Hey all - So I bought the larger red Harbor Freight free standing blast cabinet. The gun that came with it appeared not to work well so I bought an upgrade kit from CP Tools made specifically for the cabinet. It comes with a better gun, better siphon tube, etc. It seems that upgrade was well worth it. The only thing I have blasted up to this point have been a free random pieces. I am using walnut shells. They seem to do a good job removing paint but they don't seem to remove rust. The gun is a skat blast gun and the nozzle I am using is steel with a 1/4" orifice. It seems that each piece takes awhile to remove all the paint. The question I have is are there any tips and tricks to removing the rust/paint any faster? Should I use 80 grit glass bead instead of walnut shells or some other type of blast media? Should I try or do I need a different type of nozzle? Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Nozzle size really depends on what you have for air available. If you have a small air compressor your going to need a small nozzle so your compressor can keep the psi your regulator is set for. I use glass beads in mine. Heavy rust does not clean up well but surface rust is no problem. Some paint comes off easy and some doesn't, it depends on what type of paint was used. Use a chemical paint remover first and finish the clean up work with the blaster.
Nickel Slag works good on rust, I used it on my '65 tailgate and stepside steps. Lots of pressure and smaller nozzles focus the media and provides better removal. I was able to re-use it up to 3 times before it didn't "bite" as well.
