Sandblasting Cabinet

The Powder Coating Area within our Metal Shop at Pikes Peak Makerspace (PPM) consists mostly of Level 2 equipment.

Additional PPM training is required to use any of our Level 2 equipment.

All of our Powder Coating Equipment combined occupies about 90 square feet (6'x18').

Sandblasting Area hand tools should be marked with pink tape, paint, or powder coating.

Contact Us if you cannot find your answer here on our Wiki or if you notice any information that is outdated.

 

Safety First

Members must know the following information:

In case of emergency, call 911.

Our physical location is:

735 East Pikes Peak Avenue

Colorado Springs, CO 80903

use this when ordering pizza or an ambulance

• 

  IN CASE OF
  EMERGENCY
  sign

PPM Fire Escape Plan

Fire Escape Plan maps are posted throughout the Makerspace.

There are 7 fire extinguishers on the fire escape plan map. Review the PPM Fire Escape Plan for locations.

• 

  PPM Emergency
  Evacuation Plan.pdf

• 

  PPM Fire
  Prevention Plan.pdf

• 

  PPM Fire Escape
  Plan

First Aid

There is a FIRST AID Supply Cabinet in our Kitchen Area.

FIRST AID Kits are available in four areas: the Kitchen, Metal Shop, Wood Shop and CNC Room.

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  FIRST AID
  Supply Cabinet

• 

  FIRST AID
  Kit

Eye Wash Stations

Emergency Eye & Face Wash Stations are mounted in four areas: the Kitchen, Wood Shop, CNC Room and Vented Room.

• 

  Emergency
  Eye & Face Wash
  Station

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Wear protective equipment in all Wood and Metal Shop Areas.

Wear gloves when using Isopropyl Alcohol and other cleaners.

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  Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Hazardous Chemicals

All hazardous chemicals must be stored in the yellow hazardous chemical storage cabinet located in the Vented Room.

Review the Safety Data Sheet (SDS) information of unknown products before use.

SDS information is available via the QR code on the hazardous chemical storage cabinet or this spreadsheet.

Do not bring dangerous chemicals to the makerspace.

Spray paint, stains, and other approved items must be stored in the hazardous chemical storage cabinet in the Vented Room.

Please DO NOT paint indoors.

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  Flammables Cabinet
  in the Vented Room

Impairment

The use of PPM equipment requires you to be alert, attentive, and focused.

Do not use any PPM work area, or any PPM tools, if you are under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Sandblasting Safety

• Wear respirator
• Wear eye protection
• Do not use sandblaster with the door open
• Using abrasive media with silica without a really good respirator will damage lungs

 

Classes

To help out in the Powder Coating Area contact us on Slack.

Equipment List

Item	Manufacturer	Model Number	Power Requirements	Resources
media blaster cabinet	Harbor Freight			web page

Training

Part prep

• Clean all dirt and grease and oil off parts before blasting
• Use tape to cover any part that you don’t want to be blasted
• Use plugs or bolts to cover holes where you don’t want media to enter

Blast cabinet Prep

• Check vacuum filter and cyclone before use and empty and clean if needed
• Load abrasive media needed for the job
• Set correct psi for the abrasive media loaded

Changing out abrasive media

• Place container under cabinet and open bottom door
• Brush off any media left inside on the sides into the container
• Vacuum any media left
• Empty cyclone and vacuum and blow out the filter
• Store abrasive media in an airtight container or throw away if no longer good
• Close bottom door and pour new media into cabinet through side door, 50lb max
• Media must be dry
• Put abrasive media tag on cabinet

Sandblasting

• Place prepped part into the prepped cabinet and close and latch door
• Flip on the power switch to turn on lights and vacuum
• Use steady side to side movement when blasting
• DO NOT stop and blast in one concentrated area for any long period of time as it can warp thinner panels and remove too much material on some surfaces
• keep your nozzle at a 60-45 degree angle and aimed in the direction you are moving when blasting
• If blasting gun sticks on turn off the air and remove the nut on top of the gun, remove the pin and blow out, and reassemble
• Blow off the part with air before removing it from the cabinet

Abrasive Media

• Media has a life span
• Some are single-use and some can be reused many times
• Using the right media for the part and correct PSI can extend the lifespan of media
• Used media is like used sandpaper and loses effectiveness the more that it is used
• If blasting is starting to take longer it is time to replace media
• Harder and round media last longer
• Round media gives a smoother finish

Application

Remove rust and paint

Media	Description	Used For	Hardness	Shape	PSI	Average Recycle uses
Soda	Soda abrasive is from baking soda or bicarbonate of soda. It offers non-destructive cleaning and very popularly usedoperators.	It is used to remove rust from metals without causing depression or damaging the metal beneath the rough surface.	2.5	Angler	70PSI	Single‑use
Coal Slag / Aluminum Silicate	It is a dispensable abrasive which is a by-product of coal-fired electric power generation plants. It has less dust compared to Copper Slag.	It is often used in open blasting operations in the oil- and shipyard industry and other metal surface treatments.	6-7	Angler	50 PSI	2-3 times
Aluminum Oxide Grit	An extremely sharp, long-lasting blasting abrasive that can be recycled many times. It is available in 99.5% pure white grade and commonly standard brown.	It is often used in open blasting operations in the oil- and shipyard industry and other metal surface treatments.	6-7	Angular	90PSI	50 times
Crushed Glass Grit	Crushed Glass Grit is 100% recycled glass beads and are considered to be eco and health- friendly as it eliminates the presence of airborne carcinogens. It is non-toxic and non-hazardous.	This is used in profiling and removal of coatings and surface contamination and can be used around water.	5-6	Angular	80PSI	15 times
Steel grit	Softer than Aluminum Oxide Grit but still have a very high hardness quality. It has a very fast stripping action and shot peening applications.	It is commonly used in cleaning, etching and surface preparations.	8-9	Angler	100PSI	100 times
Staurolite	It is a Silicate of Silica and Iron and is generally used to remove thin coatings, rust, and mill scale. Its sub-angular shape is ideal for applications where a minimal surface profile is required.	Perfectly used in stripping off surfaces in storage tank & tower construction, structural & plate steel blasting, and steel fabrication.	7.0 Mohs	Sub-angular
Media	Description	Used For	Hardness	Shape	PSI	Average Recycle uses

Application

Polish and paint prep

Media	Description	Used For	Hardness	Shape	PSI	Average Recycle uses
Glass Bead	Glass Beads are manufactured into preformed ball shapes which is very effective in leaving very smooth surfaces. It produces super smooth and brighter finish compared to angular.	Commonly used for automotive restoration, stainless steel fabrication, polishing of castings and light deburring of metal molds and parts.	6	Round	80PSI	30 times
Steel shot	Steel Shot is manufactured into spherical pellet-type abrasive made from carbon steel. It often produces a very smooth surface after use.	Steel shot abrasive is often used in cleaning and polishing metal surfaces and parts in automotive, aerospace, construction, foundry, shipbuilding, rail, and more.	40-51 HRC	Spherical	130PSI	100 times
Steel Grit	Softer than Aluminum Oxide Grit but still have a very high hardness quality. It has a very fast stripping action and shot peening applications.	It is commonly used in cleaning, etching and surface preparations.	40-65 HR	Angular
Corn cob grit	Corn Cob Grit is an organic, soft and natural abrasive from hard cob. It is tumbling and absorbent that dries surfaces. Corn cob grit is non-toxic and safe for operators.	It is best used on wood surfaces and does not create any damage on the treated surface. It is used in oily and moist surfaces that quickly absorbs it while finishing rough parts.	4-4.5	Ground, Angular shape
Walnut shell grit	It is a very versatile soft abrasive, organic and biodegradable. Same as corn cob, it is non-toxic and impose no hazard on health.	It is best used on wood surfaces and does not create any damage on the treated surface. It is used in oily and moist surfaces that quickly absorbs it while finishing rough parts.	4.5-5	Angler	70 PSI	4-5 times
Copper Slag / Iron Silicate	In contrast to its name, it contains almost no copper. It is referred to as the best abrasive to use when ranked on cutting speed and cost per sq. ft.	It comes in extra fine grade abrasive that is used for surface blast-cleaning carpets, plastic and wood.	7	Angular	50 PSI	2-3 times
Garnet	Garnet is a natural silicate mineral deposit. It has a high stripping rate, very low dust and the lowest consumption rate.	Mainly used for wet or dry sandblasting and offers an excellent coating preparation and adhesion properties.	6.5 - 7.5	Angular to Subangul	60PSI	4-5 times
Plastic Urea	Environmentally friendly and recyclable plastic high strip rate for sensitive parts.	used for applications such as auto and aircraft restoration to deliver an efficient strip rate without damage or warping of the substrate.	3.5	Angular	70PSI	4-5 times
Media	Description	Used For	Hardness	Shape	PSI	Average Recycle uses

Related Pages

Links to related PPM Wiki pages:

  Metal Shop  

  Metal Shop — CNC SHOPMASTER  

  Metal Shop — Powder Coating  

  Metal Shop — Welding Area  

  Wood Shop  

Hand-Curated Links

Links to external sites:

Sandblaster Basics — EricTheCarGuy on YouTube

Harbor Freight Sandblasting Cabinet Upgrades

Additional Help

Use the PPM Slack channel #metal-shop

List of all PPM Slack channels

Note that we have a Slack channel (#job-board) for members to post, discuss, or accept job opportunities either within PPM or from the community.

Search the PPM Wiki — include Content pages as well as Multimedia.

Contact Us if you cannot find your answer here on our Wiki or if you notice any information that is outdated.

Pikes Peak Makerspace (PPM) is dedicated to supporting our maker community in their creative processes by providing shared space, shared tools, materials, software, and a knowledge base to turn their ideas into reality.