pressurewasher sandblaster attachment

[red devils dude]

just out of curiosity... do you guys think it is worth it to go all the way to bright metal?

I'm currently planning on using this to remove scale and peeling paint, then prime & repaint. Any thoughts?

I need to do the same I was looking at a cheap sandblaster like from
northerntool or BFR's choice the water thing'y.

 

[Recovry4x4]

Lee, does that stuff just spray out of the bottle? Hey Joel, as long as you're going to use Ospho or this pickle juice, I see no need to go to bright metal. Knock off the scale, convert and roll on some paint. I would also be weary of using that sand unless you have a pressurized hood providing clean breathing air to you. Might look into star blast or black beauty to avoid silicosis. Also beware that blasting can turn up some things in the body and body work that you wished you never found. One little pinhole sometimes turns into a swiss cheese panel you wished you hadn't created.

 

[mcinfantry]

yep, any spray bottle. wipe it on with a scuff pad, dry it off. i have a hood hat has een bare metal for 18 months. no rust. in a damp enough shop in south louisiana to have RUINED the adhesive on the speedglas welding helmet replacement shades

 

[cranetruck]

Pressure washer sand blaster attachment

During my visit a couple of days ago at Joel's (BFR) in Georgia, he showed me an attachment for his pressure washer that would turn it into a sand blaster. Joel, could you give us more detailes, it must have worked great judging by the battery box you stripped of rust and paint?
Using playsand is an advantage too.

 

[Towerguy1]

I saw one of these at a welding supply store. looks like a great way to keep the dust down. Might also be a good way to deal with CARC paint. The salesman said not to skimp with a cheap pressure washer, But still Id like to hear how well they work before getting one.

 

[clinto]

Seems like a good idea to me. I have a pressurized blaster and man, that thing is PICKY about what kind of sand/media you push through it. Play Sand? Forget about it!!!! I have been using star blast and some other aluminum oxide stuff I get through a friend that has a plastic media blasting company........ It seems like it has to be pretty fine or it gets hung up......

Of course, I haven't been doing much blasting with it since my buddy started his business........

This Road Runner dash frame took me longer to suit up than it did to blast.......

 

[DDoyle]

Hi Guys -
Before I wrote for a living - I owned a hobby store. Before I owned a hobby store - I was national sales manager for 2 different high pressure washer manufacturers - and was in charge of product design and development for a third firm. So - I feel like I can answer the question of "how does this work".

The injector contains a venturi - the passing of the water through this venturi creates a low pressure area in the siphon chamber. The sand is then drawn into this chamber, where it mixes with the high-pressure water, it then exits - typically through a ceramic discharge cone. Washers suitable to use with sandblast attachments typically are in the 4 to 6 gallon per minute - 2000 to 3200 psi range. Thus, the sand is impacting the work surface under MUCH more pressure than is the case with a pneumatic sand blaster....hence, with experience, you can really work quickly.

Because of the orfice, the sandblast attachment should be sized to the specs of the washer it is used with - this is NOT a one-size fits all item. The orfice is a wear item - so pick up an extra one when you purchase the unit, as well as 2-3 of the discharge cones. The wear on both of these parts is gradual, so you won't notice a degredation in performance - but trust me, performance does decline with time.

Ospho would be a great additive to prevent flash rusting.

Hope this helps,
David Doyle

 

[dk8019]

Ok, I've got one of these on order, and a pressure washer sized around the correct level. I'll give it a try on the inside of the bed on my 814, and see how it does. Worse case it will be back to the normal sand blaster. I love the idea of it being a wet job for some reason. I'll post pictures etc as it goes along.

 

[gimpyrobb]

DK, Stretch and I are getting a big sandblasting setup ready to go. If it doesn't work out, we have an alternative.

 

[dk8019]

Sweet, I'll let you know if it comes to that!

 

[MitchG]

Hey guys for what it's worth, I have one of the Northern Tool pressure washer blaster setups. I got it when I was redoing my Dad's old Ford Jubilee Tractor. The paint on that old girl was laughing at the little pressure pot I was trying to use on it!!! The pressure washer/blaster setup is some kind of paint eater!! Oh and it will also show any thin spots in the metal as someone mentioned earlier..... I have used mine on a couple of old trailers, that tractor and some other various projects and love it!! The two major drawbacks are that it blows sand and water everywhere!! You have to have a nice open area to use it in and some good wetgear unless you like being wet and sandy!! The other is that in the factory configuration it is a PITA to use the little draw tube that comes with the unit. When I first got mine I used a bucket to hold the sand and it seemed like about every five or ten minutes I had to refill the bucket. I will try and post some pics of what I rigged up to take care of that problem.

Basically it comes down to this, if you have some serious paint/rust etc to remove and you use a regular pot you get a max of 120psi from your blaster. Compare that to a cheap pressure washer/blaster with 2500 to 3000psi!!! You do the math. Now don't get me wrong this ain't for everything, but for big bulky pieces, heavy rust or thick paint it works really well. You also have the issue of flash rust but I think some of the other guys have covered that topic well enough.

Sorry for the novel there, and if anyone has any more questions let me know and I'll give you what I know from my experiences.

 

[gimpyrobb]

Yes Mitch, more info on your setup would be great.

 

[MitchG]

Here are a couple of pics of the tank I whipped up to use with the blast wand. It's an old pump tank that I gutted. I used it mainly because I had an old one and it already had a sloped bottom with a fitting in it. It will hold over 300 lbs of sand so you don't run out.

 

[Ferroequinologist]

That's a good idea Mitch! I'm going to get one of these water/sand blaster units. I need to repaint a boxcar, and it would take forever with a normal blaster.

A few guys repainted a caboose just recently, and used nothing but wire wheels and needle guns to prep. Took 5 guys two months...

BTW, I just checked Northern Tool's website, the abrasive blaster kit #2242 is no longer available. Boo.

 

[MitchG]

Ferro, the one I have is item number 2260 and it still shows available at Northern for 60 bucks.

 

[MitchG]

You may not be able to tell from the pics but it is a small well tank that I used. Most any tank or drum would work. Just have to mount a fitting in the bottom for the sand to come out of. That one works well because of the sloped bottom, you don't have to worry about getting all the sand out. I rigged up the cart out of some scrap steel and some cheap Harbor Freight wheels but you could just as easily strap it to a heavy duty hand truck if you wanted to save a liittle space. I have scrounged up an even bigger well tank, but I'm not sure I could move it full of sand!!!! It would probably hold about 500 lbs or so. Oh and thanks for you guys not laughing at my ghetto fabulous air cleaner lid there!!!

 

[Marines42]

This is interesting. I just bought one and am going to try it on the exterior of my Daimler Ferret. The paint isnt thick on it but it has a large surface to cover and some hard to reach places. This might just be the ticket. I will let you guys know how it turns out in a few months.

 

[halftrack]

Sounds like it uses a lot of sand, however, its a good alternative to the high dollar setups that require huge blasting areas.

 

[ucfjeeper]

I like it. Sure beats the pot blaster I have. I will just have to see if my little pressure washer will keep up with the requirements of the abrasive adder.

 

[Recovry4x4]

OK, I've read enough. Since this item is fairly cheap and I already have a 4000 PSI blaster, I'm going to commit to one.