Wet sand blasters??

[CarolinaRaven]

I tried searching around the site and could not find anything. Trying to prep for my upcoming cj build and have been wondering about the various wet blasting options. Does anyone have any experience or advice on these? I've watched 30 you tube videos and read a ton of reviews on sites. I have a pressure washer big enough(4000psi/4gpm) and they seem to work good. For tub, frame and all other parts too large for a cabinet blasting. With the water cooling the area I guess it's safer than dry blasting for body panels? Thanks for the help.

 

[Captainlance]

I've restore numerous vehicles, from classics to jeeps. The best way to strip paint, etc.IS wet. Sand is no good. it ruins everything. Use glass beads wet. The finish of the metal is like new when done, and the clean up is easy and non toxic. Sand is highly toxic to your lungs when atomized.

 

[gert]

They look cool, I watched a video and they had a car stripped down in no time flat


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[deminimis]

Full disclosure: I have not used wet media blasting (in fact, trying to find a system that would allow me to use my 110#/110psi blast pot AND my pressure washer, so if you know of a system...), however, I have read that wet blasting may still warp body panels due to the peening effect of the media (not so much a heat issue). Again, just what I've read, so that may (or may not) be an actual issue. Just a heads-up. Might be worth testing out on some 18ga sheet before you tackle your tub. Would love to hear the results.

 

[CarolinaRaven]

I had a demo from a company out of Greenville/Travelers Rest S.C. on a wet blaster about a month ago. They came to my work and did several areas with their 4000 psi combo wet or wet/sand washer. It was quite impressive on stained concrete and hard surfaces. I have employees that pressure wash our areas a few nights a week and we go through 2-3 $1000 washers per year. I bought one of the 4000 psi models called a typhoon blaster with an excellent warranty. It has self contained media box and can switch really quick from water to media. I will have my frame ready to blast in a week and will update with pics. The tub is ready but I'm going to take them both at once and do it at work in maintenance area. I brought the washer home to was off grease and dirt off the frame and drivetrain after I pulled the tub. The 4000 psi water is amazing but will wear you out quick holding that wand. I did switch on the sand option for a brief second out of curiousty and it worked great. So great that I realized in 10 seconds to stop because it was about to make one hell of a mess in my driveway. I'll update as soon as I get to using it

 

[Belizean]

Just my thoughts but 4000 psi on anything other than the frame seams Out of Control

 

[CarolinaRaven]

The 4000 psi water was only used on the frame and drivetrain to knockoff 35 years of mud, grease and gunk prior to tear down. A steam cleaner would have been preferred but do not have access to one. Since every component is being rebuilt I was not concerned with water intrusion or possibly tearing a gasket. When you add the sand in the water pressure is adjusted per your application. For sheet metal the pressure is dropped by more than 50% but still maintains a high water flow rate to rinse and keep cool why the sand does the stripping. I'll post back after I try with results. Anything too big for a cabinet I'll be using it on and adjusting pressure as needed to experiment on. Block, axles, tranny etc. when I take each apart to rebuild I will blast the outside cases and then hit with flap disc to touch up spots and prep for paint.

 

[CarolinaRaven]

I started on the wet blasting on Friday and it worked good. I didn't have much time but I can say it does work just as good as sand blasting but be prepared to get wet. I probably got 70% of frame completed and will try and finish in next day or two. The one downfall is flash rust, within 5 minutes of spraying it will flash and get a fine coat. It is easily removed a quick wire wheel or acetone on a rag. One picture shows the the bare frame against unsprayed. Another shows the flash rust and after dusting off

 

[Belizean]

Anyone heard of Cold Jet ? It's blasting with dry ice. Once the dry ice is gone, only the material that was blasted off is left. We had a big unit at work a while back. Pretty much a commercial grade unit.

 

[CarolinaRaven]

I've heard but I would imagine it's outrageous. Just dry ice cost a ton

 

[Idahododgeram]

I had my entire tub, hood, grill and fenders blasted with glass/water. There is a local company called NW Ecoblast. They came to my place and did it in my driveway. To eliminate the flash rust they added a water based chemical to the blast media to prevent the clean metal from rusting. After the part was blasted they rinsed with more water/chemical mix in a pump sprayer. I moved the parts into the garage and after 2 months there was no rust. Total cost to blast everything was $500.

 

[Belizean]

Sounds pretty good. You must not have to many close and near neighbors

 

[Idahododgeram]

Most of my neighbors were at work. Plus, a lot of them are renters and I own.

The biggest hassle was getting all of the glass out of the nooks and crannies. There are a lot of places it can hide. A lot of compressed air took care of most of it. The glass leaves a nice "tooth" for the epoxy primer to bite into as well.