quick reply.

what grit would you recommend for alloy wheels? they will be acid dipped before blasting every time. and i guess i will need a lot of grit to fill the blast pot?