Sandblaster setup

[Jasperfossils]

Hello,

 

I am wanting to buy a sandblaster. I already have a compressor. I heard they are kinda expensive. I have around 300 euros. 

does someone have tips?

 

 

[hadrosauridae]

First, you dont want a "sand blaster".  You need a "media blaster" for micro air abrasion.  Looking for a "soda blaster" would probably get you going on the path.  Since youre in the NEtherlands, the things available to us in the US wouldnt be of much help to you.  You might look at the company ZOIC out of England.  They have a full range of fossil prep supplies.

 

Just a word of caution though, the road you are embarking on is an expensive one.  Even the cheapest level of air abrasion requires a lot of thought, planning and most importantly... money.

[Thomas.Dodson]

If you plan to do a lot of abrasion I think it would be better to wait, save, and get a better model from the start. I know some people have luck with their Paasche air erasers but I wasn't impressed with mine. I'm using a Vaniman Mobile Problast right now (more than 300 euros) and that's still only one level above the cheapest models like the Paasche. As US models these might be difficult to obtain but I'd guess similar "levels" exist among any European company abrasion units. Assuming your compressor is up to the task, you still need a minimum of driers, coalescing filters, a cabinet, a dust collection system, and media. Tips of the abrasion units also need to be replaced regularly.

 

That said, you can save some money if you have time for DIY. I made my own cabinet out of an old cooler and I know many people have made them out of plywood. I'd look into it. A shop vac can be used provided you have a dust containment system. Without one, the shop vac will die very quickly. I wrote out a guide for explaining basic construction below. I also built my own driers using rechargeable silica gel and large pipe sections connected into the air compressor hose route. If you sift your own media you can save a lot of money as well. In some places you can't get pre-sifted easily anyway.

 

[oilshale]

Or build one yourself:

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/57611-diy-power-air-blaster/&tab=comments#comment-612577

Edited October 3, 2021 by oilshale

[Ludwigia]

I also own an abrader from Eckhard Petersen and can highly recommend it, although it would cost you more than €300 to buy one. Even though you might still be able to build it yourself, you must also consider that it would also be necessary to acquire the other equipment mentioned above by Thomas Dodson in order to get things working properly, so you can't get around investing much more than €300 if you want to have a setup that can do a satisfactory job. But first of all you must make sure that your compressor is strong enough to drive it, otherwise you'll be needing to upgrade that as well.

[Jasperfossils]

This is the compressor I have:https://www.hbm-machines.com/producten/compressoren/low-noise-compressoren/hyundai-24-liter-professionele-low-noise-compressor?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=surfaces-across-google&gclid=CjwKCAjwqeWKBhBFEiwABo_XBrz56V7-2Rvv_oKP4ENH8HUTip6pDwHUd-8qPi7nJBV6B_w3W0EbYBoCkvYQAvD_BwE

[Pemphix]

10 hours ago, hadrosauridae said:

Just a word of caution though, the road you are embarking on is an expensive one.  Even the cheapest level of air abrasion requires a lot of thought, planning and most importantly... money.

Indeed, very wise words of caution !

 

For example, you need:

- compressor (fitting the pressure min/max etc. to all other components)

- sandblaster

- refrigeration dryer or membrane separator (keeping out the water/dust from the system)

- blasting cabinet

- additional equipment ("blasting-powder", tools, hoses, sieves,...)

- suction-unit

Furthermore repair-costs and spare-parts needed to be calculated.

 

If you're buying good equipment (not breaking after some work) 300 Euro will not last even for the needed additional equipment - a good new sandblasting machine costs easily up to 2000 Euros...

 

Edited October 3, 2021 by Pemphix

[Huntonia]

I have to agree with everyone above, air abrasion is not very cheap. Even using the cheap Paasche model that I and other members on here use you aren't likely to get a functional setup for 300 euros.

 

I also highly doubt that the 24 liter compressor you have will be able to keep up with an abrasive system. The compressor I use is about 75 liters and that's at the lower end, ideally one would use an even larger compressor.

[Ptychodus04]

Run away while you’re still able.  I have almost $1,000 in filters and dryers alone, not to mention the compressor, abrasive unit, cabinet, dust collector, and abrasive media.

 

And, you will also need a microscope and a bunch of lighting.