SandBlasting Equipments & Supplies

"Here You Have Some Sandblasting Tips"

When you are surfing on internet you can find many different websites about sandblasting, but only a limited quantity of them are from sandblasting users. Most of them are only mere catalogs of sandblast companies. But recently I stumbled upon a website very useful. In this website the author writes about his personal experience using the sandblasting technique in different projects.

Christina (The writer of this blog) talks about the trials and tribulations of renovating, living in and renting a 120 year old brick 2 flat in Chicago. In one of her specific projects ( Sandblasting Radiators) she tried to sandblast some very old radiators to bring them to new life.

In my humble opinion the most important part is her personal sandblasting tips. Here you have some of them:

1. It is crucial before any sandblasting work (with the tools she used) to remove the vast majority of the old paint. The sandblaster she used did not work well on really thick areas of paint.

2. Remember to remove water from the hose and air compressor periodically. (it builds up). As the sandblasting time wore on, the efficiency decreased, possibly due to water build up.

3. Be well protected, and assume that despite the precautions you will have sand or grit everywhere.

4. Be cautious when you take breaks (ie. don’t wash hands and immediately rub your eyes, clean off the sand on your face). Optimally, you will limit your "break areas" to limit tracking sand all throughout the house.

5. It’s a long process, so be smart in what you focus on. Focusing on the areas that are readily seen you get a lot more bang for the time spent.

What Makes A Sandblast Helmet Perfect?

One of the most important elements of the sandblasting process is the sandblast helmet. Helmets are any of the various forms of protective head covering worn by fire-fighters and any industrial operator who need to minimize risk. In our example is the operator who handles a sandblasting equipment and needs to minimize the risk, especially for his eyes.

If the equipment is small and portable sometimes sandblast helmets are not required because all the work are made inside a small booth or cabinet, but when the scale is bigger the operators need to carry protective equipments. In this case is where sandblast helmets are completely a must.

This kind of helmets must be abrasion-resistant. This is why polyethylene helmets are recommended, due these sandblast shells are reliable, durable, and NIOSH-approved, with a high pressure control valve or low pressure constant flow valve. Beside a replaceable cape cover band is very recommendable because it prevents abrasives from entering by sealing the top of the durable nylon cape.