wet blasting ( dustless blasting )

37197 Views 25 Replies 15 Participants Last post by MVEcoBlast, Mar 22, 2014

tracmad

Discussion Starter · Oct 23, 2013

hi very new on here and would like some hands on help. i'm looking to start wet blasting but can't decide which machine is looks the best I need a fully mobile unit fully self contained water compressor etc. been looking at the farrow the quill falcon esl blast green geo-blaster db500 and more head is now full any help would be great :surrender:

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MasterBlaster

· #2 · Oct 24, 2013 (Edited)

tracmad said:
hi very new on here and would like some hands on help. i'm looking to start wet blasting but can't decide which machine is looks the best I need a fully mobile unit fully self contained water compressor etc. been looking at the farrow the quill falcon esl blast green geo-blaster db500 and more head is now full any help would be great :surrender:

50% of what I do is with Wet Abrasive Blasting, I have both a Farrow System 185 and a Geo Blaster 400... both mobile... both make money for me.

The Geo Blaster makes a lot more money for me because it's a lot faster and easier to use than the Farrow, but the Farrow is still good and makes money for me... just not as much.

I've seen the SB Dustless Blaster in use in a boat yard and the machine makes a HUGE WATERY MESS... maybe it was the operator, but I doubt it because in another boat yard there was another company using a SB Dustless Blaster and he was making the HUGE WATERY MESS that the other guy was making... in other words 3 to 4 times the media usage as a Geo Blaster or Farrow which means a lot more heavy wet media and wet paint to deal with at the end of day.

I just did a 26' Regulator Sport Fishing boat and it took me FIVE 50lbs bags of recycled glass to remove many coats of ablative and one good coat of barrier paint... If that was a Dustless Blaster it would have been something like 20 to 25 bags each at 50lbs to remove the same paint... DB Dustless pot is JUNK!

EcoQuipt... I had a friend in the business who had a Farrow and switched to the EcoQuipt... he's now out of the business.

Quill Falcon... Thats in England and haven't seen any states side.

Geo Blast is the only way to go if you want to make money wet blasting.

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tracmad

Discussion Starter · #3 · Oct 26, 2013

thank you masterblaster I've read a lot of your post on this wet/sand blasting and finding them helpfull here in the uk it seems the farrow has been most popular in the past but other makes now getting about. Is your gb400 a fully mobile set up ( custom ) . price for them here is £32000

Full Blast

· #4 · Oct 27, 2013

I have never used one but people seem to rate the Quill Falcon. A lot of the big firms use them. We have a win nozzle that works well.

BudgetBlast

· #5 · Oct 30, 2013

Full Blast said:
I have never used one but people seem to rate the Quill Falcon. A lot of the big firms use them. We have a win nozzle that works well.

I have experience of the Quill, they must have a purpose but they make one mighty fine mess, if blasting steel it is gingered before you even get the slurry off. A similar but more efficient alternative appears to be the Torbo from ecoblast supplies in the UK, the pot is made in Germany.

I have looked at the Geoblast online several times and it looks really good but does not seem to be available in the UK.

Blast Tech

· #6 · Oct 31, 2013

I have to post about this topic. I have owned a DB 500 Dustless Blaster for almost a year now and I love it. I really don’t know what Masterblaster is talking about when he speaks of a HUGE WATERY MESS, as this hasn’t been my experience. I use about 20 gallons an hour with my DB 500 and most of that is turned to vapor and doesn’t end up on the ground. In that same hour I use about 200 lbs of recycled bottle glass. I don’t own a Geo-Blaster so I couldn’t give an educated opinion of what it can or cant, does or doesn’t do and I have a hard time understanding how someone who admits that he hasn’t used a particular type of machine can give such a harsh uneducated opinion. I would suggest that you go and demonstrate all of the machines that are out there and then you can make your own opinion based on facts. Just my two cents.

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Dyer

· #7 · Oct 31, 2013

Blast Tech said:
I have to post about this topic. I have owned a DB 500 Dustless Blaster for almost a year now and I love it. I really don’t know what Masterblaster is talking about when he speaks of a HUGE WATERY MESS, as this hasn’t been my experience. I use about 20 gallons an hour with my DB 500 and most of that is turned to vapor and doesn’t end up on the ground. In that same hour I use about 200 lbs of recycled bottle glass. .

I got to say, 20 gallons of water per hour = 60 mins / 20 gallons = .34 of a gallon per min? 200 lbs of media a hour... (dont know your nozzle size which will make it use more water or less +/-)

My WIN nozzle (#5) i have clocked (without media, just filling a measured bucket) at 1/4 of a gallon a min. which is .25 per min.....
150 lbs per media a hour.
My nozzle was $350.00 and i can shut off when i want to do some dry blasting if needed, then turn it back on..

My 2 cents

Blast Tech

· #8 · Nov 1, 2013

That sounds great. I use both a #5 and #6 depending on what I'm blasting. I am of the school of thought that faster is better for me so I may use more media than some. The DB 500 that I have is very adjustable and I'm sure that I could tweak it to use less media but I would need more time.

tracmad

Discussion Starter · #9 · Nov 1, 2013

well thought i'd better say what I've done. pick up a farrow second hand getting some training next week then start working picked some small job up. so fingers crossed for the future many thanks to all on here I've read and read so money is where my ears are now

Dyer

· #10 · Nov 1, 2013 (Edited)

Blast Tech That's why I put " (dont know your nozzle size which will make it use more water or less +/-)" In the statement.
Just wonder how I can justify buying a DB 500 for thousands or a Win Nozzle for hundreds (And WIN makes a #6 and bigger sizes too.) Guess I'd have to have staggering results that's better than your's and my unit before I bought one...

Dyer

· #11 · Nov 1, 2013

Question to all owners?

Blast tech stated how much water he uses per hour, what is the water usage on the other units ???

Sand Pot

· #12 · Nov 3, 2013

On a Farrow its variable depending on adjustments . . . can be anything from barely damp to soaking wet blast depending on what you want.

kauai88

· #13 · Nov 3, 2013

sounds like you are wasting allot of money.:thumbup: have fun with that DB500

Blast Tech said:
I have to post about this topic. I have owned a DB 500 Dustless Blaster for almost a year now and I love it. I really don’t know what Masterblaster is talking about when he speaks of a HUGE WATERY MESS, as this hasn’t been my experience. I use about 20 gallons an hour with my DB 500 and most of that is turned to vapor and doesn’t end up on the ground. In that same hour I use about 200 lbs of recycled bottle glass. I don’t own a Geo-Blaster so I couldn’t give an educated opinion of what it can or cant, does or doesn’t do and I have a hard time understanding how someone who admits that he hasn’t used a particular type of machine can give such a harsh uneducated opinion. I would suggest that you go and demonstrate all of the machines that are out there and then you can make your own opinion based on facts. Just my two cents.

Dyer

· #14 · Nov 3, 2013

I don't think anything is a waste of money if its the right equipment for the company using it.
If it fits there needs and makes them the money.

I just don't see it for myself...

When I go blasting, mobile, mostly i do it dry.
But times are changing and moving to cleaner media and less dust is in right now.

I just happen to see the water usage as a add on to my business, but if I have to drag a extra 200 gallons of water along with my everything else for a 10 hour day, it makes it hard.

MasterBlaster

· #15 · Nov 4, 2013

Dyer said:
I don't think anything is a waste of money if its the right equipment for the company using it.
If it fits there needs and makes them the money.

I just don't see it for myself...

When I go blasting, mobile, mostly i do it dry.
But times are changing and moving to cleaner media and less dust is in right now.

I just happen to see the water usage as a add on to my business, but if I have to drag a extra 200 gallons of water along with my everything else for a 10 hour day, it makes it hard.

Half my blasting is dry as well!

Betterblast

· #16 · Nov 6, 2013

So when you guys blast metal, like construction equipment, with one these methods you do use an additive that completely keeps it from rusting on the spot and in no way prevents paint adhesion or otherwise requires some other kind of time consuming washing before painting? I get it for boats and bricks but what about everything else?

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daniels_gt

· #17 · Nov 6, 2013

Betterblast said:
So when you guys blast metal, like construction equipment, with one these methods you do use an additive that completely keeps it from rusting on the spot and in no way prevents paint adhesion or otherwise requires some other kind of time consuming washing before painting? I get it for boats and bricks but what about everything else?

I use the Hold Tight 101 to prevent flash rust when using the Farrow on steel surfaces. It eliminates chlorides and residues protecting the surface from flash rust. You mix it with water 50:1 up to 250:1

It works great, however if only one drop of rain or tap water falls on the surface and washes away the Hold Tight it will rust immediatly. (5 min )

Regards

Betterblast

· #18 · Nov 6, 2013

Thanks for the answer. Just to be clear, are able to paint directly over hold tight? I had tried a product called Harvey's rust shield. It says on there web page that you do not need to clean it off but couldn't get bondo to stick to it and I don't think I would trust paint. A big concern for me would be a customer wanting to charge me for their paint failure do to a coating I put on it.

Blast Tech

· #19 · Nov 10, 2013

I also use Hold Tight102. I use it at a 100 to 1 concentration both in my blast pot and for rinsing off the surface. The Hold Tight removes chlorides (salts) from the metal therefore preventing the metal from flash rusting; it doesn’t leave anything behind on the surface. I have been told that the guys doing soda blasting on cars must also rinse the cars thoroughly with hold tight to remove the soda because it will neutralize the acid in the acid base primers causing paint failure. I agree with daniels_gt that if it rains on the surface prior to priming you will have a rust issue, but the same applies to dry blasting.

As for the cost issue, I would probably buy a win nozzle if I already owned a dry pot system; but in my situation it was a good investment. I have already paid myself back for the DB500 and bought a good used 210 cfm compressor with only 700 hours an open trailer, water tank and a pressure washer. Everything paid for doing this part time, I can’t complain.

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PressureWash

· #20 · Nov 11, 2013

I have just put a deposit on a DB500 and looking forward to some good results. This is my first air driven pot, so after using a water driven sandblasting unit for the last few years i am looking forward to using less than 1200 litres of water and 300 kgs of abrasive an hour
Yes I agree that some systems will be better than others on some jobs. But like any piece of equipment it has its “fore and against” What I have seen in most of the machines is bulk and as a fully mobile unit I need to keep the weight and size of the unit as small as I can. And if you are doing big miles you need a system that can handle the ride.
I also use Hold tight and get a good result

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