Sanblasting Tips anyone ? * Done *

[bigredhead]

Ok.

After spending a few hours of manual sanding to clean up my rear shock and various parts..... i called my friend who has a medium " Campbell Hausfield " air compressor.. oil type.

He has a gravity feed hobby sandblaster he's willing to let me borrow.

I'm going to princess auto to get myself a bag of sand and a bag of glass bead ( hoping it's cheap...... please let it be cheap !! )

I need to do my swingarm.. it's all greasy and full of crud rust etc...... and sanding this sucker by hand is not very apealing !!

Do i need to tape off threads ? Will the sandblaster ruin them ?

How far from the surface should you hold the gun tip ?

How much sand will i go thru for the swingarm and rear rack.. Rear Shock spring... those are the ones i mainly want to do for now !

Anything i should know ahead of time ?

I don't have a sanding booth.. so i will leave the air compressor in the garage and take the hose in the back yard in the lawn... not recovering my sand.. but oh well... no biggie as long as it don't cost a fortune !

Is working with glass bead hazardous ? A BAD thing to have in your lawn ?

[Oldshell4481]

my tip, dont hit your fingers when you purge a clog with those things, it sucks, i held it about a foot or two away when i was blasting car parts for a friend... beach sand works great and will have a smoother finish when you are done, might want to tape off threads, just dont aim directly at them.

[xtremez]

first off you will have to clean it all, if not you will just push the grease around and you will use up more sand than what is worth second better wear a respirator and a shield they are cheap or your lungs and eyes will be hurting, The threads will be fine you dont have to tape them off actually they will be better when clean and I suggest a good size air compressor other wise you will burn it up constantly running it ( like I did mine) it has to have a good amount of psi like a 100 at all times, will work the best. You will learn how close to use the tip from the metal about a inch should be good. You should be able to do the swingarm and rack with one bag of sand not recovering it. It took me about 2 bags to do a frame and swingarm and a bunch of other pieces.A bag cost me about 9 dollars so not to bad. I actually suggest putting a big piece of cardboard down under you parts that way you can recover some of you sand and in time if doing it in the yard it will wash away with rain.I would wear a long sleeve shirt and a hat to cause the sand will get places you would never think it would the face shield is the biggest thing I would buy though!

[bigredhead]

Purging clogs ? do they clog often ?

Beach sand.... now that's a cheap way to go for sure.. do you just screen it and go ?

[xtremez]

it depends on the moisture in your tank and in the air I use a inline filter.I suggest using sand that you buy at a auto shop it is alot easier than screening it trust me

[bigredhead]

aahh. cool man !

Thanks alot !!!!!

I just called princess auto and all they had was " Glass " but he said it was not the " Bead " type... are there other types ???lol....

I have a good respirator, 3m pink (asbestos rated ) pads to go along with it... i have gogles but not a face shield..... gonna get one while i'm at princess auto.

How bout a tarp ? I have alot of plastic i can lay down.. recirculating the paint chips in the gun won't be a problem by any chance ?

And about the glass thing.... I assume it would not be a good thing to use in the dog fenced yard huh.... will try to find regular sand i think.

[Oldshell4481]

yes thats what we do to get the sand, and they will clog every once in a while but you just put your finger over the tip and press the trigger and it purges it, i made the mistake of pulling my finger away while still holding the trigger and it hurt just a little bit.. dont wear shorts is another thing

[OldSchoolin86]

Distance and technique will vary greatly between sandblasters and air supplies. You’re going to have to figure that out on the fly. Most likely if it's a hobby sand blaster you will be real close and it's going to take time. A bigger one with a ton of air could blast away anything you put in front of it but like xtremez said, you might want to do some cleaning first in your case. I've been spoiled with the big ones and can't stand the little low flow ones so when I get some parts that need cleaning I take them down to the local PC shop and have them do it. They'll do a swinger for $10, not bad considering no pre-cleaning, no mess and no sand purchasing.

[bigredhead]

yeah.. no kidding !.. 10 $ would be cool. i'd pay that with a smile !

I"m going to give it a shot, then i'll know what i'm up against.

So. full body clothing. respirator, face shield. gloves.. tarps and sand.
I'll have pictures tomorrow of how it went ! Going to get all my things together tonight and do it in the morning ( it's raining like hell right now and the air is 100 % humid.. i'm told this is a bad thing with compressed air !!

[bigredhead]

ok.. i just started.. and now i know what you all meant by " Sand gets everywhere.. " Phew !!... i'll have pics in a bit.

Works good tho.. alot faster than hand sanding no finger cramps !

[Mr. Sandman]

Paddle tires and mucho horsepower always seem to do the trick for me. :w00t:

[sblt500r]

if you use a big tarp you can collect most of the sand. thats how i do it. and i have a helmet with a hood over it and a sheild in the front to look out. keeps the sand outta your hair. i ussually power wash all or most of the oil and greese off the parts. and you can sand blast the threaded holes it helps get the greese and rust out.

and black beauty is courser and works faster than beach sand.

[nouseforaname90]

I just got myself some sand to sandblast all my stuff tomorrow or thursday. I have a TON of stuff to sandblast. I got myself 100 lbs of sand for 8 dollars.. not too shabby. Its "Medium".. a little courser than the play sand they had there.
How many lbs did you get for $7 a bag, bigredhead?

[bigredhead]

The one's i got were something like 40 lbs or so .. guestimating.

I used about half a bag for the swingarm.. I ended up using a snow type full face tuqe.. with ATV goggles and a respirator.. man that thing does a good job.. but now i understand why you need a BIG air compressor to do a quick job !!

The rez holds enough sand for about 1 minute of work, but by that time the pressure has dropped too much and you have to let it build again.

At full pressure it works really good.. but as soon as the pump starts at about 80 psi it's useless, you mas as well wait for the pressure to build.

Slow. but gets the job done !

[nouseforaname90]

Thats why I love our set up. We have a huge air compresser that is about 5 feet tall and has a max P.S.I. of 150.. and the sand blaster is a five gallon bucket with a metal pipe going down into it with a rubber pipe on the end of the metal tube, and on the end of that is the gun. So you hardly ever run out of sand or air.. lol. The 5 gallon bucket holds over 50lbs of sand too :)

I hope I can find time to sandblast tomorrow!!!

[bigredhead]

Here are a few snaps.

[nouseforaname90]

I'll take snaps as I do mine tomorrow or the Thursday.

That swinger looks kinda rough looking. I'm sure it'll clean up very nicely though. How much did you pay for it?

[bigredhead]

Only cost me 30 $ canadian, shipped.

Yeah it looks pretty bad but once i go over it with the dremel and smooth all the rough welds and nicks... primer and paint.. it will have to do !

I still need to do my rear spring and rack.. so since i'm way to drunk and tired tonight i stopped there.. and will get back at it once i'm sober ! ( god i love being on vacation ! )

[nouseforaname90]

Not bad at all for the swingarm.
I decided to go all silver with the shock and a red spring. And I also found out that aircraft remover doesn't take the paint off the spring worth a dang. They must have used reallllly good paint.

And I'm hoping to sandblast and paint my rims tomorrow. Would it hurt the tire if i accidentally missed the rim and hit the tire with the sandblaster?

[bigredhead]

I don't think it would hurt it much at all.

To prevent roughing up the surface of the rubber maybe cut up a cardboard templace the size of the rim.. just to minize direct contact.. but i really don't think it will hurt it much with standard sand ! test a spot on the inside first !

[nouseforaname90]

I never thought about that cardboard template thing.. thanks for the idea.

I'm going to get up early tomorrow and ATLEAST sandblast my spring and start painting it because I have to do my shock before I do my rims, because the jack is holding up the backend of the SX right now..

http://www.supload.com/thumbs/default/DSCN2796.JPG (http://www.supload.com/free/DSCN2796.JPG/view/)

Thats what my baby looks like right now. :( Its a very sad sight.

[xtremez]

bigredhead if you go to a Sears store you can buy a real nice craftsmen sandblaster that hold 50 lbs. of sand comes with gun and it is gravity fed to for about 40 dollars.They work really nice that is what I use.Oh yeah make sure you dont sandblast real close to your air compressor it will suck up sand and destroy the o-rings in it and it will not charge no more it will just run, dont run it constantly or you will burn it up too especially on a maint free compressor

[bigredhead]

Good point !

I left the compressor in the garage and ran the airline under the door to the back yard, Good thing i had alot of beer handy, spray for 1 minute.. drink for 5. spray 1 more minute.. finish beer and go back to the house for a fresh one while the motor cools off. repeat.

[nouseforaname90]

I got my spring all sandblasted this morning. Its getting painted right now. God.. it took an hour just to do the spring!! That paint that Honda used was DURABLE.

[nouseforaname90]

I figured I'd post a few pics of the snaps I took while I was doing this..
http://www.supload.com/thumbs/default/DSCN2821.JPG (http://www.supload.com/free/DSCN2821.JPG/view/)
Here is the stuff while its in the process of being painted.

http://www.supload.com/thumbs/default/DSCN2820.JPG (http://www.supload.com/free/DSCN2820.JPG/view/)
Here it all is after I sandblasted..

http://www.supload.com/thumbs/default/DSCN2819.JPG (http://www.supload.com/free/DSCN2819.JPG/view/)
Here is our sandblasting set-up..

http://www.supload.com/thumbs/default/DSCN2818.JPG (http://www.supload.com/free/DSCN2818.JPG/view/)
And here is my spring while it was in the process of being paitned Krylon Fusion Red Pepper red.. hehe..

Not very interesting pics.. but I figured I would post them.
I'll post pics of what my shock looks like when its done.
After I get this done, next comes my rims :)

[bigredhead]

Nice.. that's the compressor i need !!!!..

That spring kinda looks pink on my monitor.. i hope that's just the picture !!...

But looks good.. I got sidetracked today, was unable to do more work on mine. but i did get some primer. and all the grits of paper i need with steel wool. so now i'm all set !

I also got a can of the " Red Pepper " krylon fusion.. might get into the plastics while i'm at it too !

[nouseforaname90]

No.. its not pink.. it must be your monitor. Its very red.. lol. I put 4 coats of paint on each side of my spring (you have to keep flippin the spring over cuz when you paint it, it only gets half of the spring), and i barely have any left.. I don't think you'll be able to do your plastics and your spring.. but you might be able to pull it off.

[nouseforaname90]

Well.. I got my shock done today.. I got it on the bike and all.. I'm trying to post pics, but supload.com isn't cooperating with me. I'll try to get them up a little later.

[bigredhead]

Cool.... hurry up !

This way if it really don't look good i can change my mind as i have'nt painted yet !!!! hahahahahaha....

[nouseforaname90]

Here it is.
This is the shock when I got done with it..
http://www.supload.com/thumbs/default/shock-224481.jpg (http://www.supload.com/free/shock-224481.jpg/view/)
Notice that I ended up painting the black plastic dust/mud guard red.. and I like it.. more than I would have liked it black.

And here is it on my bike..
http://www.supload.com/thumbs/default/shock3-526549.jpg (http://www.supload.com/free/shock3-526549.jpg/view/)
I couldn't get a pic of the top half of it because the battery box was in the way.

I could go out and take some more pictures of it from farther away from the bike so you can see how it goes with the bike if you want me to?

[bigredhead]

Please !

I"d like to see how it comes out when you can see the rear tires and plastics !

But good job BTW.... came out nice !

[nouseforaname90]

I'll take the pictures tomorrow, ok? Right now, I have one of my tires off painting it, and its up on a jack and stuff.. lol. And the camera went dead while I was outside using it.. grr!
And also, at the moment my gas tank is getting shipped out to get painted.. so there is no tank or plastics on it. I reckon I could put the plastics on it for the picture so you can see.. lol.

[bigredhead]

No worries.. it's fine !

Alot of work tho huh !?

I can't beleive how many hours i've already put in so far and i'm not even close to being done.

I'm grinding down all the casting imperfections out of my swingarm while i'm at it. Dremel with a drinding wheel and lots of patience...

I also piced up a new swingarm pivot bolt lock nut !.. shiny new... and am cutting a new socket for a removal tool.. my current one was done in a rush and sucks.

I spent about 2 hours working on the threads of the new swingarm.. they were a mess.. full of gust and grime... i had to re-tap it with the pivot bolt and a 2 ft power bar... in... out.. in 1/32 of a turn more.. out .. work it with WD-40.. wipe with rag.. in again... hell of a process but i got it !

[nouseforaname90]

It took me 2 days plus about 15 minutes this morning to get it all done.. but during those two days, I'd say I only worked for about 5-6 hours stripping and painting it. And then it took me a good hour to get the freakin thing dropped into place. I had to move it little by little to get it perfectly lined up on the bottom. It was a tight squeeze.

[bigredhead]

Well.. i went to it today.

Here are a few snaps of the progress.

[bigredhead]

That red is only the primer... don't worry.. it's all going black !! lol..

The can says to wait 72 hrs.. but holy hell that's a long time.... i'm givin it 2 days max !.. i'll have them out in the sun during the day and sure as hell 48 hrs should do.


I Called the shop about my diff.. turns out they ordered the wrong bearing for the driveshaft end... not 17 $.. but 70 $ !!! for one single bearing !!!! .. jesus.

[nouseforaname90]

Pretty nice looking so far. When you do the spring, its a pain in the ass. You have to spray it, flip it over, spray the other side, flip it over and repeat. I put probably 5 light coats on each side, and to get the shine that I wanted, the 6th coat was very heavy.. but not heavy enough that it dripped. I like how it looks.

I haven't been home at all today.. so I haven't had a chance to take the pics of my 3 wheeler.. I'll take them tomorrow and post them ASAP.

[bigredhead]

Thanks.

Was alot of work and i'm not clost to being done.. my rear diff won't show until tuesday so i have time to spiff it up.

Debating on attacking the plastics...

[bigredhead]

Ok... here is another tip for anyone sandblasting !

DO NOT LEAVE YOUR CELL PHONE ON YOUR WAIST !!!

I called a friend this morning and damn reception sucked.. so i hung up and called again.. still bad reception... so whatever.. blame it on the phone company right..

Well.. after a 10 minute chat.. i notice my phone is HOT.. not just warm but HOT>..... i look at the display and it's on Analogue mode.. and i'm in a digital zone. took it apart.. and found sand under the battery.. blew it out best i could and put it back together.. seems ok now..

but word to the wise.. leave your phone away from the sand !!! hahahahahaha...


heading back out to do the rear rack !!!

[nouseforaname90]

Haha.. yeah.. I had my phone around whenever I was doing it too.. got sand all through it.

Sorry that I haven't got those pics to you yet. I'll get them to you today. My brother has been using his camera and I haven't had a chance to take it and take the pics.

[nouseforaname90]

Here they are..

http://www.supload.com/thumbs/default/DSCN2915-793674.jpg (http://www.supload.com/free/DSCN2915-793674.jpg/view/)
Here is my newly painted rim. I just figured that I would add this in. I love the color of it on this bike. Its a discontinued color made by Plastikote that my dad had, so I figured I would use it. The paint is very durable. I primered it, painted it, and clear coated it with gray Metalcast paint to give it an anodized look. To top it off, I added a blue chromeish valve cover.. lol.

http://www.supload.com/thumbs/default/DSCN2916-91551.jpg (http://www.supload.com/free/DSCN2916-91551.jpg/view/)
Here is the lower view from the back.

http://www.supload.com/thumbs/default/DSCN2917-122549.jpg (http://www.supload.com/free/DSCN2917-122549.jpg/view/)
Here is the side view.. my tire is off getting painted.

http://www.supload.com/thumbs/default/DSCN2918-801657.jpg (http://www.supload.com/free/DSCN2918-801657.jpg/view/)
Here is the view from the back.

http://www.supload.com/thumbs/default/DSCN2919.JPG (http://www.supload.com/free/DSCN2919.JPG/view/)
And here is the sticker on the back of my plastic. lol

[Huffa]

Your shock turned out great but now it makes the rest ot the rear look crappy.

What the heck is with the exhaust?

The wheel looks nice too as far as the paint job goes but the color is a no go for my taste .............then again all the plastic isn't on so it might look A-OK ???

That poor SX needs a bit of attention as far as looks go. You going to eventually clean it up some?

[bigredhead]

Nice noname.... if you do the rear rims you need to do the front ones to match... that's a rule. but i like the dark grey.

Here is the rack and rear diff cover.. and the hitch almost clean.

You know.. sand blasting is really easy.. and it will make a big difference compared to what i started out with. It's crazy how many hours you can pour into a project like this.. they add up quickly !

Before you guys all comment on the level of quality. This is NOT YET a show bike .. it's a trail blazer, so i'm not going to perfection on the finish.. just a single coat of primer and then paint.. all a la rattle-can !.

Probably next year.. if funds permit.. i'm buying a quad to ride on trails and will start a total teardown of this thing and a full custom job sparing no expense.. but for now this is going to have to do.

enjoy !

[nouseforaname90]

Your shock turned out great but now it makes the rest ot the rear look crappy.

What the heck is with the exhaust?

The wheel looks nice too as far as the paint job goes but the color is a no go for my taste .............then again all the plastic isn't on so it might look A-OK ???

That poor SX needs a bit of attention as far as looks go. You going to eventually clean it up some?

I know the rear looks crappy.. but for now there is nothing I can do. I am not going to tear the whole bike apart right now. I am thinking about disassembling the whole bike and painting everything.. but right now I don't have the time or funds to do that. And plus it is only a trail bike.. if I made it look reaaaallly good, I would never want to ride it on the trails.

The exhaust came that way.. that is why I am getting a new exhaust soon.. hopefully that one you showed me.

I like the color of rim.. I don't know why, but I like dark rims on things. Tomorrow I am going to Ace and getting some chrome nuts and washers to put on the tires instead of the old ones that are all crudded up. That should help appearance of the tire alot. I'm also going to take the hubs and stuff off and paint them black.

It definately needs attention.. thats why I'm giving it to it. I'm getting most of the detatchable stuff painted up, getting new plastic, a new exhaust.. the works. The only thing I'm not doing right now is painting the frame. I don't have that much time on my hands, and not enough money. I'll make that the project for next summer.

Eventually clean it up some? HA!! You should have seen what it looked like before. whenever I get the rims all painted up, the freshly painted gas tank on it, the exhaust on it, the forks all polished up and all that stuff that I'm planning on doing to it this week, I'll post before and after pics for you. You'll see how I'm gradually and "eventually" cleaning it up.. lol.

And bigredhead.. I'm planning on painting the front ones too. I'm doing one tire at a time.. notice how the one rear tire is painted, and the other one is off. I ran out of paint, or they would all be painted by now. Tomorrow I'm going to get more paint, and chrome nuts/washers for the tires. I'm planning on polishing the forks, putting the new boot on the front, and overhauling the front whenever I paint it, so I'm saving it for last. Tomorrow my job is to get the right rim all painted up, and paint the hubs and stuff. I'll post pics when I'm all done with that, and then probably about a month from now I'll post before and after pictures when I'm all done. (We'll.. the new plastic wont be on it yet.. and the frame wont be painted yet.. but mostly done)

[nouseforaname90]

How hard would it be to tear down an SX completely? The main thing I'm worried about is all the electrical work. Is it hard to get back together/rewire??

[bigredhead]

That all depends on how easy all the nuts and bolts come off..

IF it all comes out easily.. i say 2 hrs max i could have my SX down to the frame.. probably even less.

BUT : 1 frickin enging mount bolt bent and you will be at it all day.. all night.. next day and god only knows...

You got air tools right ?

[AirManCam]

I think stock shocks were powdercoated..thats why they are so tuff. But Huffa, give the kid a break, dont you see that he is trying to make it look better?

[bigredhead]

Yeah.. i could really tell what was powder coated and rattle canned on my rear rack... the can stuff comes off real quick.... the true Powercoat stays put.. i had to hand sand it down.. and it clogs sand paper like glue !!!! tough stuff !!!

With 125 psi + you might stand a chance.. but my princess auto broke-ass POS would'nt even scrach it.... and Forget about stickers.. had to do them by hand too ! grrrr..

[nouseforaname90]

My compressor took the powder coat right off. Although I had it between 120-130 PSI the whole time I was sandblasting.

And I'm not talking about like tearing the engine out and stuff.. I'm wondering how hard it would be to put all the electrical stuff back together. It looks like alot of wires that I might not want to get into..

[bigredhead]

Everything only goes one place and one way really.... Take a bunch of digital pictures as you take it out and lay it somewhere with masking tape and notes just in case..

But other than that.. wires would be the least of my worries personally !

Those pesky rusted nuts and bolts drive me insane !!!!!!!

[nouseforaname90]

Haha.. well I'm debating on whether or not I want to do a complete tear down right now. It would look really nice, but it would take alot of time. How would i get the driveshaft and everything off/apart?
And what would I want to use to paint the frame? Like Krylon Fusion, or would it be better to pay $200 to get it painted professionally?

[bigredhead]

If you take it all down to the frame... have it powdered by a shop !!!!!

You will need to replace swingarm bearings regardless..

And removing the swingarm requires a tool.. or a chisel and a hammer.. to remove the lock nut.

I just ordered a new nut for mine since it's apart.. my old one was in very rough shape !!!!!!!... and i'm cutting down a 30mm socket to perfect size so i can put it in and take it out without chewing it up !

[nouseforaname90]

Well I think that just made my decision for me. I was debating whether or not I had the time, but I do not have the money. I'll have to wait.

[bigredhead]

Here is a progress update.

The spring.. swingarm, shock parts.. rear rack.

all got a good 3 to 4 coats.. just waiting on them to dry up !

[bigredhead]

Also got my rear Diff back... all new bearings and seals.

And can anyone tell me what they think of the splines on this thing... they look kinda worn to me but not slipping tho. After 211 $ is cost me to have it re-done.. it better hold up !

[AirManCam]

The splines do look pretty warn...I would take it back to them if you just paid $211 to have them re do them.

[bigredhead]

no no..

I had the bearings and seals re-done.

The splines are the way they were. I was just checking them out before re-assembly !

[AirManCam]

Wait a second you paid $211 to have bearings and seals put in? ARE YOU CRAZY?

[bigredhead]

70 $ for the driveshaft side bearing. ( EEEEK )
2 x 20 $ for each axle bearing
15 $ for one seal
2 hrs labor and tax = 211 $

I even supplied the 2 seals that go on the axle bearings as i had them from my last rear end refresh...

Taking the diff apart is a horrible job if you don't have the tools...

So yep. i'm crazy alright !! lol..

[bigredhead]

Ok.. Finally done with the project !

I guess this properly ends this thread.

I like seing finished threads.. too many start with " HEEEELLLPPP " and a bunch of questions and then nothing. :(

So !!!


:w00t:

[Huffa]

Hey you guys, both of you did nice work! Will be interesting to see them get better and better as the months go by.

[bigredhead]

Thanks !

I guestimate putting about 30 or so hours in the last 2 weeks alone... time consuming but fun as hell.

I just realized i should have done the brake backing plate... oh well next time !!

I took it out for a spin and she's nice and solid, goes straight as can be and felt good as hell to finally have it running again !

[Louis Mielke]

$211 yikes.. Um no offence but if I paid someone to do that stuff I would at least expect them to clean all of the parts thoroughly....honestly I'd hafta question a shop that would put bearings and seals in that pumpkin and leave all the other parts as cruddy as they look. To each their own I guess.....

[bigredhead]

The 211 included 3 bearings.. and 1 seal and 2 hours labor.

They left a residue on the thing but i'm not worried... That's fine with me.

The shop i got it done from " Adrien's Cycle " have been in business and are great people to deal with.. That alone was worth it !

This is also 211 Canadian !!

The honda dealer basically told me to go shove it when i showed up there !

[Louis Mielke]

I keep forgeting its canadia. I guess you got ado what you gota do. i've torn a pumpkin down on a YTM225 and iknow how much of pain they are.

[bigredhead]

I was thinking of bolting the diff 180 degree off .. pointing to the rear of the trike.

Hit the drum brake and twist the nut off.

But then you have to deal with another Honda special tool gimik. wich i don't have.