pressurewasher sandblaster attachment

[gator9329]

Hey guys, I'm looking to use this method on my boat to remove the old bottom paint. It is a fiberglass boat . I was wondering if any of you that have been using this system would update this post with what you have found out about this process. Let us know the good the bad and if you think this would ruin fiberglass . I had a harbor freight open just down the street from me with a standard pot blaster that uses baking soda. I know this is the prefered method, but this would be dusty. Thank you for any updates.

 

[AGE|kshaufl]

IMHO I would not blast Fiberglass. You may blow a hole through it too easily.

If you try I would say at maybe a lower pressure? Just think it is too risky though.

 

[gator9329]

thanks for your thoughts..

 

[Tinwoodsman]

I tried mine for the first time today and used a mixture of sand I sifted through a blast strainer and 40/60 black beauty. Very disappointed. What type of sand is best?

 

[gator9329]

i have heard about play sand being used. That is why i was interested in this method. I have large areas to cover and i am not able to recover the used sand. I hope someone will weigh in on this.

 

[WWIILBird]

I went to Lowes and picked up some play sand last week just to try it out on a small section of my 5 Ton which has many layers of paint. I set it up per instructions and it worked incredibly well on spots where the paint had already peeled off several top coats. I did about 5 square inches in about 6-10 minutes and it took it right down to shiny metal pretty quickly. So I moved on to another spot where there was lots of layers and no peeling just brush marks. I gave up. I think the paint was laughing at me saying is that all you got! I kept the nozzle up close to the paint and it barely took off one layer. Maybe because my truck has many layers of hand painted coats but I can't imagine how anyone could do wheels or anything else with many layers of paint unless they have an incredibly large amount of time, patients, and lots of sand. But I guess it would be awesome on other less challenging surfaces. Oh and by the way, you have to sift the sand! A couple of times I got a larger diameter grain of sand logged in the nozzle. Once that happens water back feeds down the plastic pipe and wets the sand and the hose clogs up. You'll spend the next 20 minutes trying to unclog the hose. Of course this was self inficted. I'm ordering a sifter. I think this is a great product to have around the house for other chores. I believe my power washer is 2,500 psi.

 

[Tinwoodsman]

Thanks, I will try the play sand. I will also use my needle scaler to rough up the layers before blasting. Hopefully it will help.

 

[MitchG]

Hey guys the sand I use mainly is a medium grit blasting sand. I think the number is BX60. It will strip it down to the bare metal pretty quickly. At least it has on all the stuff I have blasted. I don't know if that BX60 equates to play sand or not. I have not used play sand, but I would think the blasting sand would be a more uniform size as it is screened to the seperate sizes.
My pressure washer is a 2200 psi if I remember correctly.

Let me know if there is anything else you would like to know about my setup.

 

[expeditionimports]

Hi Guys,

We use a liquid abrasive slurry machine by Kleiber & Schultz. Same thing you guys are doing just uses a silicone water pump and high pressure air. Anyways, we add a chemical called Protek 8020 to the slurry which does not allow flash rust to form for a good 2-3 weeks. In our case a 5 gallon bucket will last for 2 years, with limited use and in a contained environment.

You might be able to mix up some of this and put it into the chemical injector and get the same effect? It really does the job well.

PROTEK 8020 - Products

Cheers,

Scott

 

[Beerslayer]

Play Sand - Beach Sand

Another downside of using this type of sand is that most of the particles are rounded from being rolled around in the water, not sharp like an abrasive. It will take a lot more sand, time, and air to get the same job done than with an abrasive meant for the task.

 

[DAP]

This is the attachment I have and it works fantastic. I got this attachment from Northern Tools shown in the link above and fasten it to my power washer. Make sure you use sand blasting sand and not play ground sand. Play gorund sand is to coarse and plugs the nozzle.

 

[Tinwoodsman]

What attachment?

 

[waayfast]

 

[BlizzardX23]

I just ordered this piece from Northern Tools...I'll hook it up to my pressure washer and strip my truck back down and start fresh...


Where do you guys spray your trucks? I live in a regular track home neighborhood...so I cant do it in the street...can I?

 

[Heath_h49008]

Thanks for this thread guys, I think you just answered a bunch of questions for me.... Pressure washer 2200psi and 4GPM... blasting attachment, keep the feed tube at the top, and only use real blasting media.

Rgr tht.

 

[Heath_h49008]

By the way... if you're worried about flash rusting, have you tried attaching some zinc blocks BEFORE you blast to act as sacrificial cathodes until you can get it dry and a coat of sealer/primer/paint on it?

Just an idea I had.

 

[BlizzardX23]

Here's another BTW..


My Pop and I were talking when he and my Mom came into town this weekend..I told him about the sandblast kit from Northern Tools. (He is corporate for Harbor Freight in Calabasas, California) Anyways...he gave me that look...you know...the "How dare you say the name "Northern Tools" in my presence"...jokingly of course. They will be adding this kit to their inventory soon Just a heads up!

 

[65 m151a1]

I see it not being fessable unless your on well water or an endless free supply of water because it eats up 8 GPM and if your on city sevices that can be costly. A 30 minute job would take up to 240 + gallons of water. So its not for me because a portable air supply blaster off of electricity is cheaper at lest in my area.

 

[Heath_h49008]

Here in Michigan that's no concern! I'm going to keep an eye out for a craigslist pressure-washer and a kit. I'm wondering how well it will work on a car... thin metal is normally bad juju for sand because of the heating/warping, but the water should control that.

 

[Heath_h49008]

I have been doing more research, and it would seem possible to use Phosphoric acid in the pressure washer via the "soap" port ... unless there is a reason the paint would react with it, that would seem to be the best method of preventing flash rust, and actually building a hard surface for primer/paint to stick to. You may be able to do it all at the same time as well. Blast it with high-pressure, then turn it to low and hose it down with the HPO4(aq) in a weak solution on the "Low" pressure setting.