Plastic Media, Want your opinions Please! - Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum

Dyer · 09-03-2009, 01:00 PM

I’m looking for a new media for my shop… Soda is way to dusty.
Has anyone used Plastic media and how does it stand up against Soda?
How’s the dust, Price’s, distributors, Ideas ... please put in your cents
I’m running Soda & Crushed Glass right know. It works good hand n’ hand, but want to find a better media to blast with in shop. Something that I can recycle a few times???
(At my old job, I used in the past: Steel shot, Garnet, Black Beauty, dry ice and sponge & Soda.)
Opinions Please?

Thanks!

panderson2414 · 09-03-2009, 05:38 PM

Dyer, I started with plastic, I am currently using Composite Materials. The last shipment cost 1.15 per pound in a bulk order of eight drums of urea. Maxi-blast and Plasti-grit have also been past suppliers, they have failed our quality control tests. this is due to irregular sized media and break down. The average cycle of media is nine times, you must however take each job at a time I just threw out thirteen hundred pounds that was so contaminated with old latex chips that it would require a full rub down with scuff pads to get the stuff off auto steel. Plastic has its place as does the rest of the medias. It is not nearly as versatile as glass. We start with plastic and finnish with glass. It works great on pain that has become fragile and flacky. If you use it on new epoy clear jobs it will leave behind paint. Thats why we plastic first then glass. I am trying to get away from all of that by the next thing in our evolution dipping.

Betterblast · 09-03-2009, 06:16 PM

I was under the impression that you need special pots to use plastic. Can you just throw it in your multi media pot? I wonder how you switch back and forth if you recycle. I do everything in one booth so I would have a mix if I tried to recycle.

Walnut is less dusty than soda.

panderson2414 · 09-03-2009, 07:36 PM

betterblast , My PMB pot is for PMB only, My sx13 will run soda and glass. Our blast pots run everything but will not meter it well. Not one of them runs right without an ads 400 in front of them

Dyer · 09-03-2009, 10:04 PM

Thanks Panderson, for your input.
I do lots of cars and bikes; I have had good luck with soda, better luck with med grade glass.
I find the glass leaves a nice profile on the steel. Plus my body shop guy loves the finish too.
Just hard to recycle it a second time, it gets to powdery.
One thing I have Not tried is the Walnut shells, how is the profile with it?
Before I started blasting for myself, I Blasted with a Navy Ship Building Co., Steel shot the Heck out of 3/8” steel till it was spec. 10.
In the last 5 years I was on a team to try new media, that’s how I got into doing soda and glass. After I got done there I started my own business, been going good so far but Maine is slow moving right now.
I added soda to my line up of Glass and want a more diverse range of blasting.
Just did a vet with soda, man it came out great, But on heavy equipment Glass has been the best so far. I tried the course and was impressed how fast it took off scale. I’ve used Black Beauty in the past but I’ve moved away from that stuff…Death in a bag we use to call it.
Please keep the coments coming its all good, and I know that there is a few other people that want to ask, but don’t.
I have a blast pot for glass and one for soda, only because the soda shut off ball valve won’t take the abuse of glass.
Thanks for the input, please add more…

panderson2414 · 09-03-2009, 11:22 PM

Dyer, I hope like hell coal slag is not death in a bag. I switched to it in the mid 90's, I remember when silica said "dont stick your head in the sand". I may already be screwed. I have blasted my whole life. I am to far into it to stop. I have raised my children to become the second generation of what I do. I have built a company that is fantastic, I hope we dont screwup.PA

Betterblast · 09-04-2009, 06:02 AM

Dyer, walnut won't profile steel at all. It is like soda and just removes paint. It will leave fiberglass pretty much the same as soda too. If it is a composit fiberglass you will get scaring with anything.

The coal slag usually says low silica but they don't mention the heavy metals that are in it. Might want to start looking to friendlier glass which is inert for the "second generation" . Around 9 cents a lb in super sacks 14 in bags. Does not recycle well but works very well and relativly safe.

Dyer · 09-04-2009, 07:02 AM

Panderson, Anything will kill ya in large amounts, our saying use to be” It won’t kill ya… only 40 years from now.”
I just did a job for a friend and used coal; still think it’s one of the best media around. I just try to stay green… Lots of eyeballs up here in my area.
Question for you can you reuse walnut or is it a “onetime” like soda?
I use the New Age Glass, seems to be less dust, the “course” I can use twice, the “med” grade only once, (well I could use it again but it’s more of a fine then.) I’ve been paying about $6.75 for a 50lb bag; pallet at a time. I’d like to start buying it in bulk sacks but space is limited, and I don’t have a fork truck yet.
Panderson; with the plastic, you said “it was so contaminated with old latex chips?” what was it used on to get like that. I want to use it just on car finishes, does it brake down and look like latex paint chips.
Sorry for my stupid-ness, but just trying to get a good mental picture of what happens to it after it brakes down.
Will some companies take it back for recycle after it’s been used?
Thanks Guys for your time