How to Build a Sandblaster

Before we can go about building it, let us look at the basic functionality of a sandblaster. A sandblaster is primarily used to make rough surfaces smooth, and acts as a mechanized version of a sandpaper. It uses sand to shape and clean a surface, by blasting the sand against it and is used extensively to clean up walls, cars, boats and so forth. It has been used in a host of other things as well, which include giving your jeans an acid wash look or to distress your jeans, taking the finish off something to add a fresh coat of paint, or providing a gorgeous frosty finish to metals and glasses. You just need a handy source of sand and a reasonable amount of compressed air, and you are ready to roll. You can choose to buy a sandblaster, rent it, or with these easy steps build one at half the cost. Here are a list of build instructions, on how to build a sandblaster.

Build Instructions on How to Make a Sandblaster

To make a sandblaster in the comfort of your own home, you will need some protective clothing, which includes a respirator to avoid silicosis and goggles, an air gun attached to a hose, and a bucket of any fine grained sand or other abrasive media. This includes glass beads, aluminum oxide, black beauty coal and silica sand. Once you have assembled all the sandblaster parts and got the protective gear on, it is time to start building the sandblaster.

Step 1: The setup is simple. Just attach an air gun to the ½ inch rubber air hose and find a sand bucket in which the hose can rest. Check the air gun connection, to see if it is securely fixed, else you would have sand blasting off from the connection, creating a household sandstorm.

Step 2: Use a duct tape or an electrical tape to secure the hose to the side of the bucket, and have the hose pointing downwards. If not done so, you will have the hose moving around and spraying the sand all over.

Step 3: Fill the bucket with fine grained sand, depending on what you want to use it for. However, the finer the sand, the more its flow through the hose.

Step 4: Now, with your protective gear on, use the sandblaster on the item, by aiming the air gun handle on it and squeezing the trigger. As compressed air is jetted out of the gun, it draws the sand through the hose, embedded in the sand pile at the bottom of the bucket, to be jetted out along with the compressed air. This creates a sandblasting force, which works on the item it is used on.

Even though this setup looks ridiculously simple (and makes you want to kill the salesman, who sold you that sandblasted worn out jeans for $60), there are certain cautionary measures that you must undertake. Ensure that you have the protective gear in place, to avoid scarring your face or causing any other injury. Do not try to sandblast your denims while you have them on, unless you want your leg blasted off as well, and remember to cover anything you do not want to get sandblasted. Also remember to work up the volume slowly, for a more even flow. A few minutes of experimentation will determine the appropriate pressure, while using your homemade sandblaster.