hey ya'll, i finally got my truck tore apart literallly, all thats left is the drive train, question is i want to sandblast the frame and axles, never done it before, my old man has a big portable air compressor and has a blaster, but havent used the blaster before. tell me some tricks i should know please, and i want to pant the engine block, tranny t-case too, whats good to use there?? I appreciate your opinions, how much sand am i expected to use... 20-30 bags?? thanks guys. cheers!

 

Keep the sand away from any and all orifices! Tape off your yokes on the axle, seal up your drums and kingpins...sand is bad except for on the beach. I would avoid it on the engine and t-case, but there are some good block paints out there from places like eastwood.

 

i have used the black "sand" that northern tools carries... it worked a lot better then the other white sand..

i think it came in 10lb bags.. best thing to do it take your time and keep a close eye on what you are doing..

if you want to do the drivetrain I suggest taking it apart and making sure you close off every opening.. then when done before you put it back together flush the fluids and make sure there is no sand in anything..

 

It makes a big mess and will get places you could never imagine. Like everyone else plug up holes and tape off places you don't want it to go. alumium tape or metal tape works good so you don'tburn thru it.

 

I rember a guy in trade school, 20 years ago, bead blasting a set of smblk chevy heads for a project he was working on as part of his mechanic pre-app.

blew them down and then washed them afterwards.

needless to say it ran for a few minutes before the stuff he missed wiping out all those brand new bearings...



tks,
rj

 

I would think it to be best to just wire brush the mechanicals. A knotted wire wheel on a 4.5" grinder is real mean on rust and goo.

 

if you do this.. PLEASE wear portective clothes and face shield.. these things can be dangerous

 

We've blasted tractors and painted them... I strip them down to just the manifolds and then build a plate or good plug to block them off. It will be in every cranny... I hope its a pressurized pot styled blaster.... suction feeds are OK for cabinets.... I blast on concrete, and after a few loads.. I'll sweep up the sand and reuse it... it will finally turn to almost powder...
Always strain every everything that goes in the blaster.. new or used sand...

I'd like to try some of that black sand... but 10lbs bags.. it would take forever to load... we load 80-100lbs at a time.. and its a small machine..

Oh, yea.. use a filter.. or water seperator.. we use both..
A good helmet, long shirt.. and thick gloves...
Good Luck..
Bryan

 

Clean the frame out good. I once bought a car for a very low price that had been "professionally restored" because the "Professional" had left sand inside the frame. The sand held water and rotted out the frame in several spots.

 

Dangerous is right.

These things are best left up to a professional

Where are you located? There are MUCH better medias than sand, ALL will be safer for you and anyone in the immediate area.

If you have a tractor supply close by you can get Black Beauty (coal slag) pretty reasonable.

Our system blows 440lbs and hour when tuned in good. We use 100 lb Silica Sand, soon to be switching over to 100% crushed glass.

BE CAREFUL.

 

put a tarp down under the truck to catch the sand, so you can reuse it. usued to do it all the time in the quarry.

wear a good shirt, and gloves, trust me, youll need it. that sand gets everywhere, and when it does, youll feel it.

stay away from ujoints and such, sand+bearing/grease=no good


i had a hose break on me while sandblasting once, the sand ate through my sleeve so quick i didnt even know what happened, until it hurt, and i was bleeding from my wrist. and i mean quick, like 5 seconds.

 

Yeah! Yours and the trucks! Wear good eye protection. Oh yeah and wear a good respirator.

 

Everyones covered pretty much everything but i'll add. On a bare stripped frame sand is fine, but if there are any components that the sand could effect go to a differant media. You can use blast soda, its advantage its water soluable, also crushed walnut shells. The advantage to these alternatives is they arent quite as fast but they dont have same bad effects as sand.

 

i use my pressure washer with a sand blaster attachment . first let me say it is not a go fast deal but i like the no dust end. done plenty the other way didn't care for it. did my last tractor with the sand blaster on my pressure washer and it came out fine. just do as you are told and keep it out of the seals with tape and rags. i just use cheap masons sand and a screen door screen to filter it. good luck.

 

thanks for all the help guys... this weekend if its nice i think i'll give a goo and see how things look. Once again. thanks Cheers!