Hey Folks,

Anybody know anywhere in Guildford/Camberley/Farnborough region that will do small Sand Blasting jobs to clean up the corrosion on things like hubs etc?

My wire brushing is definately not up to the task!

Thanks,

James

Get yourself a bevel brush - take anything off .....

Hubs maybe- though there's lots of areas you can't get into even there. (Without taking the disc off anyway).

When it comes to nicely ridged diff casings and gearboxes it's a different matter!
Especially as they're made of cast ally and a 10,000RPM steel wire brush doesn't leave 'em looking so good!

Blaster's at the ready anyone?

Cheers,

James

Unless you intend to strip said parts to bare casings IMHO it isnt a good idea to sand/bead blast, it will knacker all the seals instantly.

And anyone who offers 'sandblasting' is a bodger, as it gives the blaster silicosis and I think is illegal.

Graham

Most people call it 'sandblasting', but in reality most places haven't used 'sand' for a long time.

It's usually plastic beads (recycled pellets made from old bottles), walnut shells, or similar media.

Make sure that you discuss what you want with the 'blaster' - there's various grades of media. Some will just take paint off, but some take some of the metal as well!

I made a complete balls of painting my front suspension arms, so got them blasted. They came back with a nice matt finish, perfect for painting.

Don't forget to arrange transport ASAP after blasting - the chassis will be squeaky clean and totally grease-free, so could rust while you watch! Alternatively, see if you can find a 'blaster who will spray it with twin-pack etch primer as soon as he's finished (this is a common thing to do).


David

[Edited on 12/12/02 by David Jenkins]

James,
I bought a compressor & spot grit blaster from Machine Mart. The spot gun needs lower air consumption than a grit blast gun. My son fabricated a blasting booth from and old wardrobe door, a filter using old tights, not mine, and a vacuum cleaner for extraction. I found the best results using it without the collection bag and container - just sucking the grit from a pile on the base of the booth. I blasted the front sierra uprights by wrapping string around the gap to protect the seals. I've found it useful for all the brackets etc. and can spray them straight away before the rust sets in.

Cheers,

Colin

I've got a grit blast gun... does a great job, but the grit gets everywhere. I need to knock up a cabinet & some sort of recovery mechanism to collect the used grit.

John

There was a guy on the www who did blasting with soda. He said his process was OK for gearbox/diff as the process did not harm the seals. Even if the stuff did get inside it would cause no damage. He charged about £30-£40 for a gearbox depending on how bad it was.

James, I used a guy based in Hurst. 1 man band on a small industrial park, but he did a good job on my hubs / calipers etc .

Phoenix Blasting & Polishing
Unit 12 Phoenix, Nelsons Lane Hurst
Reading Berkshire
RG10 0RR

Tel: 0118 932 1624


FYI Camberly is about 20 mins from Hurst (East / south reading)

http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?client=public&X=480000&Y=175000&scale=200000&width=700&height=400&gride=480577&gridn=172731&coordsys=gb&db =pc&addr1=&addr2=&addr3=&pc=RG100RR&advanced=

quote:

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Originally posted by JohnFol
James, I used a guy based in Hurst. 1 man band on a small industrial park, but he did a good job on my hubs / calipers etc .

Phoenix Blasting & Polishing
Unit 12 Phoenix, Nelsons Lane Hurst
Reading Berkshire
RG10 0RR

Tel: 0118 932 1624


FYI Camberly is about 20 mins from Hurst (East / south reading)

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Hello - I've been looking for a 'sand' blasting firm who can do the bigger bits for me (I'm not building a Locost but restoring a Triumph Vitesse) and I stumbled across your thread - how much does this guy in Hurst charge?
As for getting your own sand blaster going it's great! I was lucky a mate of mine liberated an Eastwood blasting cabinte from work, it was destined for the skip! I had to put it together but it's great - blating is very satisfying BUT every job turns into a concours project and a wire brush is just not satisfactory anymore! Sand can be used but the dust is lethal. Any other medium also creates dust and whilst not so lethal it's not the best thing to get into your nose, mouth, lungs etc. Dust extraction is now my biggest problem - I'm safe, I bought a filter mask but the rest of the garage gets coated, a vacuum cleaner is marginal!

Jason

quote:

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Originally posted by chinn
Hello - I've been looking for a 'sand' blasting firm who can do the bigger bits for me (I'm not building a Locost but restoring a Triumph Vitesse) and I stumbled across your thread - how much does this guy in Hurst charge?
As for getting your own sand blaster going it's great! I was lucky a mate of mine liberated an Eastwood blasting cabinte from work, it was destined for the skip! I had to put it together but it's great - blating is very satisfying BUT every job turns into a concours project and a wire brush is just not satisfactory anymore! Sand can be used but the dust is lethal. Any other medium also creates dust and whilst not so lethal it's not the best thing to get into your nose, mouth, lungs etc. Dust extraction is now my biggest problem - I'm safe, I bought a filter mask but the rest of the garage gets coated, a vacuum cleaner is marginal!

Jason

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Chinn, Sorry for the slow response.

I paid (from memory) about £35 for front hubs, backing plates, disks, calipers and drums .. . .

I used to work in a foundry making gate valves for oil and chemical industries and the blaster we used was a shot blaster using cut wire shot. It had a turntable inside about 6feet across for the castings to be cleaned before fettling. One of the men there decided to clean up a bike frame and put it inside for 3 minutes. It was like swiss cheese when it came out. The cabinet was lined with chill cast plates like the shuttle tiles but it still used to leak. It was like being shot with an air pistol some days.

yours, Pete

James - I live in Tilehurst. What do you need blasting? What's your specialty for trade? I've only got fine blasting medium in there at the moment, been doing some intake manifolds and getting some paint off smaller panels. Whilst the cabinet works OK it's not upto commercial speeds Stuff needs to be grease free (otherwise it clogs up) but for rust and paint stipping it's great - email me off list Jason@chinnfamily.co.uk and we can arrange something

quote:

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Originally posted by Peteff
I used to work in a foundry making gate valves for oil and chemical industries and the blaster we used was a shot blaster using cut wire shot. It had a turntable inside about 6feet across for the castings to be cleaned before fettling. One of the men there decided to clean up a bike frame and put it inside for 3 minutes. It was like swiss cheese when it came out. The cabinet was lined with chill cast plates like the shuttle tiles but it still used to leak. It was like being shot with an air pistol some days.

yours, Pete

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Maybe things have changed, but years ago, i decided to have a GS 750 engine, bead blasted, an old and learned friend cautioned me against it, but i knew better!
I made special plates to cover all the known orifices of the motor, i even packed the ports with grease before bolting on the plates ( with gaskets ).
The engine came back looking like brand new, i was amazed.
sadly i was even more amazed when i removed my blast proof plates to discover that beads had got in everywhere.
Reluctlantly i had to admit that i'd fuc#ed up big style, it took me a week to strip the engine to every last part, wash out all the crud in a big parts washer and rebuild the lot. Another lesson learned the hard way. Incedently i regularly jet washed the same engine with no ill effects, so to this day i don't understand how the stuff got inside.

ATB

Wadders

Yup the grit gets everywhere - no matter how hard you try you cannot stop it. Afterall even in my DIY cabinet I'm blasting grit around with air at 120psi, imagine what pressures get used at commercial premises.
I called the guy in Hurst, he reckons on about a 2 day turn around and would charge about £15 per door and about 1 tenner to blast clean my front valance. Not too expensive but it mounts up. However, there's nothing like a blasted clean panel to work on :-)
Also found a place to get cheap blast media - the guy in Hurst recommended BC Abrasives in Woodley - they charge a fraction of what even cheap places like screwfix charge

elgamec - ash vale cant remember their number sorry