Blasting A Deck...what Should I Use?

gran_national

My mom volunteered to let me use her deck as a test. I was thinking of using corn cob or glass (thanks MEDIA MAN). The deck is 12' X 20' and she also wants the lattice done as well. It was pressure washed about 5 or 6 years ago she thinks. I'm looking for suggestions on what media to use and how much I'll probably need. Also, where do you guys order your media from? I think my local Tractor Supply has some coal slag. The idea is to blast this as a test and only ask her to cover materials. Now, it obviously defeats the purpose if she can get it pressure washed for $100 and it'd cost me $200 to blast. She's just not that worried about how it's done, but she does want to help me out. As a side not, I'm taking an antique dinner bell along to blast as well. It'll cost me probably $75 to rent a compressor for half a day and $100 to rent it for a whole day, so figure that in. I'm looking for a price that you'd charge your mother and then what I should charge the average Joe for the same job.

genecarp

bazooka

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TimelessQuality

blasting huh.....C-4.

Would like to see how it comes out though.

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-Steve

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science." ~ Albert Einstein

gran_national

No one has a serious answer?

MALCO.New.York

If you had taken the time to introduce yourself and tell a few more DETAILS concerning your line of work, you may have garnered a few more tangible answers.

AS it stands now, you appear to be a DIYer who fabricated the part about being in the sandblasting business (you stated that you will nned to rent the equipment) who is looking for answers to solve a situation that your MOMMY put you in.

There is your serious answer.

__________________
Something to One may be Nothing to another!

Ultimate Wisdom---------
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OW-cnizLDEE

MEDIA MAN

If I were you I'd try crushed glass 60-100; Or cob. If you can shoot soda, then try soda. I have used all three on wood and personally like the crushed glass because of the finish it leaves. Next I perfer the soda then the cob. Yes it will raise the grain but any media will. Easy clean up, a broom, a shovel and leaf blower - most can be raked into the lawn. Many golf courses use it on their greens as well as silica sand and slag. It is not like having a broken bottle laying around. It is so fine it is more like grains of sand only smaller. You can not cut yourself with it. Just keep it out of your eyes.

I'd bet if you had 15 bags (750#'s; about $120) of crushed glass with you you'ld go home with left over. I don't know the actual square footage but you'ld probrably use 7 to 9; 50# bags. It is always hard to estimate how many bags will be needed because no 2 blast jobs are the same. At least in my experience. Judging by the pics though I'd say this would be easy and quick. Setup, blast and gone in 3 hrs. When I work on wood jobs they go so fast I cant keep up. You shold get 300+ SqFt/hr. Most of your time will be preping the house from being blasted by overspray. I would suggest doing a sample to make sure your mom (or any customer) is ok with the outcome because it will raise the grain.
If you feel comfortable doing this; go to TSC. Buy a bag of the finest grit slag or silica sand they have. Find a piece of weathered wood lying in her back yard and blast it. Just to get the feel of what is going to happen.

gran_national

Maclo,

You mean to tell me that your business was never in the beginning stages? I put that I was in the sandblasting trade because the forum made you enter something to join and I had the intentions to get into the business with the advice and help of MOST of the people on here. You're limited reading abilities (I also question your spelling abilities) did not allow you to comprehend most of my previous posts indicating that I have made steps toward starting my own business by purchasing equipment. But I guess you had thousands of dollars to buy all the equipment up front from selling your Bruce Lee trading cards, huh?

All told, I'll have $900 in my equipment and I'll pass the $80/day rental fee onto the end customer...that's $980 to start blasting so your simple mind doesn't have to try to calculate it.

Something in your life must be pretty sad that you need to jump on this forum and bash people who are trying to learn and grow their business. I guess I could've come up with some clever descritption like you did "Everything the other guys do not want to do" to introduce myself, but I chose to leave it blank. So, I guess if I told you to fu*! yourself, you would do that??????

My mom just so happened to volunteer her deck for me to try out my rusty blasting skills. She didn't "get me into a situation". I just noticed you're from Brooklyn. That makes your entire post make a lot more sense.

P.S. Awesome signature. My 12 year old cousin has something very similar.

MALCO.New.York

You could tell me to"Fu*!" myself but I would require a demonstration first. After all, I am just starting out in the "Fu*! Yourself" Business and I am unsure of the correct procedure.

This is no way to conduct your business or your life.

Well for one.........Find a Grammatical or Spelling error and I will applaud you.

For two........As I said, you did not properly introduce yourself. For all purposes at hand you seem like a DIYer. Had you said, "I have NEVER done thids before anf I wish to become.........." Someone other then MEDIAMAN may have helped.

You must understand that there are countless DIYer's that posture a business stature as a ploy to garner information foropm the real Professional Mavens.

POST SCRIPT: I inserted a few spelling errors in for you so you might feel justified! (check your own spellingk and grammars)

__________________
Something to One may be Nothing to another!

Ultimate Wisdom---------
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OW-cnizLDEE

gran_national

Please applaud me for finding 2 n's in the word need (nned). Please don't lecture me about how "this is no way to conduct your business or your life." If you would browse through ALL of my posts, I don't think you'll find ONE where I wasn't cordial...until this one of course. You're the one who immediately jumped on my post as if your the "hall monitor" at school and I need to leave or something just because I'm asking questions. That's what this whole forum is about. Not spouting off and running people down. By the way, the whole "I'd need a demonstration first!". That really made you sound like a 7th grader as I'm beginning to feel just by responding to you. If you'd have said "Gran_national, how about an introduction?", I'd have been more than happy to respond cordially to you, but I didn't get that from you.

I'm not a DIYer for your information. I'm currently an IT consultant who did some sandblasting in the summer between high school and college. I see a need for it in my area and decided to get into it on the side to see if I could make some money. I've been asking questions and passing along what information I have learned to those who've come after me and greatly appreciate every little bit that has been passed to me. This whole forum is better off without people like you unless you want to share information in an informative pleasant way. That's just my opinion.

MALCO.New.York

Opinions........We all got 'em! Even me.

__________________
Something to One may be Nothing to another!

Ultimate Wisdom---------
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OW-cnizLDEE

killzoneq2

Malco, your unsolicited wisdom is not needed as your title describes it best "
Trade: Everything The Other Guys Do Not Want To Do". Meaning you are a jack of all trades and master of none. Therefore entering into the sandblasting zone without reading previous posts makes you a moron for even responding the way you did. So I suggest you go back to your other forums where masters of nothings are needed. From this point on EVERYONE SHOULD NOT respond to his sarcasm. People like him feed on it. Grandnational, from what I have learned, Mediaman is right. Sometimes you have to loose money to learn to make money. Moms are always FREE!!!

MALCO.New.York

Boy you "blasters" really are sensitive. 2 peas in a pod.

__________________
Something to One may be Nothing to another!

Ultimate Wisdom---------
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OW-cnizLDEE

MEDIA MAN

Kudos to you killzone. Sandblasting is not rocket science, just don't stand in front of us or sneak up on us. No well kept secrets in our trade at least none that I've stumbled across. If gran_national was a DIY'er so be it!
I guess now there's 3 peas in this pod!