Sandblasting

[shaunfox]

Can someone please give me some advice

I have just purchased an old barn, the exterior stone work is very old and dirty and some of the internal timbers are to, i would like to clean them all up, i was thinking of buying a sandblasting kit from machine mart but not really sure what i should be buying

Any advice and a shopping list would be great

Thanks

 

[iandandav]

Can someone please give me some advice

I have just purchased an old barn, the exterior stone work is very old and dirty and some of the internal timbers are to, i would like to clean them all up, i was thinking of buying a sandblasting kit from machine mart but not really sure what i should be buying

Any advice and a shopping list would be great

Thanks

Depends on its size. You would need something substantial for blasting the side of a house. I have a cheap siphon sandblaster and 3hp compressor to clean up metal. It would take me a year to sand blast a building with it.

 

[SimonH2]

Yeah, forget a syphon blaster, you would indeed be there a lifetime
Bearing in mind I've only done metal - stripping off rust and old paint - so I'm not sure how much it will take to clean up old stonework ...

For that sort of work you'll need a decent size of pot, and a large compressor to drive it. A friend has a small blasting pot (I'd guess it's around 20ltr capacity) and that will keep a 2x 3hp electric compressor running full time in use (it runs much better off a big diesel unit). But with that small a pot you'll spend several times as much time filling it as using it. You'll also get through a few tons of material before you've finished a barn - not to mention the amount of dust you'll make, no-one within a few hundred metres downwind will be friends with you after that !
You can save a lot of material by reusing it - but you'll then need to spend time sieving it (an old fireguard works quite well). It will need two of you really, one to get a few buckets of sand/abrasive ready for the next fill while you are busy using it (or the other way around).

Having had a quick look, industrial sized pots are quite a price. You would be best looking at hiring one, together with a diesel compressor to drive it. You'll all the PPE as well, not least a full face helmet with filtered air supply. Even with all the PPE, you will finish the say completely filthy - as in you'll see silt in the shower tray.

Alternatively, pay someone else to do it - might be worth it if you aren't a masochist.