The Dodge Boys need info on Media Blasting Would it work on cleaning paint on wood??? Any ideas would be great thanks...
I used media (glass bead)blasting on my 41 engine cowl. It came back in great shape with no warping. It was expensive, $70.00 just to do the cowl (but it did have 5 layers of paint on it)
What about Nut shell? Has anyone ever tried this? And what is the price like for it?
Used walnut hulls once,ran out of sand had to raid the brass tumbler supply, I wasn't impressed. Ross
Hi Tom, Walnut shells, $22 per 50lbs in SoCal. MoparNorm
True MEDIA blasting, we are not talking sand blasing...glass bead blasting ..but true media blasting...the answer is YES it will remove paint from wood WITHOUT damage to the wood. A freind of mine owns a MEDIA BLASTING company which does work for NASA, and BOEING and he has an impresive demo were he media blasts the shell of an egg away from the internal membrane without spilling the egg's contents. I had him do my Woody Wagon and it turned out perfect...although he did it at "freind prices" I due beleive it would have been cheaper to have a commercial wood stripper do it in a tank. He has also done the same process on a historical house were they wanted to find the original (first) color applied...he was able to strip off each layer down to the primer for them.
Based on 30 years experience restoring Antique Chris Craft boats, DONT blast wood to clean. You will destroy the surface so bad you might never be able to get it fair again. Instead, use ZIP STRIP. Follow the directions on the can, dont rush it, let it do the work. Then strip with a sharp scrapper. When most of the paint/varnish is removed, apply another coat of ZIP STRIP, let it work then use BRONZE WOOL to work the rest of paint/varnish from the grain. NEVER, NEVER use steel wool.....If you do, some very small pieces of the steel wool will stick in the grain (you probably wont even see it), it time with mostiure the little pieces of steel wool will rust and there goes your paint/varnish. Remember to have LOTS of good air flow when using ZIP STRIP. It contains Methlyn Chloride which is know to cause cancer. There are other products to strip wood, I have not found them to work as well. Pleanty of fresh air and a organic vapor respirator and all is well. BRONZE WOOL is available at most quality Marine Supply houses that sell refinishing products.
I have used plastic media in my blast cabinet with a siphon feed gun. Works good for paint removal, not so good for rust. Much less abrasive than glass bead so surface is basically unmarked. The media is ground up plastic chunks.
I've used coal dust, works great. I would be interested in hearing comments comparing coal dust, glass bead and sand.
Never heard of it being used for media blasting. Wouldn't it be extremely dangerous to use? I've heard of so many coal dust explosions in history. -Andy
Don't blast your wood! When blasting your steel stand back and go at it as if you are doing a sweep blast first and come back and do a clean up on the second pass. If you blast hard the steel will change shape. Bead blast all your small parts with fine grit. Coat all your steel within one hour after blasting.