Spot Blasters

[dolomitefan]

Hi

I have an SIP Hurricane 2.5hp, 25 litre compressor which I am very pleased with and was an Ebay bargain. I am thinking about purchasing a Spot Grit blasting gun (with a recycle bag) either as SIP one or maybe one from Machine Mart. I only want to do a few bits with it but am concerned that my compressor with 6cfpm FAD may struggle. The machine Mart website suggests theirs is suitable from 1.5hp compressors which would likely give less cfpm than mine?

I don't plan to do loads of panel work with the gun more spots and hard to reach places etc.

Any views welcome.

 

[droopsnoot]

Mine is a 3hp/50l compressor and didn't have any issues. That said, my spot blaster is not exactly special so I wasn't using it that much. I have two - one from Aldi, the other off eBay, both pretty much identical, about a tenner each, and they struggle to make much of an impact on a poor surface. And I found that the nozzle seals aren't very good - on mine they are made of very hard plastic, and don't seal particuarly well to the workpiece. I have been experimenting with extra seals made of expanded foam or softer plastic, but not with massive success.

 

[rtbcomp]

I have the Clarke SB4 which I use for doing the bits I miss with my pressure-pot blaster.

It needs a lot of air which is fine for blasting the odd spot here and there but I wouldn't like to use it for whole items.

It would be nice if I could get Tungsten Carbide nozzles though, the steel ones don't last all that long.

For what they cost It's a good gun, don't think I'd bother with one with a collection bag though, just use cheap media.

 

[dolomitefan]

I've bought a Spot blast cleaner from Machine Mart. Seems to work very well for localised areas. I'd say it was better at shifting loose material rather than paint which is well bonded to the metal but for under £30 for the gun and a tub of 60 grit I can;t complain. It has allowed me to clean a few fiddly bits that I couldn't get to with a wire wheel on an old boot floor panel which I am stripping down before coating with Red Oxide paint for storage until I need it.

 

[graffian]

I was given one years ago, used it quite a bit and it worked well. I lent it to someone who removed the paint from the back half of a 57 Fairlane with it!
It's made by Lectrostatic and came with a tube full of different soft rubber nozzles.

 

[rtbcomp]

How long did the nozzles last?

 

[graffian]

The rubber nozzles still look pretty much like new.

The gun has been used so much the hardened nozzle disapeared years ago and the body looks like some 3D map[worn in patterns] with a hole through the top, which is sealed with self amalgamating tap at the moment! I think it's time for a new gun.

 

[rtbcomp]

Where did you get the gun from? I've Googled Lectrostatic and it just comes up with powder coating guns.

 

[graffian]

I was given the gun by a bloke I did a lot of bodywork for, no idea where it came from. I just got it back from lending it to someone, he lost a few of the rubber nozzles, amazingly I still have the rubber nozzles in the original carboard tube[I would have been given it around 1980], the label just says Lectrostatic Sweden, I didn't look at the gun but I think it says 'lectrostatic inc' and has patent numbers on it. I will look tomorrow.
It's done a lot of service as the gun is used minus the bag and everything as a siphon gun in my bead blast cabinet.
I just hand another look and found THIS that gun looks pretty much exactly like mine, I don't have the fancy vacuum thingie! So it's probably sold with the name Nederman.