Sand/Media Blaster Options

[rick-l]

I have a siphon feed sandblaster and a 2 horsepower compressor. It is worthless.

It takes forever. It blasts a 2 square inch area at a time. After about 5 minutes it starts to spray water and clogs up.

[RWebb]

the oil compressors are a lot less noisy than what you are used to

another option is to mount the compressor on the wall outside and just punch a hole thru for the air line - even less noise that way (for you - but if you are in a residential zone you can make somebody very unhappy who might complain to the bldg/land use code inspectors...)

blasting doesn't just put any lead based paint into the soil, it will put it into the air, so be aware of safeguards for that

it is an intrinsically messy thing to do

back to the bike frames - why does all the old paint HAVE to be removed in the 1st place?

what if you just sand it smooth, treat any rust, and repaint?

[Green 912]

Open loop blasting of paint lead base or not is nuts out messy and will pollute you and your environment. Based on your conditions put forth you should look at chemical stripping and wire wheel finishing. I have done open loop blast work, it is very messy, you go through media fast and the dust and bouncing media goes everywhere including in you.

You can build a closed loop syphon feed media cabinet for little $. Some plywood and some left over costco shelving are the big parts. I used a window from a garage door as it was tempered (and free). There is a baffle on ether side to let air in and draw the dust out without letting media get loose. I added a window screen under the work grate to keep the media free of chunks of crud. Well worth the weekend spent building it.
I have a 1970s era true 2 hp single stage 2 cyl compressor and can blast continuously with the right nozzle installed. Home Depot sells a good working syphon gun for $12. A filter dryer and desicent filter are both a must for open or closed blasting. The desiccant filters work well. Damp air and media sucks and only makes the work frustrating. A shop vac with an added pre-filter made from a beach towel sucks the dust out. Clean off any grease, put part in cabinet, blast away and blow clean with the air gun. Out comes clean part no muss no fuss no dust in the shop. They are like microwave ovens. Once you have one you wonder how you got by without it.