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Posted: 11/16/2024 9:56:12 AM EDT
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I'm in Fairview, NC. Thats one of the places hit hard by Hurricane Helene. A friend who lost everything found his safe in a creek. Everything was packed tight with wet sand, so his guns are as rusty as you would think. I'm trying to refinish them for him, but I've never sand blasted before. I picked up a cheap blaster that has good reviews, and someone who's opinion I trust, said it was pretty good for the money. Can I just use a bag of sandbox sand for blasting? It would be cheaper, and I wouldn't have to clean anything up. He gave me crushed walnut shells that he uses. Thats fine too but I'll need more than what he gave be and they are surprisingly expensive for what it is. |
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Sandbox sand can be used but it will not work properly. You'll have to filter it, clean it, then run it through a sieve and dry it. Sandbox sand has different size grains and a lot of other junk in it. We've used it in the big outdoor blasters but they have a very large nozzle and you could almost run rocks through the damn thing. With a cabinet blaster you are better off using actual blasting media. Better and more consistent results. Most auto parts stores carry it in various grits. |
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First, how Many and how Bad and how Old?. A Picture is worth a thousand words and would help with what to use and to save you $$$ and time. As for the Blast Media, 220 Grit Aluminum Oxide. Will get you to the bare metal, but what do you plan to do with it/them after? |
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I am planning to Duracote all of them. Some will be “blued” Duracote but that’s the only finish I know how to do properly. Nothing of great value. There is a 20 gauge 870 that’s from the 50s. A Marlin 30/30 and a WWII FN 32 cal pistol. There were more but Ruger is taking those guns and replacing them. There is an old Winchester 22 but I can’t get the barrel cleared and he said he doesn’t really care about that one much. I always have a hard time posting pictures on here. |
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120 grit it pretty good to go. Glass beads will give a smoother finish than Aluminum Oxide as it's not as abrasive...ie removing metal. Personally, I'd soak everything steel in Evapo-Rust first. It'll take the rust and bluing off, internally and externally, without hurting the metal. If you're going to refinish without regard to collector value with duracoat, look at zinc parkerizing. It's good by itself and great for a duracoat base from what I've seen. |
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Black Bull 80 grit Garnet sand is a very under valued option for blast media. At high psi, it will rip through a lot of stuff. At lower psi, you can get a very smooth finish. Attached File |
"The only thing more boring than shooting groups is looking at other people's groups on the internet." -erud
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Originally Posted By ske714: If you don't have a cabinet, lay a tarp out flat and blast on it. You can easily clean up and reuse the media. I've done this outside for auto-body work. lost some of the media. you can't help that. i have been playing around with the idea of using a tent. blasting inside should retain more of the media. I also use a small bench top cabinet inside for small pieces. I like the aluminum oxide. |
Hell on miniature trout and short round women.
Bumping a older thread. I've been refinishing guns for over 20 years. I use gunkote finish and I blast using 80 grit aluminum oxide @ 80 psi. I talked to Joe (Owns gunkote) at SHOT and he told me if you looked at a receiver under a microscope you blasted with glass beads the surface would look like a golf ball. Pretty much the same with sand. Aluminum oxide leaves a rough surface the finish adheres to much better than glass beads. Joe said the marks look like a tiny slash in the metal. A Remmy 1100 I refinished that belonged to my Grandfather.  
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To say that you are on thin ice would be a vastly optimistic view of your current situation. The ice has melted. You are being supported by the surface tension of water.
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