Tools, Sharpening and Power Machinery - Portable Sand Blaster?

This afternoon, I came into a situation where the best option was a sand blaster. What I'm doing is roughening a metal surface for painting. I have sanded the piece, and the paint just wont stick. I have solved the problem, using a 2 part surface prep.Now, I'm wondering if there is such a thing as a small, protable sand blaster on the market? Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

cuedude

If paint won;t stick after sanding, I would suspect an oil film on the metal. Clean with lacquer thinner or similar and wipe clean, then try your primer. The primer should always match the top coat(compatible formulas) or you run the risk of the paint failing later.

I have two small sandblasters and neither of them work very well.
One is like a paint spray gun that you put sand in the small pot, the other is a syphon type that is made up of a small hopper where gravity feeds sand to a hose and the suction at the nozzle draws sand.
I have found that the small one does throw sand but such a small amount that even a very small object takes a long time to blast.
The bigger one throws more sand but the feed tends to get stoppped up in the hopper and I spend more time shaking the canister than blasting. I have tried different sand and made sure it was clean and dry but this thing is not worth the time.
If I was going to persue blasting the next step is to get a small pressure pot type but so far I have been able to make do without it.
As Bill has suggested a good cleaning would be simpler for you if you only need to prep for paint.
There are other things you can use for cleaning grease.
I have used oven cleaner on some projects, solvent, dish soap and a scrub brush and tsp to prep metal. Just have to be sure to rinse well if you use soaps.

What are you painting and what two step process are you referring to?

I have two portable blasters. One from sears that consists of a vinyl container that holds 25 lbs of blast material along with the gun and hose. The second one is from harbor freight and is smaller. It has a smalll tank mounted right on top of the gun. Both work pretty well in my opinion. I have used sand in the one from sears. You are only supposed to use glass bead in the one from harbor freight. Make sure you have wear good protective glasses and a hood when using either one.

I have two portable blasters. One from sears that consists of a vinyl container that holds 25 lbs of blast material along with the gun and hose. The second one is from harbor freight and is smaller. It has a smalll tank mounted right on top of the gun. Both work pretty well in my opinion. I have used sand in the one from sears. You are only supposed to use glass bead in the one from harbor freight. Make sure you have wear good protective glasses and a hood when using either one.

Thanks j66redcpe,

I was thinking of checking what Harbor Freight had to offer. I just may do that.

As I said earlier, we got the problem fixed, and the paint is on. We used a 2 part product from the local cover the earth people. It was easy to mix, went on well, and was ready to paint in about 10 min. One thing we also did was roughed it up more with 60 grit paper, and cleaned it with thinner.

Again, thanks for the info.

cuedude

Harbor Freight actually offers several different blasters including one like the portable one I mentioned from Sears.