Restoration - bead blasting vs lacquer thinner

[gamblingman]

Yep, since it is non destructive, you can use ur about anywhere except plastic. I bought my blaster from Eastwood company. Costs a bit more, but better quality than HF. The one you noted will work as a starter, but you will use less media with a better blaster.

[terick2104]

That was my understanding about soda blasting, the soda was used once than disposed of. If that is the case I would think it would be more expensive than glass beads. I wonder how long a 50# bag would last?

[gamblingman]

I know I just did a castle front and a Buckley Criss-Cross inside and out and did a complete strip on both the case and mech, and used around a bag. A lot depends on how many coats of paint you are removing. You are right, it may be a little more expensive, but especially when dealing with the mech parts, the bead blasting can be a little harsh, causing some parts to need a polish to operate smoothly. With the soda, there is no need for polish on those parts, and I have even used it on the brass slides with good results, so long as you don't get carried away. I really like it when dealing with casings such as the castle front, that have polished areas. I wouldn't dare bead-blast them, but with the soda, it just dulls the finish a bit and very little polishing is required to bring them back to a great shine. It does take a little longer to strip multiple coats, and if you have very rough areas, the bead blasting is better, but I have found very few places where I wished I had bead-blasted, and like I said, the cleanup afterwards is much easier.

[altort]

Well i guess every one has their preferred method, with any project I always start by soaking all the parts in a solvent tank depending how grimy I some times let them sit for a week scrubbing the suborn areas as needed, as far as soda verses glass beads, I have used both but find that soda takes to long on paint removal and rusted parts, so now I am only using glass beads, by regulating air pressures changing tips and how I hold and move the gun I have the control on how much a piece gets blasted, if I had the room I would have a cabinet for each.
Al

[terick2104]

I soak the mech parts in lacquar thinner overnight then bead blast them using a medium tip and 60#'s pressure. I blast all the parts including the payout slides [which get wire wheeled after], then blow off all the parts removing any dust. I bead blast all my castings both sides before polishing. If the paint is too thick I will use a stripper first, but most of the time it comes off easily using the bead blaster. There is absolutly no damage to any of the parts or castings. I have used walnut shells which I guess would be similer to soda, does a nice job but takes too long.