Sand blasting/ Shot blasting/ wet blasting

[anto]

I am currently refurbing a set of alloy wheels.
Due to the intricate shape of the spokes its becoming very time consuming using normal sanding methods so i tried the caustic soda method which just didnt work at all.

So i am now exploring other methods, namely wet blasting or shot/sand blasting.

I currently have a Nilfisk pressure washer (140bar 500litres per hour)which i could buy a sand blasting attachment for.

Or

I have a 2.5hp 50 litre SIP compressor and also could get a lend of my father in laws Clarke Air 1.5hp 50 litre compressor to run a suction cup shot blaster.

Which option is most likely to do my job the best?
Has anyone tried one of those wet blasting attachments and are they any good?
Do i have enough CFM with those 2 compressors combined to run a shot blasting gun?

Thanks,
Anton

 

[brightspark]

dont bother with the blaster its no where near powerfull enough. wetblasting will do it slowly and will make a hell of a mess in sand slurry to clean up . its cheaper to get them cleaned by a firm

 

[anto]

Yeah i can get them glass bead blasted for £60.
But im thinking of other uses for it as well and also i have a few more sets to do as well.
If wet blasting will work and it is the best option based on my current equipment then i might give it a try. Im not too bothered about the mess.
I just dont want to buy it and find that it doesnt work at all.

 

[God mode restorations]

Your better off taking it to a firm to do.as it starts becoming expensive. .especially with the amount of blast media you will need..I have a 3hp 150 compressor and that has to run a lot of air pressure to get a good result..

 

[brightspark]

wet blasting u can buy block paving kiln dried sand cheap and the attachment is cheap enough to buy just a bit slow going thats all

 

[anto]

By the sounds of it the compressor route isnt a goer.
Il give the wet blasting a go, i can get an attachment for around the £40 mark so its worth a go.
I could probably make one handy enough as well as they dont seem too complicated.

 

[mike 109444]

Keep your sand very dry.

 

[brightspark]

Keep your sand very dry.

and hope the neighbour doesnt notice u have nicked his wheely bin to make it

 

[Turbo]

I have tried wet blasting on a lawnmower deck and it does work well but it has its drawbacks.

Very messy and leaves a mess of sand slurry.

Be aware that you have to use kiln dried sand and keep it very dry, otherwise the blaster will not suck it up.

Another problem is keeping a flow of sand to the pick-up pipe as it tends to suck up the sand around the end of pick-up creating a pocket with no sand. I solved this by plugging the top a large traffic cone, inverting it, put the pick-up pipe in the bottom and fill it with sand.

With it being a wet process you get flash rusting straight away.

But the thing that stops me from using it more often is the cost of the sand. Around here the cheapest I can buy 20kg bags of kiln dried sand is £3 and believe me it uses a lot of sand. Unless you can get a cheap source of sand it's probably going to cost as much as getting them bead blasted.

I can get a set of alloys blasted & powder coated for around £100 so it's not really worth bothering doing them myself.

 

[rtbcomp]

Will it work with glass grit? Have a look for Stacey Processing.

Blasting alloys is a pain.

 

[anto]

I cant see why it wouldn't work with glass grit, unless its too coarse?

 

[rtbcomp]

There's a whole range of grit size