Bought me a bead blast cabinet...

[Pat #25912]

to help clean parts for my Corvette project. I would like some help chosing a couple different grit beads. My supplier has 14 different choices in glass beads
ranging from 20-30 (US Screen?) to 170-325. I expect to clean cast iron like exhaust manifolds, sheet metal parts like rad shrouds, and even want to try some light cleaning on aluminium. From your expierience, what works best for what? Thanks. Pat

[Gene M.]

Re: Bought me a bead blast cabinet...

It would depend on the type of system you have. Is it a pressure or siphon? A pressure system is less forgiving on the part being blasted as far as aggressiveness. On the other hand the siphon will not pick up media as well and will take longer to clean the part. As a for instance black beauty will not damage thick steel as much in siphon as a pressure system will. A pressure system is more difficult to see because the greater volume of media coming out. They both have there pluses. For cast iron I would suggest medium sand or worn out black beauty for pressure system and good black beauty for syphon.

[Wayne P.]

Re: Bought me a bead blast cabinet...

I think my supplier sells military spec 60 glass beads. I just use them for everything. I have a siphon feed. Works pretty well on everything. A little slow on cast iron, good on steel, great on aluminum.

[Stephen W.]

Re: Bought me a bead blast cabinet...

I've been considering the purchase of a bead blast cabinet. Any recomendations from those that have them? Size , air preasure required, Brand, price range?

[Pat #25912]

Re: Bought me a bead blast cabinet...

It's a siphon type, working pressure will be 100 lbs or less. The beads I bought with the unit are a 40-50 (coarse) and I thought it did a pretty good job. A friend re-did a motor mount of mine with his 70-80 (medium) beads and it left the part much smoother. This supplier doesn't have names for the different grits, but they go by a "US Screen" rating which I assume is similar to the grit rating of sandpaper. I will order a bag of 70-80, and maybe a 100-170 fine to try out. Thanks for the responses. Pat.

[Pat #25912]

Steve...

A couple things I have learned already. The more panels that are bolted together (easier shipping), the more seams that will leak. Spend some extra time when asembling to seal everything very well. I hooked a shop vac up to the port provided and have put a piece of nylon stocking (not mine) over the outlet hose at the cabinet as a filter. Do it in the dark. Although mine has a light inside, the shop lights cause a glare on the glass making it hard to see. Turning off the shop lights makes a vast improvement in seeing inside my cabinet. Make sure the air supply is clean and dry. It can be hard on the back being bent over the machine so I plan on adjusting the height of the cabinet a bit and add a rubber mat to stand on. I like the unit, wish I had one when I did my '66. Pat.

[Timothy B.]

Re: Steve...

So what type and brand of cabinet did you get? A Harbor Freight just opened up near me, and they have a couple of different small type that are very very affordable, like less than $100 for a small table top cabinet. They are also siphon type.

[Clem Z.]

i have a small harbor frieght table top

bead blaster but it is only good for small stuff and the force is not that great. i use it mostly for carb parts and other small items. my advice is if you plan on doing large parts buy a large one BUT you will need a large CFM compressor

[Pat #25912]

Tim...

I bought a cheap Chinese made unit that is big enough to do 15" wheels, has a side door and is on it's own stand. It came with gloves, extra protective sheets for the window and a selection of nozzels. The store I visited was moving and they had a display unit marked down to $179 Canadian. When I pointed out that one of the rubber feet was missing, they knocked off another $20! The make is Power Fist but it is a private label of a company in Canada called Princess Auto. Made in China, probably handled by other stores as well. I didn't seal mine at assembly as well as I should have that is why there is duct tape on the seams in the pic. Pat G.

[dick foehringer]

Re: Tim...

glass is good to remove paint and it leaves the metal almost polished looking. but if you are doing rusty parts or big pieces i use garnet. 30/60. it last a long time unlike glass which get dull and breaks down. you will like your cabinet no matter which one you start with. i first bought the floor model that harbor freight sells. but then you will want to go faster so i got a 8hp 2 stage 80 gallon sears compressor. so then i was wearing out the ceramic nozzles. so i went for it and bought a commercial 48" dual door cabinet with carbide nozzle, foot pedal, built in dust collector system, water separater, double flourescent interior lights and the neatest is a pull across roll of window protector. you will get tired of replacing the stick on ones.
dont know where you live but this system was in sacramento ca. temple associates, one of their "grit guy" cabinets.
good luck, dick

[Mark #28455]

use low pressure on aluminum! *NM*

[Clem Z.]

another bead blasting tip

if the item has threaded bolt holes install bolts in them as it saves a lot of clean up work trying to get the beads out of the threaded holes. glass beading causes static electricty and the best way to remove the beads is hot water. one time i was using a large metal cabinet bead blaster to clean a large part,i was leaning against the metal cabinet and got quite a shock thru my private part that really got my attension.

[Dick W.]

Re: another bead blasting tip

I thought that I was the only one that had ever experienced that Clem. Gits yer attention rat quick doesn't it.

[Chuck S.]

Re: Steve...

TIP cabinets are the Cadillacs of hobbyist bead-blast cabinets, but they are expensive. Almost without exception, I buy the best tools to last a lifetime (well, the rest of my lifetime anyway). TIP's most popular cabinet (48" long) will set you back close to $1000, but they have cabinets in all sizes and prices. For the 48" cabinet, you will need about a 6-8HP compressor (about 13 cuft/min at about 100psi).

I would have to look at a Chinese-made cabinet myself these days. The thing about TIP is if you need (and you will need) gloves, window protectors, air media nozzles, vaccuum bags or a replacement vaccum motor, they will be there. Mail order parts from China or a warehouse distributor??!!...I'm not so sure. TIP's cabinets come completely assembled (except for the lighting and the media gun)...sealing has been exceptional.

I Guarantee: It doesn't matter how big a cabinet you get, you will always want one bigger for something. You have to choose a cabinet that will handle MOST restoration tasks. (Let's see, maybe I can just let it stick out through the door and tape plastic around it...NOT!!! )

[Clem Z.]

do not lean on the machine. *NM*