Hubley Atomic Disintegrator Advice Needed!

[Zesko]

Pretty soon I'm going to try my hand at refinishing a Hubley Atomic Disintegrator... I thought about sandblasting it to a satin finish, giving it a thin polyurethane coat (like a glassy primer), and then chroming it with that newfangled MirraChrome paint...

Good plan so far? Beats me... So I'm going to need sandblasting gear (maybe a sandblasting cabinet), an air compressor, and an adjustable paint sprayer or airbrush. And that's the reason I'm here now... looking for your recommendations on sandblasting equipment, compressors and sprayers...and anything else I'm overlooking. Thanks, guys!!!

[Volker]

Hi Zesko,

so when I understand you right - you want to buy a complett cow , to have one liter milk ?

I think cheaper is , you goes to a Car-painter .

volker

[Zesko]

Well, I'm sure I could find many other uses around here for a sandblasting kit... I thought that starting with the Atomic Disintegrator would be an easy project. But, if you think it would be less expensive to just let a professional car painter do it, then maybe I will...

[robothut]

You don't want to use a sand blaster on tin toys or plastic for that matter it will pit the surface, what you want is a Soda blaster, they will remove any thing with out distubing origional surface, small portable unites are only around $250.00

DRY SODA BLASTERS – A MODEL FOR EVERY NEED

Ace Sandblasting has a variety of equipment, ranging from mobile soda blasting equipment to the stationery model with a dust collector.

Our machines offer an economical approach to:

Specialized Parts Cleaning

Finishing

Surface Preparation

What once took hours to remove can now be cleaned or restored in a matter of minutes without the fear of damaging the part. Ace’s Dry Soda Blasters remove very difficult soils like baked-on carbon, ink, paint, grease, grime, mold, surface rust and other oxides.

The soda blasting process means there is no damage to the surface or part. The part can be rinsed with water to remove the media residue.

When I did a search for them this was just the first site to come up there are lots of them so do a search and find a cheep unit, I think I might by one as this is a great way to strip robots for great paint jobs!

[robothut]

Welcome to Master Blaster, Inc!

-----------------------------------------------------------

COMMERCIAL · INDUSTRIAL · RESIDENTIAL

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Medias Used:

Sand media is used on a heavier gauge steel, block, metal, building, automotive frames, rod iron, patio furniture, swimming pools, brick, bumpers, rims and bed frames, etc.

Glass bead media is used on stainless steel, aluminum and food processing equipment, automotive carriages, wood signs, glass, mirrors and porcelain, etc.

Plastic beads are used on sheet metal and automotive paint removal to prevent warping. Master Blaster, Inc. is the only company in Omaha using plastic media. Master Blaster wants to ensure that your prized classic is treated with the same care that the 'national award winning' restorations have received.

Steel shot is used on heavy steel such as semi trailers, structural beams, heavy equipment, pallet racks, and steel shelving, etc.

Soda blasting is a process that will remove paint, rust, algae, etc. from a surface by the use of bicarbonate of soda, an environmentally safe food product. The soda-blasting machine propels the bicarbonate of soda media via water or compressed air onto the surface that is to be cleaned.

Why Soda Blast?

It is non-harmful to glass, chrome, rubber, plastics and leaves the surface clean. It is ideal for vehicle restoration, fire/water damage clean-up, algae removal from boats, heavy equipment clean-up, food equipment, engine components, AND MORE!!! It eliminates the use of toxic cleaning chemicals, making it perfect for food industry processing equipment and restaurants etc … The de-painted surface is left clean enough to re-paint… It is environmentally safe… etc.

[dratomic]

Okay. THAT is pretty cool. I need to research this a bit more -- I wonder if one can be used in an apartment, or if that's just asking for all sorts of trouble... :)

[robothut]

Well Harbor Freight Tools, you can find them on line if you don't have a stire near you, sells a Bench top agrasive blast cabinet for only $69 bucks item 45411-2RAH I don't know if it would work with soda or not.

The thing that seems to be different from sand blasting equipment and soda blasters is that soda blasters seem to keep the soda in a sealed container and most of them use a water cooled system to remove mosture from thae air supply, sand blasters are basicly open the sand lays in a bin untill the gun sucks it up and blows it out then the sand falls back into the bin again. Maybe because the soda is so fine compared to sand any mosture will make it clump up.

Strip paint, rust, or any other unwanted material from metal or wood. Double doors for easy loading of large and odd shaped items. Includes blasting gun with trigger, three medium steel nozzles, hopper, and screen.

Large viewing window

Built-in 17-3/4'' rubber gloves

Dust collection port

Working area: 25'' x 15''

Cabinet dimensions: 25-1/8''L x 16-1/4''W x 20-7/8''H

Working pressure: 80-120 PSI

Air inlet: 1/4'' NPT

ITEM 45411-2VGA

$69.99

[diamondj]

Zesko - Make sure you investigate soda blasting thoroughly before you invest in any equipment. I believe soda blasting requires specialized equipment because the soda dust is volatile or flammable (or both) when pressurized. For a small home blasting unit, the benchtop blast cabinets from places like harbor freight are fine. You'll need a good compressor though - one with a 10 gallon tank minimum that will flow 90 PSI plus at least one water trap in-line to prevent the blaster from clogging. A less abrasive blast media than sand would be glass beads, plastic, or walnut shells - all readily available and not much more expensive than the better grades of sand media. Check out www.eastwoodco.com for more info about sandblasting media. Their stuff is a little higher priced though. There's an automotive blasting place down the road from me that's reasonably priced and they have a website but I can't find it now - I know I have it bookmarked at work. Check your local yellow pages for sandblasting, media blasting, and automotive restoration/refinishing. Somebody in your area probably does media blasting and I can't imagine they would charge you more than a few bucks to media blast your Hubley AD for you. And while I'm rambling on, doesn't MirraChrome paint require specialized equipment for application? If you do decide to get your own blast cabinet and use glass beads, make sure you tape up the access door with plenty of duct tape before you start. If you leak glass beads out of the cabinet under pressure, they will go EVERYWHERE!!! I learned this the hard way! ;-)

Jim

[Zesko]

And while I'm rambling on, doesn't MirraChrome paint require specialized equipment for application?

According to the MirraChrome website, you can use the stuff out of any sprayer that delivers a fine mist, as the paint requires several layers of very fine mist to achieve a true "chrome" effect... Once again, it's all a matter of surface preparation... A glassy surface will give you the best chrome results. You can color the chrome, too, using the "Candy" color additives provided by MirraChrome.... Only problem is that MirraChrome costs $150 for 8 oz, and their "candy" color additives start at around $45 a bottle.

There's another technique out there called "FantaChrome," which gives beautiful results, but requires $12,000 worth of equipment... Might as well buy a FantaChrome franchise!

[larry seven]

:) dratomic, please promise us that you're not going to sandblast in your new apartment! Noise, mess, not to mention that free silica in the white silica sand is cancer-causing to lungs! Don't forget that a rotary power tool running slowly with a 2 or 3 inch soft rotary wire brush does a nice, soft job on tin. Not one of the coarse heavy gauge wire wheels, but the softies.

-L7 (autobody repairman for 29 of my 44 years. Once tried to sandblast wearing soft contact lenses! EEeaahhhh! (Howard Dean scream!)