Advice on purchasing a sand blaster

[Timstrk]

I have the HF 40lb one. Small tank. Will hold more than a bag of play sand from Lowe's. However. You can't just use the playsand from Lowe's. It has to be screened to take out the larger grains. These will clog the nozzle and you have to stop and clean it out and start all over for it to do it again. I use metal screen door screen. If it fits through that it will go through the nozzle. I run it with a 6.5 horse 60 gallon upright compressor. It will hold about 75psi and run the whole time the blaster is working. A 30 gallon compressor would only make you mad. They do a great job and leave a rough surface. You will need protective clothing as well. I wear a full face respirator with HEPA cartridge filters, heavy jacket with hood (sand in the ears) and leather gloves. Silicosis of the lung is serious. It's not a toy. Things to think about. They do a great job though. Kind of a mess to clean up all the spent sand. Inside the truck you could vacuum. It's going to go everywhere, though.

Tim