Harbor Freight Sand Blaster - Setup and First Use 

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Hey Brock, me again. After using a blaster like that on car and motorcycle frames for the last 40 years or so you will want to take it down to the bare metal or like I said in a previous video you can use a rust inhibitor such as "Rust Mort" on it. But I've found it better since you already bought the blaster to do it that way. Then you can sand it, put a good red oxide or epoxy primer on it and a good quality automotive paint. Primer is not waterproof so if left outside in the weather with just primer on it without being covered it will rust from the inside out. Just trying to help. God bless you, your family, and God bless America!! 👍👍

I'm glad you made this video, I am in the market for a blaster and ha e been looking at several models.

Think that will be great for getting inside tight areas of the frame and places where you can't get a grinder with a flap sanding disk or wire wheel into. And keep the amount of blasting media you use reasonable. This was very helpful as I have looked at those and thought about it but never gone any further than that. I can see some great uses for that for things I am messing with, so I will likely pick one up soon. Thanks for the video and have a good one!!

I bought me a camping tent for my work shop to recycle my sand for my small projects clean up is a breeze 😁🎪

I had the blaster like yours. The media valve was all brass, and wore ahole in the body after a short time. Replaced with stainless valve. I replaced it with the 100 lb. Blaster. It worked well, didn't have to stop andrefill as often. I have a 5 hp compressor and have to stop and let catch up after 10 or 15 min. By then Im ready for ashort breather. TSC has cheap ground slag in different grades of grit. Sand is very hadorous to your health, need a air supply to a good hood to use sand.

I'm learning here with you. I've never used a sand blaster... Thanks for the video, Brock. 👍

Hey Brock, I've got one of them. They work ok, but takes a lot of cfm's. If you want to speed the process, increase the nozzle size and volume of air with two compressors. Clean down to bare metal and don't touch it after it's blasted. Get primer and paint on ASAP while humidity is low and temperature is perfect conditions if possible. Keep up the great work.

Good video!! I bought the 15.00 dollar plastic harbor freight sandblaster bought bag of media at tsc for 12 dollar did a frame on a Toyota pickup worked great 1 bag did whole frame. Gettin ready to do another one. I just have a 2 gallon harbor freight super quiet compressor. Thanks for sharing be safe have fun enjoy

👍👍🔥🔥 another great project. Love old farm equipment!!

I bought a sandblasting gun from amazon, and a bag of dry play-sand... I could do 1 square inch before my air compressor (15-20 gallon craftsman air compressor) ran out of air... so from my view, YOU'RE DOING GREAT BROCK!

Great and thorough explanations ! Thank you!

If you decide to go with the sand blaster, aluminum oxide will be the most cost effective, and most productive media to use. Sold in bags, not buckets. If you want the substrate to be white metal, you might want to consider removing the heavy corrosion, using 36-60 grit sanding disc, then use the blaster to final clean. I don’t recommend a wire wheel. Wire wheels tend to leave a smooth polished surface, that doesn’t give the coating a profile to bond to. I generally don’t sand blast, because of the expense and trouble. I recommend using an epoxy primer formulated for rusty metal. Mix the primer in small batches as needed, because it will set up after mixing. 235 Bar-Rust is a good product. Try not to touch the cleaned surface with your bare hands, because of the oils in your skin, or wash the area with mild detergent and flush with fresh water prior to coating. FYI- they make a sand blast attachment that fits on your pressure washer. It is more productive than the dry blaster. Also, all your bearings and grease joints, will get blast media in them, and will need to be cleaned before use.

One of those outdoor carports that HF sells (Captain Cleeman's brother bought one) with a large tarp for the floor, you'd be able to reuse your blasting media and make less of a mess. Good place to use when it comes to painting as well.

My guess is a combo approach would be best. Wire wheel easy spots like what you were working on then switch to sandblasting for crevices/pinch points.

I’m not much help on this subject at all, but I sure am enjoying watching the progress. Thanks for sharing.

I’ve blasted with Silica Sand, Walnut Shells, steel shot, glass beads, copper slag, soda, garnet and crushed coal clinkers. They all do different finishes.

Did a bunch of work on my 72 Z28 with one of these (mostly nooks and crannies, frame and suspension and underside. I found the medium sand at Ace hardware worked great, but I ran it through window screen into a 5 gallon bucket first to get large chunks out. I also cleaned driveway prior to blasting then re-used the sand again. 2 uses is about all you'll get out of it, after 2nd use the normally sharp sand gets rounded over and doesn't do a good job. I paid about $130 for it, go to Eastwood and the same blaster was on there for a lot more. I coated everything with Southern Polyurethane Inc (SPI) epoxy primer after, great stuff, and very reasonably priced, and delivered to your door for no charge. I still have some left over from 2013 and have used it on shop cabinets, firewood rack, and has held up fine even though they recommend discarding after a year. I wouldn't use old stuff on a car but for garage projects etc it is fine. Doesn't even need to be topcoated, comes in black, red oxide and white I believe.

Hey Brock, I think your compressor is adequate but your using a fine blasting media that more suited to finish work and not rust removal. Walnut works well but is expensive and really requires collection and reuse or you’ll be seeing your wallet getting lighter. Black Diamond 1040 or 1240 medium to coarse slag abrasive is what you should try and a 50 lb bag should only cost 8-10 bucks. It’ll be like using coarse sand paper versus fine sand paper which is what you’re currently using. Also, keep the media flowing and recycle after filtering and you should see faster results and spend less money. Good luck.

I'd use the Eastwood Contour or HF sander to remove a majority of the substrate rust/paint and the blaster for difficult to reach areas. I'll probably pick one of these up for just this case. Thanks for the vid!

I know there are a lot of people in the mobil sandblasting business now. It might be worthwhile to see what they would charge to come to your place and do it. Then you could focus your time on the rest of the project.

For diy a 4000 psi pressure washer with a wet blaster kit and 16-40 sand from a regular sand and gravel dealer is way cheaper, easier and faster. It’s a good idea to still wear a respirator but there isn’t really any dust with wet blasting. A face shield is a must though and you will probably want to wear some heavy rubber gloves.

Hey Brock I know its wet but there are attachments for pressure washers to combine sand into the water. That might be a good first cause of action to getting it clean. Good luck on the projects. Ed

I have used one of these before. It got it done but took alot of time. After using one of these I decided to try something better. I bought the 110 pound Blaster at the flea market for 50 bucks used. Went to the sandblasting supply and got a more course sand. Loaded it up. And got after it. I did the entire side of a 20 foot shipping container in 3 hours. The more course sand at it up. It was costly for the sand. I decided to go even cheaper. I took my dump trailer to the local sand pit. Bought a couple tons of masons sand for 25 bucks. Brought it home. I tossed about 10 shovel fulls on a piece of plate steel I got laying around every morning. Let the hot texas August sun burn the moisture out of it. Put it in buckets. Once it was all dry and in buckets I did the second container. Wasn't quite as fast but sure was cheaper. Masons sand is finer than the stuff from the sandblasting store. Anyway use a respirator with sand. Your lungs will thank you. I also used a big fan to blow the paint and bouncing sand away from me. It was hot but wasn't too bad. I was using a gas air compressor rated at 24 scfm at 150 psi. I ran a regulator on it to keep it constant. Sandblasters generally work better with the air wide open and the sand regulated.

That's a fairly large area to cover, a combination of methods will likely be necessary. As always, a great video!

I use a ground up slag then sweep up the refuse, filter and reuse it a few times. It's a different,cheaper product for blasting. I have even used filtered Beach sand

I've done sand blasting on heavy equipment before. It was a commercial blaster, and really worked fast. Watching you work with the blaster you have makes me think that it is designed for smaller jobs. I'm sure it will get it done, but the time it would take is daunting. Is it possible to rent a larger one for your project? I'd look into that. The blaster you have would be fine for tools and smaller things. In fact, you gave me an idea to use one like that for cleaning up old tools I get from auctions. There you go, always hanging that carrot in front of my face! You're killing me, Brock! Great video, though. I like watching things done as the learning process progresses. I can relate to that much easier, being the type that jumps into new things without hesitation. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. That's life!

Higher pressure will fracture more of the media and turn it into dust. Good air volume is key! Re-use media after filtering if you can!

Amazing ! Exactly what i was looking for ! Thank you !

It looks like a job I wouldn't want to do. Good luck Brock!

Great video ! Just bought one to do little small areas of my '89 Mustang rebuild. The car was stripped in 2004 down to body shell and has been in storage for the last 19 years. I have surface rust in areas so gonna give this a try. I Worked all day with it and never could get the feel of it like you did but I followed the instructions and adjusted the valves per the Chinese. My compressor is the same as yours and using the same media. Will try again and crack the bottom valve to get pressure like your results.

I bought one years ago and didn’t work well for me. I think it’s because my compressor is too small. Thanks for the video!

just put mine together. That washer behind the media cone/jet has two profiles .. easily overlooked. I think I have mine in correctly - bevel to the 'jet' - but it would have helped for the manufacturer to have identified up and down. Thanks for the insight. I will be using walnut shell

Rust comes off easy the mill scale is what is the hardest to remove in my opinion it’s bes to remove rust and mill scale and primer it right away as it will rust quickly and having out side less mess to clean inside 😊😊

I have one... the key to these is DRY AIR,..... use a dryer inline and DRY garnet media,... limit the flow of media and these work really well.......... I did some mods on the legs on mine ... and I use ceramic tips on the gun............ WELL WORTH IT ! I've blasted many items with perfect results... make sure you have and use a quality hood when blasting.👍👍👍😁

Maybe do a combination of wire wheel to take off the majority of the rust etc and then use the sand blaster to do the final clean up.

Nice job Brock. Sandblasting is time consuming and dirty but really does a good job. Might be worth trying different media or sand to blast with to see what cuts the fastest.

Another potential solution would be renting a dry ice blaster. You still have the cost of the media (dry ice), but it sublimates and does not leave a mess to clean up later in the way of particulates that can get into places they don't belong (including the lungs) long-term. Buying a dry ice blaster is kind of spendy, but it depends on how much blasting you are going to do long-term I guess.

I know, 3 months old. I just finished a blasting project with another similar product. 1st, you're right that you need to keep the top two valves fully open and meter with the bottom one (mine didn't even come with a valve going into the tank). you should have used Al Oxide instead of glass bead for this project, it leaves a much better paint surface and cuts better. I glanced through the comments and one I didn't see was if you put a trap down, you can sieve and recycle the glass or Al Oxide back into the tank. lots of savings there. last, every safety document says don't have a beard with that type of mask when blasting, something I wouldn't do but it should be food for thought for people going down this road.

OMG Go get yourself a larger sand blaster using that little toy is going to take you forever if your going to be doing a lot of work like this then you really need something that will get the job done much faster and much better but if your in no rush and don't mind it go for it bro. It looks good Excellent job. Thanks for sharing.

Probably the best idea is to use a wire wheel first and the follow up with the blaster. The wire wheel will remove most of the rust and save you LOTS of blasting media. And then the blasting will finish the job and clean out rust in crevices and pits (which the wire wheel can’t touch). The blasting will also give you a better surface for painting.

That is going to take a very long time. I wouldn’t have the patience. Might want to rent a big one. Good luck!!

I have a blaster like that and I have the hand held job smart one from tractor supply. Both work great and I've got the blast meda from tractor supply. It's the black diamond brand and I've had no problem reusing the meda. Just that clean up is a little messy but no big deal.

I'm finding a light bit of grinding that gets the rust off, sandblaster for hard to get at places but after light grinding followed by sanding medium git is the least time consuming.

Brock, I use the sand blast media from tractor supply, comes in different abrasive grits and it costs 11.99, I think they are 50 pound bags here in ohio. I don't know what you paid for yours.

What if you wire wheel all the flat surfaces and sandblast the inside corners and difficult to reach spots?

Just a thought, I put a tarp down then vacuumed up the media and reused it after sifting it with a metal colander. Less waste.

Great video. I wish I had a higher pressure compressor at times with a larger blaster gun. Love your channel

As far as your sand goes I just bought the portable blaster from harbor freight and paid 44 dollars for that same 25 lbs bucket of media found out my local hardware store carries a 100 lbs bag for $7.80

When done sandblasting be sure to remove all the wheel hubs and clean and repack all the wheel bearings and replace the wheel seals to prevent a failure in future usage of wagon Even being careful abrasive can get in past seal

Hey brocknif you want a cheaper and just as good product tonuse for sandblasting I used to work at a place that processed black walnuts and we sold shell for sandblasting and it work great. Best part is you sweep it up and use again and again. The company was hammons products check them out and tell them Dave Stafford told you about it.

Howdy Brock! Just spitballing here, but what about knocking the big stuff off with a wire wheel and then using the sand blaster for cleanup & hard to reach areas? Also, can the blast medium be re-used? It has been a long time since I have done any kind of sandblasting... but I seem to recall filtering and re-using the 'sand'. I dunno... just a thought. Been thinking about getting a small sand blaster so I'm looking forward to how it works out for you. Thanks for sharing 🤠 EDIT: Should have read through some of the other comments first... I didn't present any new suggestions lol

Perfect timing Brock as I'm cleaning up an old Woods rotary cutter, and have been wondering about sand blasting or wire wheels ( Maybe a combination ? ) Anticipating your next vid ! Thanks pc

Glad i watched your video, i want be buying one now! Way to slow, ill go get it it Acid dipped.

Use a sander on the large flat stuff and the round stuff, and the blast media on the odd shapes and hard to get to spots.

Great video I can see you are having fun. Isn’t that the whole point?

Coal slag is cheap and works pretty good comes in 50 pound bags for around 12 bucks

Can glass bead media be recycled one time to extend the life of the costly blasting materials? Thank you for the helpful video.

Brock, you answered my question at the end of the video. How does this unit compare to using abrasive wheels.

Comparing controlled tests with wire wheel and additional techniques vs blasting I'd say is the way to go. Letting the data from the tests tell you what's best for your situation isn't just effective, it'll be an interesting test to watch! Opinions vs data...... IMHO data wins every time, you have physical data not just hot air. There's no comparison between them.

OK in my Opinion I would use Both. I would use the sandblast Where it's needed. There are going to be some areas where the wire wheel is not gonna be able to get.

You need another person to constantly "shake the pot" and you get much better consistency. I even considered making a shaker from a drill and a couple of linkages.

The issue I see is using glass as the media. Glass is normally used to create a final finish on intricate components. Aesthetics. Glass is normally used in a cabinet with filtration. You're wanting to prep an antique wagon. Use sand. Lower air pressure. Let the media do the work. A few pieces of PVC and tarps from Harbor Freight can make for a great scalable blasting booth that contains the media. Keeps it out of and off of everything in your shop as well as collection for reuse.

Are you done that arm yet. I can see tight spots with it but you wont beat a flappy disk for large open areas. Cheers

i think moriatic acid will do a better job and less expensive than sand blasting. we use a bigger sandblaster in the ship but its a owner expense. hehehe Thanks for the video , its worth d money in small projects.

My 3 cents is , sand , just knowing off the main rust , then put a rust neutralizer / inhibitor on then paint . Unless it's going to be a show piece and your going to give away to a lucky subscriber that could use one , hint hint 🤪🤪🤪🤪 lol great job How much dust is all over the shop ?

😎🇿🇦🇿🇦 You are the best man

Can you do a video for blasting furniture because that’s why I bought this thing for but you see the fittings, They’re all confusing, and I had to go to the instructions and find out that one of the connectors that connects both things on each end on one end is slimmer than the other end that goes to the top to connect the red hose, It would be nice if you show a video step-by-step when you are unpacking and connecting because we are not all man’s that watch video. We are also women’s that make a living. Thanks.

If you do this in a tent you can colloct and reuse your blast media. Just need breathing apparatus.

Sand first then blast. Could be faster. The blaster is great for tight places that a wire wheel cant get into.

I`m wondering if turning the output air pressure on your compressor would help? Just a thought maybe worth trying.

It works well because you have a HUGE compressor

Research how to prep that metal before primer etc. I rented a real compressor once. Did a 53 Farmall. It would cut dents in even the tractor seat. Bit anyway/I used rustoleum primer/rusty/and non. Then a red enamel. New decals of course. It sits in a shed now/but the paint has peeled off to the bare metal?Doesn't rust?yet. It stayed for a long time /bit Just started letting go?

I use the siphon one. Jobsmart gun and some other brand hose. Use my kenworth truck air. Only thing that can keep up. I still want a gun with a 1 inch opening. Why cant we get that

I dont know..... Do ya plan to paint it red? If it is going to be any other color I think a lil left over rust is ok.

Would a 30 gallon 110vac air compressor work with this ok?

You can use silica sand and save $$ and is environment safe. Hope it helps you a little bit.

Can you use it for semi truck chasis? Is it powerful enough for that kind of job?

If your going to paint the wagon anyway a chemical rust converter really might be your best choice

Tractor supply has it a lot cheaper for the blast media. Like 15$ for a 50lb bag

You must have a good filtration system

Was the wire wheel better?

What kind of air tank is required to run?

You can use some rust removal liquid and then sand blasting will go faster

What air pressure were you using?

Good vid, you are too close when you were blasting, move the nozzle back to about 8-12 in.. Cheers!

Check out the hydro blasters.

Can someone make a recommendation for me? I'm a COMPLETE novice, have never even considered media blasting anything so will need a lot of detail in the suggestions made but I have an old horse trailer (12' x 6.5' x 6' . I would like to refinish the exterior with new paint . The old paint is worn and rust can be seen. I was considering buying one of these units but I have no idea what approach and product to use. Any advice ?

What about the fitting? you never talked about the fitting for the air hose? what do i need to get now?

If you put plastic under it, you should be able to collect the media and reuse. Or atleast a good bit of what you collect

You need to reuse your material so capture it on concrete floor or put large sheet plastic under what you are blasting just strain material

What size compressor is needed for this?

What was the size of the compressor

What kind od air do you use?

You need a more aggressive medium

At 6:16, that's tight enough. Way over torquing that cap and will do nothing for the blaster but ruin the o-ring. At 7:12 and on, hold the nozzle at a 60 degree angle to the work.

ha brock use a power washer removes rust

Who calls it an air chuck

Another channel I watch is www.youtube.com/@ProjectBrupeg they are restoring a sunken metal trawler and us a "sand" Sandblaster all the time, do a search on their channel you'll find many videos on blasting.

Get yourself some aluminum oxide. It’ll rip through that twice as fast.