Somebody please say so if I'm about to do something stupid:
I was thinking of buying this $800 compressor and this $220 blasting cabinet:
http://www.harborfreight.com/5-hp-60-ga ... 93274.html
http://www.harborfreight.com/40-lb-capa ... 93608.html
It seems this combination should be a more than sufficient for cabinet blasting and that cabinet looks big enough to handle most anything I'd want to strip in the garage. I'm also quite sure I'd spend almost that much or more trying to fabricate a similar cabinet. That compressor is the best buy for the money (cfm/psi) I've found and it gets good reviews.
My experience with blasting is this: I already have a 40lb pressurized tank sand blaster and about a ten year old 2.5hp, 25gal, 120 volt compressor. I've used the blaster on little stuff (obviously intermittently) but not for several years. I think I may have forgotten how miserable it was, blasting in the side yard, in the sun, in 100+ degree temps, sweat dripping, and waiting for the compressor to catch up.
I've been researching media blasting and there's a school of thought that any media blaster attached to a home compressor (even the larger 220v dual phase compressors) is a waste of money and time for stripping paint from vehicle bodies and large panels. And I think I get that -- I can see that being a lot of work and a lot of time. There's a shop near the house that soda blasts so that may be an option. I don't know what they charge yet, but I've read whatever they charge, it's worth it.
Even before I got the Willys I've always like to clean, polish and paint so I've wanted something like this for a long time, I just can't convince myself to feel good about buying this. It's a lot of money and even though we have some extra, there's just a lot of other stuff we could spend it on. If it'd be good for stripping the body and panels, it'd be easier to justify, but it doesn't sound like it.
Thoughts?
I was thinking of buying this $800 compressor and this $220 blasting cabinet:
http://www.harborfreight.com/5-hp-60-ga ... 93274.html
http://www.harborfreight.com/40-lb-capa ... 93608.html
It seems this combination should be a more than sufficient for cabinet blasting and that cabinet looks big enough to handle most anything I'd want to strip in the garage. I'm also quite sure I'd spend almost that much or more trying to fabricate a similar cabinet. That compressor is the best buy for the money (cfm/psi) I've found and it gets good reviews.
My experience with blasting is this: I already have a 40lb pressurized tank sand blaster and about a ten year old 2.5hp, 25gal, 120 volt compressor. I've used the blaster on little stuff (obviously intermittently) but not for several years. I think I may have forgotten how miserable it was, blasting in the side yard, in the sun, in 100+ degree temps, sweat dripping, and waiting for the compressor to catch up.
I've been researching media blasting and there's a school of thought that any media blaster attached to a home compressor (even the larger 220v dual phase compressors) is a waste of money and time for stripping paint from vehicle bodies and large panels. And I think I get that -- I can see that being a lot of work and a lot of time. There's a shop near the house that soda blasts so that may be an option. I don't know what they charge yet, but I've read whatever they charge, it's worth it.
Even before I got the Willys I've always like to clean, polish and paint so I've wanted something like this for a long time, I just can't convince myself to feel good about buying this. It's a lot of money and even though we have some extra, there's just a lot of other stuff we could spend it on. If it'd be good for stripping the body and panels, it'd be easier to justify, but it doesn't sound like it.
Thoughts?