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Bead Blasting Setup, What's Needed?

5K views 18 replies 13 participants last post by  Olympus 
#1 ·
I'm debating on getting a set up to do bead blasting. I would like to do my own guns. But I also recently got my FFL so I'd like to be able to buy some guns that have seen use and be able to bead blast them back to life. Stainless guns.

I know I need a blasting cabinet and air compressor, but what else? Does the cabinet come with some kind of nozzle or something? I want to end with a smooth satin finish. What kind of blasting media should I use? And more importantly, where do I buy it?
 
#2 ·
Harbor freight is a good place to start, their blast cabinets work really well. You can spend as much as you want on a cabinet but most parts are short so a small cabinet will work. As for the media fine glass bead NO 2 will refinish stainless with a nice satin finish it will etch aluminum though so maybe walnut shell for soft metals.
 
#3 ·
I would get two. One for stainless and the other for carbon steel. Finish is a combination of media and pressure. You will need to experiment, each compressor also runs differently. I like an independent regulator for each cabinet. Good luck.
 
#7 ·
Definately either go with two or get 2 pails/barrels(we get 30gal barrels) and keep Stainless and carbon seperate. Here at work we have a 20ft x 20ft booth , quite a large setup(plus a smaller cabinet), if anyone is caught blasting mild steel in the booth, he gets to take his toolbox home with him:bawling:, saw it happen. The mild steel will contaminate the beads and get pushed into the next SS part, aka= rust. Ceramic beads and plastic shaped pellets work well also to get shinnier/smoother finish, but can get pricey and it can be a guess as to which shape/size/material to get.
 
#8 ·
Learned that lesson the hard way. I sent a stainless gun to be bead blasted and one year later its rusting! Hopefully I can get it removed and start fresh. I may not be able to cure the problem, but now that I know it exists I can at least keep that gun oiled up like I do my blued guns. It's a Taurus so I'm not that heartbroken about it.

Another question. I understand the need to capture and reuse the bead media, but I have also read that once the beads hit the gun they crack and fragment and reusing the broken pieces won't give the same finish. Any truth to this?
 
#10 ·
As you use the beading it does break down. The less air pressure you can get away with helps plus we will keep adding fresh beads slowly to the older stuff and it keeps the finish more consistant longer. It will slowly get pretty powdery and the finish will be smoother, but will take longer to finish the parts.
 
#14 ·
Well I took the plunge. I actually bought a cheap nozzle with a hopper to try first. Without knowing what the results would be, I didn't want to drop several hundred dollars on a blasting cabinet.

I even used my little pancake compressor. I turned my regulator down to 40 PSI and used the 80 grit glass beads from Harbor Freight. The results literally blew me away. My old stainless Taurus was nasty and actually had some surface rust on the slide stop and MSH. The bead blasting literally did wonders. I didn't want to take a before picture as I'd be too embarrassed for people to see that I let a gun get into this bad of shape. But I will sure be posting after photos. It's gorgeous now! It has an almost identical color and feel to a stainless Kimber.

Thanks to all for the help.
 
#18 · (Edited)
Some good info here but I'll add a few things.
If you want a cabinet make sure the collection is steep or the media won't get back to the feed tube.
Using a shop vac for dust collector is good but if the exhaust is in the same room it becomes media redistribution. One thing you can do is add a water bucket in line to trap the dust if you don't have a way to vent outside.
On gun parts, you aren't spending much time so what ever tips should work. I may get laughed at for this but I've used fuel line for years as tips in my cabinet. It's cheap, it last and I don't have to worry about cracking it or damaging a part i bump. It should work for any cheap guns that use the 3/8" tips held in by a set screw. Rubber works for stencils also which other than being close enough in size was why i tried it.
If you don't have one buy a respirator. Lungs are expensive and having two doesn't mean you have a back up.
 
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