[widebody911]

I have the Harbor Fright [sic] 40lb pressurized blaster - the one that looks like a red propane tank.

Out of the box, it sucked. I upgraded the fittings, hose and nozzle, and now it works like a champ. The only problem is, after the upgrades, I'm $20 over the price of a nice one at the local industrial blasting shop (Temple Associates, Sacramento).

I use #80 Australian Garnet ('mate!). It works very well, and you don't have the silica issues. I used to try and filter and re-use my sand, but now I don't bother, for a little blasting as I do.

There are industrial places that you can take a car to be blasted; Perfect-It in Rancho Cordova specialises in blasting, painting and powder coating stuff; they charge ~$70/hr to blast a car. They quoted me $1500 to blast and prime a VW bus.