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AR15.COM
4/8/2015 10:49:32 AM EDT
Forum,

I live in Sugar Land Texas, but travel into Houston every day for work. I have some antique fans I'm trying to restore and one type of service I'm looking for is someone who could sandblast the paint the metal parts. These are old fans such as GE, Emerson, or Westinghouse. I've tried paint remover and all that did was create a bunch of freckles on my arms and neck. This paint is tough to remove.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!
4/8/2015 5:30:33 PM EDT
[#1]
Have you called Allied powder coating?
4/8/2015 7:17:28 PM EDT
[#2]
Do you have a compressor?

Pick up a sandblast pot (100#) i think from Harbor Freight for around $100

And some "black beauty" blasting media from somewhere like Northern Tool at around $8/bag. You can reuse it for a while if you collect it on plastic.

DO NOT USE ACTUAL SAND! Silicosis is no fun.
4/8/2015 9:14:55 PM EDT
[#3]
You know sand and other abrasive media build what we call a profile. A profile is metal removed which causes the coating you apply to bond to the metal better.   Do you really want that on fan blades?  I ask because fan blades are, or should be balanced.  Also, those abrasive media create heat in the metal, which sometimes cause it to warp.  What you said you want to do is just remove the paint.  I think a better media would be walnut shells or something like that.  

We warped a 8' x 8'  3/16'' sheet the other day with #40 steel grit through a 7/16'' nozzle, so it can be done, fairly easily.  You can take my advice for what it's worth.  I've only been doing this for 25 years.
4/9/2015 11:49:58 AM EDT
[#4]
Thanks for the advice everyone! Don't know anything about sandblasting. Austin and 338, great feedback! Didn't know the abrasives would cause heat to possibly warp. Makes sense. Will look for walnut shells.

Lastly, no, I hadn't called Allied, Phules. Thanks for the lead.
4/9/2015 5:26:10 PM EDT
[#5]
I would contact http://www.dustlessblasting.com/  They would be able to help or point you in the right direction.