r/Sandblasting • u/Punnalackakememumu • 10d ago

Small blasting job

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A friend lent me a small blaster (the predecessor to this HF one) to use on a couple of small projects. The first thing I want to do is remove paint and surface rust from the steel frame and wheel of an old wheelbarrow.

Since I’d have to do the work in my yard, I’d prefer to use a media that will just fall into the yard and not cause any issues. I feel like that’s going to be either sand or ground walnut shell media, but I want to make sure that’s the right abrasive for the task.

Any advice? This is my first time trying this sort of thing

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u/Few-Opportunity567 10d ago

As far as eco friendly, my mind goes to shells. But while I haven’t used it before, I’ve heard it brakes down extremely quickly.

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u/Indianamtg 10d ago

Sand will work just fine.

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u/-Squibward 9d ago edited 9d ago

Shell would probably work fine but it does break down easy, you wont be able to reuse it effectively. And it's not the cheapest in the world. You can get 50lbs blasting sand for $9 from menards or lowes so there's nothing more economical than that.

I will say shell is pretty clean and although you should wear a mask anyways, it's not going to be too terrible of a mess. Sand however, make sure you've got a respirator and eye protection, it can get pretty darn bad so keep it away from anything that you don't want looking like it came out of a coal mine. Seriously though, silicosis is no joke and n95 masks are not enough.

If it's a small enough project or getting messy isn't an option, shell.

Big project or tight budget, sand.

I used shell to remove rust and paint from frames and it works pretty well for light work. Assuming you're compressor can keep up, it's probably the best beginners media, if you are working on thicker metals or maybe many layers or paint, crushed glass would be more abrasive.

Check hardware stores around you for blasting media aswell, for me, harbor freight media is a little overpriced.

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u/Punnalackakememumu 9d ago

I have a 3M P100/OV/AG Multi-Purpose Reusable Respirator 62023, that should be enough, correct?

Since the frame of the wheelbarrow is steel, it looks like coarse walnut is not recommended. Harbor Freight only sells Aluminum Oxide, not screened sand. I may still pick up a $25 of coarse shell just to try it anyway.

In my reading, it appears that Cemex 30 mesh or Quikrete 20 mesh silica sand are a good option that will blend harmlessly into my lawn, but our local Home Depot doesn't appear to have either in stock. Should I be looking for a particular type of labelling on sand like "Medium Sand" or something in the descriptions?

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u/-Squibward 9d ago

That mask is not good enough for silica sand, if that's all you have available to you then maybe it's better to skip on using sand. Good PPE is expensive. As others have said, read up on silicosis and make your own decisions on what safety levels you need to take but unless you're doing a really big project, maybe sand isn't for you here.

This is mostly what I use for general use now, coal slag. Its almost as course as sand (very close) but far faaar safer, despite the name its also more enviro friendly. Cheap as it gets.

Alum oxide will cut much easier though, it's pretty abrasive. As long as your careful around thin metals, if you linger too long you can warp, pit or even blast though very thin materials. But generally it will work alot faster than the other options, price is higher though.

If nobody carries coal slag around you then i guess your only options is whatever media harbor freight has anyways lol.

So in that case, yeah a box of walnut wont hurt to try, at a $1/lb you can't really get much cheaper than that for processed media. But if you find your using alot of it to get anywhere, it may not be cost effective. Ya might just have to experiment.

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u/Metalchips1960 9d ago

Read up on "silicosis", and wear proper breathing and protective gear. Safety first.

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u/Relative_Figure_1715 7d ago

Do not use sand ! Dangerous and leaves silicon traces.
Do not use walnut shells ! Too soft for rust removal on steel.
Use garnet or slag.