Glass bead/sandblaster compatability

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The Artist formerly known as Turbo84
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I haven't used glass beads for blasting off paint before, and am curious if I would need to change anything in my portable sandblaster. Anyone with any experience doing glassbeading that could give me some advice? Am kicking around glassbeading some C5Z wheels to get the powdercoat off so I can lightly polish the wheels.

Thanks.
 
I haven't used glass beads for blasting off paint before, and am curious if I would need to change anything in my portable sandblaster. Anyone with any experience doing glassbeading that could give me some advice? Am kicking around glassbeading some C5Z wheels to get the powdercoat off so I can lightly polish the wheels.

Thanks.

Glass beads is not going to get it done. You would need something more aggessive to remove powder coating. Call Eastwood restoration supplies and they will hook you up.

Danny
 
Well, I got some glass media stuff earlier today and decided to try it out (it's supposed to be safe on aluminum, according to some places I read on the web). Well, it's definitely safe on aluminum. It also seems to be safe on powder coat and even some paint. :amazed: I don't deny that I'm getting some line pressure drop before the nozzle, but damn, there definitely wasn't a whole lot of paint coming off in the process.

So I guess I'll try some more aggressive media or the aircraft stripper. I'll confess I don't know anything about that type of stripper so I guess I'll have to do some research.

I appreciate the help here, guys.
 
Well, I got some glass media stuff earlier today and decided to try it out (it's supposed to be safe on aluminum, according to some places I read on the web). Well, it's definitely safe on aluminum. It also seems to be safe on powder coat and even some paint. :amazed: I don't deny that I'm getting some line pressure drop before the nozzle, but damn, there definitely wasn't a whole lot of paint coming off in the process.

So I guess I'll try some more aggressive media or the aircraft stripper. I'll confess I don't know anything about that type of stripper so I guess I'll have to do some research.

I appreciate the help here, guys.

Told you :) Go to www.eastwood.com.
 
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Well, I got some glass media stuff earlier today and decided to try it out (it's supposed to be safe on aluminum, according to some places I read on the web). Well, it's definitely safe on aluminum. It also seems to be safe on powder coat and even some paint. :amazed: I don't deny that I'm getting some line pressure drop before the nozzle, but damn, there definitely wasn't a whole lot of paint coming off in the process.

So I guess I'll try some more aggressive media or the aircraft stripper. I'll confess I don't know anything about that type of stripper so I guess I'll have to do some research.

I appreciate the help here, guys.

Told you :) Go to www.eastwood.com.

I got the idea to try the glass media from the Eastwood website yesterday (before your posts).
 
Assuming these are polished clear-coated rims: If you want to polish the rims do not sandblast with anything... The stripper leaves the best surface finish, you'll only need some ultra fine scotch brite or 2000 grit wetsand and chrome polish to get a almost chrome like finish......
 
Assuming these are polished clear-coated rims: If you want to polish the rims do not sandblast with anything... The stripper leaves the best surface finish, you'll only need some ultra fine scotch brite or 2000 grit wetsand and chrome polish to get a almost chrome like finish......


The glass bead is safe to take paint off of aluminum surfaces like an alternator housing but it will not touch powder coating. A more aggressive aggregate - sand or slag - will cover the wheels with small dimples that will require hours and hours of work to smooth out.

Use the aircraft stripper as suggested above. Put the part to be stripped in a plastic bin and apply the stripper with a brush. IMPORTANT - use good gloves - this stuff is not fun if you get it on your skin.
 
Assuming these are polished clear-coated rims: If you want to polish the rims do not sandblast with anything... The stripper leaves the best surface finish, you'll only need some ultra fine scotch brite or 2000 grit wetsand and chrome polish to get a almost chrome like finish......

These wheels are the (2003?) C5 Z06 gray/silver powder coated wheels. The previous owner painted over them to get a contrast color on his non-Corvette car. I got a decent deal on the wheels, but after all the aggravation dealing with removing the paint (and messing up the powder coat in the process) I'm a bit annoyed at how much time I'm spending on these wheels to get them looking decent again. I just want to get the remaining paint and powder coat off so I can get a light natural brushed aluminum look to the wheels.
 
Well, I got some glass media stuff earlier today and decided to try it out (it's supposed to be safe on aluminum, according to some places I read on the web). Well, it's definitely safe on aluminum. It also seems to be safe on powder coat and even some paint. :amazed: I don't deny that I'm getting some line pressure drop before the nozzle, but damn, there definitely wasn't a whole lot of paint coming off in the process.

So I guess I'll try some more aggressive media or the aircraft stripper. I'll confess I don't know anything about that type of stripper so I guess I'll have to do some research.

I appreciate the help here, guys.

Told you :) Go to www.eastwood.com.

I got the idea to try the glass media from the Eastwood website yesterday (before your posts).

Did they tell you it would remove powder coating? I would be shocked if they did. The guys are pretty good there and I would be surprise they didn't tell you to use the paint stripper they have for powder coating. Glass bead will remove paint somewhat but not powder coating. There are also different grits too.
 
If the wheels are silver painted/coated then they were never polished and the aluminum surface is rough to begin with.
I have a good blaster and paintgun so for me the decision would be easy: blast with sand and increase the distance a little so that the aluminum doesn't get chewed up too much, prime and repaint.... gunmetal would probably be my choice :D

Do you have tires on these? Tires that you want to continue to use? That might be another wrinkle in the sandblasting plan.....

Try the stripper but I don't think it will take the powdercoat off, that aircraft stripper they sell at AutoZone isn't bad.....
 
If the wheels are silver painted/coated then they were never polished and the aluminum surface is rough to begin with.
I have a good blaster and paintgun so for me the decision would be easy: blast with sand and increase the distance a little so that the aluminum doesn't get chewed up too much, prime and repaint.... gunmetal would probably be my choice :D

Do you have tires on these? Tires that you want to continue to use? That might be another wrinkle in the sandblasting plan.....

Try the stripper but I don't think it will take the powdercoat off, that aircraft stripper they sell at AutoZone isn't bad.....

Was at AZ earlier today, and the local guy's prices were outta sight. I just ordered some off fleabay instead. I still have the tires on the wheels (they're my track wheels and tires) so I'm just going to try to make a little progress getting the coating off the spokes and center section. I'll pull the tires off the wheels this winter and finish the job then.
 
Try the stripper on your skin first, if it doesn't hurt it's useless :D

:lol:

Seriously: I bought stripper at HomeDepot that wouldn't strip paint even if left overnight......
I'm sure that stuff was friendly to the environment though :)
 
The aircraft remover stuff got delivered today. I tried a bunch on one of the wheels and gave it 10-15 minutes. Looks like it's going to do a decent job. It definitely raised the paint that was on there, and it also seemed to soften the powder coat. The big problem was the heat outside. The stripper dried out on a good portion of the wheel during that 10-15 minutes, and the powder coat didn't soften as much where it was dry. I might have to wait for some cooler weather to allow the goop to stay in gel form longer. I might also try using some mild steel wool with the goop next time to see if I can get more of the powder coat to come loose.
 
AN aircraft trick. Put on a good coat of the stripper, then cover it with a plastic sheet. The solvents in the stripper evaporate fairly quick and leave the goo. Keeping the solvent in helps it work. Just make sure the plastic sheet won't get eaten by the stripper.
 
Stripper wont eat plastic :)

I just placed four door hinges in a Ziploc bag, poured stripper in it, closed it and let it sit over night ..... Tomorrow I'll hit it wit some mineral spirit and then my garden hose :D
 
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