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four play
12th September 2012, 10:48 AM
Hey guys im planning on pulling the tray of my ute and sandblasting it back to bare metal.
am planning on buying one of the guns you just hook up to the compressor.
can i reuse the sand after its been used? and how do i go about recycling it because its gonna be done outdoors should i try build a little booth with tarps or something similer?
thanks

Squalo
12th September 2012, 11:17 AM
You can generally re-use the sand, although I don't think sandblasters with expensive guns do.

The tarp will work fine.

Watch out for hotspots, you can easily warp the metal - there's a lot of heat where the sand hits the metal.

threedogs
12th September 2012, 11:27 AM
You can recycle the sand, however you may find sand too abrasive.
There are other mediums that will acheive a better results.plastic beads etc
Cheaper to take it to a sandblasters that specialise in car restos.
Be sure to under coat asap as it'll rust very quickly

four play
12th September 2012, 12:23 PM
Sweet thanks well its a steel tray so i thought sand would be best byt what do you think will be best its got allot of rust
But is saveable so want to get it to bare so i can repair it

Silver
12th September 2012, 12:25 PM
It would depend on the sanblasting gun and compressor, but having used an 8cfm and an auto chain store gun to tidy up corners in a bullbar etc, I would get a very clear idea of how much you need to spend to get a set up that will do your tray in a reasonable time.

I think a quote from a sandblaster/finishing place might also help make a choice. remembering they often have options in addition to say, powder coating.

four play
13th September 2012, 09:10 PM
was quoted 240 an hour and they said min of 3 to 4 hour maybe more would cost way to much

megatexture
13th September 2012, 10:29 PM
ive done a bullbar at home myself and it was bit of a pain but doable. you would want a decent compressor to keep up with the quantity of air used or it will be working its ass off and yea just make a booth as the sand will go every where

ive got a decent size compressor and used a hopper gun like the ones used for stenceling driveways thats got a gravity fed 8ltr bucket on top worked a treat.

Silver
13th September 2012, 10:45 PM
does that hourly rate say they don't really want the job? I've heard T'ville is expensive all round.

the locals charged me $15/coil to blast, same to powder coat. coils would be fiddly to blast, but maybe if I worked it out I was charged more per hour?

Perhaps they work it out the other way :-) How long will it take this bloke to wire brush this crud off? How p155ed off will he be and thus how many beers will he drink - right, we reckon a fat bloke like him would soak up 1x6 pack per coil, he'll cough up $15 a coil :-)

And they look so pree-ttyyyy with their new black coats!

Ends up being a lot of money for tray frame, loadboard and side and rear panels. Was there a metal deck as well?

Robo
14th September 2012, 09:17 PM
To blast a area like your describing at home is a very big job, for home style tools, very big indeed.
but a shop with the right tools very quick, blast tray, I'm guessing 1 hr "with the gear I've seen".
You can do it at home But I strongly argue against it.
Its to large to tackle at home.
the small ish $25 blaster is to slow, sorry.
I have done blasting at home, wishing I never started the job and it was a dam site smaller than what you are talking about.
save some money and get it done for you.
Cheers

Richo460
15th September 2012, 10:13 PM
Robo X 2
To blast a tray at home would be a nightmare. I used to work next to a blast yard and they regularly did jobs like that for beer. I would definately go to a big blast yard and ask how many cases they want to do it. On the trya i wouldn't be worried about warping it as it will be thick enough. To do it at home you would need a huge compressor and alot of other crap. Sand works ok for that sort of thing, you just need to get it back up off the ground, screen it and put it back in the hopper. The big blast yard use steel shot, it really gets the rust and crud off.

mick.
16th September 2012, 08:30 AM
As mentioned above get another quote as thats pretty pricy for a tray. $300 would be about the going rate. Don't even think about doing it at home with a little compressor as it's a job your great grand kids will have to finish off for you when your long gone. lol

Cheers Mick.

Robo
26th September 2012, 12:38 PM
Holly cow I didn't soak up the fact you were quoted $250 per hr.
Just re-read post, I was focused on time span
What does your vehicle need a heart transplant or what !.
No offence to the the reputable practising professionals out there, stay away.
He cant really want the work, just hoping you will just have to wait and pay a "#@^& amount.
I dont like saying things like that especially in public but, Crikey.

megatexture
26th September 2012, 04:22 PM
ive got a decent compressor at home and i just bought a sand blast gun from supercheap auto
to try it out as the hopper gun i have uses alot of air and i wanted to ease the load off the compressor its like the ones used for stenceling concreate


it took a lot of stuffing about to get the supercheap one to work but when i got it going it wasnt bad but i wouldnt consider doing a tray with it ! it would seriously take you a week full time ! took me 4hrs to frost 2 glass doors with it

super cheap one
http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/online-store/products/SCA-Air-Sand-Blast-Gun-Kit.aspx?pid=156474&menuFrom=80103#Description

hopper gun
http://www.foamdepot.com/Hopper_Gun.jpg

mick.
26th September 2012, 04:53 PM
Holly cow I didn't soak up the fact you were quoted $250 per hr.
Just re-read post, I was focused on time span
What does your vehicle need a heart transplant or what !.
No offence to the the reputable practising professionals out there, stay away.
He cant really want the work, just hoping you will just have to wait and pay a "#@^& amount.
I dont like saying things like that especially in public but, Crikey.I just got a quote for a horse float I'm respraying and it's 6 metres long and the price was $1500 to get glass blasted inside and out. So about $800 to do a tray is frggening ridiculous.

Cheers Mick.