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Shopping for equipment to blast then paint parts. Help please

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juntjoo

juntjoo

10+ Year Contributor
782
1
Sep 12, 2011
fort myers, Florida
I'll be repainting rusted parts from the control arms to sub frame since its all apart for major work and I've never done this or even used an air compressor. So...

What do I need to know about:
cfm's, hp, and psi's
oil or oiless compressors
Dual or single tanks
Paint or powder and if powder...
Dedicated blaster or compressor AND blaster gun(which I prefer to be able to use compressor for paint and other)
Can I use a heat gun ### I won't be able to fit sub frame in my little oven.

Note: don't mind recharging here and there, biggest part is sub frame, but all paint guns state compressors of only 1-7 gallons are not recommended, but I only have room for one of such low capacity. Shouldn't I be alright with a 4 gallon tank? What specs? Thanks
 
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Whatever air tool you buy it will have a cfm rating. You will need a compressor that is at least that, preferably more. Small compressors won't do squat when you're talking about painting, blasting, sanding etc. I won't even own one less than 30 gal unless I'm doing trim carpentry with a nail gun as those require very little cfm. You have to move volume, there is no other way. As far as oiled and oilless are concerned it's about reliability, noise and price at that point. Oilless are cheaper, noisy and less reliable considering decades of use. You won't find an oilless unit in a shop. Go big or go home really applies in this case. You might consider farming out the work.
 
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DSM1G90 said:
Ever heard of soda blasting ?

This procedure uses baking soda as the abrasive and is very effective to use.

Do some searching on this to find what you need.

Good luck - DSM
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm familiar and know that is first. And then the painting. I basically know the what needs to be done, just never done nor purchased the correct equiptment
 
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Get the biggest air compressor you can afford, preferably 30 gallon or more, 60 gallon for home use is the smallest tank I would get.

4 gallon is the good for filling a flat tire. You will be lucky to knock off the lug nuts with a 4 gallon tank.

Also you do not want to use the same oven to cure powder coat that you cook your steak.
 
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Sounds to me like a ton of overkill for parts that will see a good bit of wear since they're on the underside of the car.

For a subframe or control arms, I'd grab a rattle can and have at it. You can still get a nice looking part from a rattle can paint job.
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/151932507-post411.html


Other comments if you still want to go that route.

Get at least an 80 gallon compressor if you plan on blasting parts. I used to use a 30 gallon and it won't keep up with blasting for more than a couple minutes straight.

You can't use a heat gun to cure powdercoating.

You won't be able to fit a subframe in a standard household oven. Even if you could, the rubber bushings would probably not last.

I've never heard of the "small compressor for painting" comment. I have heard you want to limit the pressure of air coming out though to something very minimal.
 
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pauleyman said:
Whatever air tool you buy it will have a cfm rating. You will need a compressor that is at least that, preferably more. Small compressors won't do squat when you're talking about painting, blasting, sanding etc. I won't even own one less than 30 gal unless I'm doing trim carpentry with a nail gun as those require very little cfm. You have to move volume, there is no other way. As far as oiled and oilless are concerned it's about reliability, noise and price at that point. Oilless are cheaper, noisy and less reliable considering decades of use. You won't find an oilless unit in a shop. Go big or go home really applies in this case. You might consider farming out the work.
Click to expand...

Really? That sucks. How long would I be able to blast or paint with this:

www.harborfreight.com/air-tools/air...l-125-psi-twin-tank-air-compressor-60567.html

I just want to get an idea how long 4gallons will go. Five minutes? Less? And how long to refill the tank?

Can you use one tank while filling the other?

snowborder714 said:
Sounds to me like a ton of overkill for parts that will see a good bit of wear since they're on the underside of the car.

For a subframe or control arms, I'd grab a rattle can and have at it. You can still get a nice looking part from a rattle can paint job.
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/151932507-post411.html


Other comments if you still want to go that route.

Get at least an 80 gallon compressor if you plan on blasting parts. I used to use a 30 gallon and it won't keep up with blasting for more than a couple minutes straight.

You can't use a heat gun to cure powdercoating.

You won't be able to fit a subframe in a standard household oven. Even if you could, the rubber bushings would probably not last.

I've never heard of the "small compressor for painting" comment. I have heard you want to limit the pressure of air coming out though to something very minimal.
Click to expand...
I figured I could paint with spray cans but I still need to remove rust
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juntjoo said:
Really? That sucks. How long would I be able to blast or paint with this:

2 Horsepower, 4 gal., 125 PSI Twin Tank Air Compressor

I just want to get an idea how long 4gallons will go. Five minutes? Less? And how long to refill the tank?

Can you use one tank while filling the other?
Click to expand...

Don't even try. You will empty a 4 gallon tank in a matter of seconds. As I mentioned in my post, I used to blast using a 30 gallon compressor and it would only last 5 minutes (if that) before it'd have to kick on again and fill up. I now use an 80 gallon compressor and it's good for 10-15 minutes I'd guess.


juntjoo said:
I figured I could paint with spray cans but I still need to remove rust
Click to expand...

I'd look around for a place that does media blasting and see how much they'd charge to clean it up for you. That'll be your easiest route, and definitely the most cheapest.


For reference, an 30 gallon compressor will run you $500+ (80 gallons are $900+), a blast cabinet is probably $200ish (unless you have spare lumber and can build one yourself), media and gun is probably another $100, etc. It's not a cheap thing to get into if you want to do things right.
 
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Ah, just read latest responses. Doesn't look feasible unless you have your own garage
 
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I have a 5hp 240v 24CFM on a 60 gal tank bombed into another 80 gallon tank (140 gal total) And when the Zero Blast glass bead cabinet is in full swing, I will drain it in about 10 mins or so, at about 15 mins or so I will be at 70psi and the compressor working to catch up.

If you are looking to sand blast or glass bead or any sort of media blasting, you need air and lots of it.

Harbor Freight has the cheapest free standing blast cabinet about $300, or a table top one for about $100
 
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One thing that has not been mentioned is your lungs. You need protection when blasting. A respirator is required, not just a mask. Another good reason to have somebody else do this.

You would have to have a very large cabinet to blast the parts you`re talking about.
 
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rust removal and clean up is addicting and time consuming. i use a bead blast cabinet and a big high cfm compressor and have a portable blaster for the bigger parts. a soad blaster is good for removing paint, bondo and surface rust but to descale chunky rust it sometimes needs a much heavier abrasive.

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Thanks for your replies. I think for now I'm going to "farm" out the job as one of you put it until I get my own garage

I do have an angle grinder. Any of you ever use one of those wire brush wheels on rust on similar parts with much success? I wonder if that's all I need for these parts(sub frame, cross member, control arms)
 
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Well the wire cup wheel works pretty good but kills your forearms. I swear my arm didn't look like that a half hr ago. I can't quite reach the nooks and crannies but I'll try with my rotary tool, but it's probably too weak. I can see how a nice media blasting setup would work very well, but this will have to do til I get a garage
 
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