It's a blast (not)
What’s only a month old, dirty, dusty, loud, and finally finished?
My frame sandblasting project. And probably something to do with children.
All started off with high hopes. Roll the frame outside on a tarp, get the blaster set up, then go! Turns out, that doesn’t work. The beads didn’t cut, everything went everywhere, and to add insult the wind started blowing each time I opened the nozzle. So, okay, that didn’t work. What next?
After some internet research I figured out two things:
- Somehow I needed to move this operation indoors.
- My “open things full bore” approach was a bit…overzealous.
Number two is an easy fix. I can apply the lessons anytime. But how to blast inside the shop without turning it into a disaster area? The wife suggested an enclosure. Great idea! Except the least expensive are a couple grand. Crap. Next up, a Harbor Freight carport. I was really close to getting this until it dawned on me. We have an old two room tent in the storage area that we’ve been meaning to get rid of! Could that possibly work?
The answer, thankfully, is yes! With a few modifications. Namely, make a tear near the door to make the opening wider, and a small cut in the back to feed the air hose. Now we’re in business! I was able to start spraying and, with my new found techniques, successfully begin to take the old coating, paint, and rust off the frame.
The rhythm of at-home media blasting ended up being:
- Set up a large shop fan to blow the dust outside
- Fill the hopper
- Blast the frame
- Go have dinner
- Sweep up your mess
- Sift the large pieces out using your wife’s kitchen colander
- Repeat
After a couple runs, it became clear I needed some more blast media. I ran down to Abrasives Spokane and picked up a bag of Green Diamond material. The proprietor said it was the stuff his frame guys used. Bonus: it was inexpensive.
Here’s the thing, though. It takes somewhere between 6 and 10 rounds of blasting before you realize “I should’ve just paid someone to do this.” But hey, this is all for the experience, right? Right.
After that low key freakout of “what the hell am I doing?”, I moved on. Spray, stop, sweep, sift, repeat. Occasionally throw the material on the barbeque at low heat to dry it out. At one point, my wife helped me flip the frame so I could get the last side.
And that last side was the one that really got me. Up to that point, I had been humming along just fine with safety glasses and a respirator. Once I flipped the frame, however, it was like the sand carried a grudge. Against my eyeballs. Yes, ouch. It required a couple days of downtime with a scratched cornea, and a trip to Harbor Freight for a full-on hood. Ah, so much better!
The end result? A fully blasted 1966 Bronco frame! Note that I left the front shock mounts untouched on purpose. I know I need to cut one off, but at when I started I didn’t know which one (hint: the front one has got to go). Also, not really a surprise, but I missed some spots. Oops. Good thing no one is paying for this.
