About year ago I ask on here about sandblasting attachment for pressure washers. I didn't get much response and some seemed like they were problematic. I bought one anyway $115. Over the last year and have now completely blasted all of the super M piece by piece it has become one of my favorite tools for restoration. For those that like to get all those paint layers off I've found nothing close. It strips down metal in no time regardless how thick paint is. Certainly there are precautions for protecting seals and such.
Now for months this thing was problematic and sporadic until I figured out how to make it run consistently. That said I wanted to save someone else the frustration I went through by sharing few tips.
- mine is 4000 psi washer. A 3500 will run it but the flow is not as good.
- put on a full rain suit and face shield and have at it. You will need it.
- one problem I had initially was using way to much blasting media. And it is expensive. I tried regular sand but it would stop up the head every 5-10 min and you must stop and clean it. I went and picked up about 2 yards of washed sand that would be used for Mortor laying bricks. Cost $15. At times still stopped up head and wouldn't always feed well. I discovered It must be completely dry. I now spread a tarp on sunny day and spread sand on it to dry. Turning over as required. Gather it up in 30 gallon bucket and I'm good to go for several hours. Sand is Low cost media and feeds excellent. This 2 yards will last me well into my next tractor.
- to prevent excessive clogs keep trigger squeezed and don't let off. When you stop water flow the sand is moving so fast to nozzle it can build up.
- for a while when I had trouble with clog I would stop and clean nozzle. The simple solution is to press tip against flat surface and touch trigger few times for a second. You can see water rise up feed tube few inches. Then raise tip and excess will run out. Do repeatedly until water clean. I usually work on top of plywood so I just hold down on it and bump trigger.
- instant flash rust can lead to issue and will happen in a blink on wet.exposed metal. But is minimized by spraying with a hand bottle of mineral spirits. Just light coat. Then wipe off excess water. It reduces greatly the rust. Paint asap.
- the valve that controls how much flows of sand I keep wide open. Cheap media so I use as much as it can pull.
- I sure wish I had this on my other projects. It works great as long as you figure out what makes it work.
Great tool. If you don't have one get it. You won't regret if you follow this advice.
Now for months this thing was problematic and sporadic until I figured out how to make it run consistently. That said I wanted to save someone else the frustration I went through by sharing few tips.
- mine is 4000 psi washer. A 3500 will run it but the flow is not as good.
- put on a full rain suit and face shield and have at it. You will need it.
- one problem I had initially was using way to much blasting media. And it is expensive. I tried regular sand but it would stop up the head every 5-10 min and you must stop and clean it. I went and picked up about 2 yards of washed sand that would be used for Mortor laying bricks. Cost $15. At times still stopped up head and wouldn't always feed well. I discovered It must be completely dry. I now spread a tarp on sunny day and spread sand on it to dry. Turning over as required. Gather it up in 30 gallon bucket and I'm good to go for several hours. Sand is Low cost media and feeds excellent. This 2 yards will last me well into my next tractor.
- to prevent excessive clogs keep trigger squeezed and don't let off. When you stop water flow the sand is moving so fast to nozzle it can build up.
- for a while when I had trouble with clog I would stop and clean nozzle. The simple solution is to press tip against flat surface and touch trigger few times for a second. You can see water rise up feed tube few inches. Then raise tip and excess will run out. Do repeatedly until water clean. I usually work on top of plywood so I just hold down on it and bump trigger.
- instant flash rust can lead to issue and will happen in a blink on wet.exposed metal. But is minimized by spraying with a hand bottle of mineral spirits. Just light coat. Then wipe off excess water. It reduces greatly the rust. Paint asap.
- the valve that controls how much flows of sand I keep wide open. Cheap media so I use as much as it can pull.
- I sure wish I had this on my other projects. It works great as long as you figure out what makes it work.
Great tool. If you don't have one get it. You won't regret if you follow this advice.
