[TRX350D]

Hello All,

I'm set to restore another '86 TRX350 and this one needs a lot of help on the racks.

To help save my hands and my sander some, I'd like to see if there is a good affordable option available for a super strong sandblaster I could use to get all of the rust off of the racks.

My concern is that most sandblasters I've seen from Home Depot aren't strong enough to get baked-on paint off (from these old machines that were made with quality) and just get off the surface rust. Ideally I'd like to get to the metal and then I can do a smooth hand sand and get to paint.

Ideas?

 

[shadetree]

well, for one, getting a sand blaster is a good idea, except !!!..most of those sand blasting cabinets are not large enough for a atv rack to fit in !!. for small parts ?..they work good..thats if ?..you have a decent air compressor ?. in your case, putting atv racks in them..well...forget about it !..lol. your looking at some high dollar money for a sand blasting cabinet large enough for blasting atv racks. soooooooooo..this leaves you with this idea: now..i don't know how well they work ?, but I have seen them used !. they are called soda blasting. what this means is, you use soda blasting compound in the open to blast parts with, it washes away in water unlike sand blasting beads. how well it will work on really rusted parts like racks ?..I have no idea ?. only other option I can think of is to take your racks to some company that does industrial sand blasting, and let them blast them. there are tons of companies that do sand blasting, only draw back is they won't be cheap !..lol.

 

[GirlsRideToo]

Hello All,

I'm set to restore another '86 TRX350 and this one needs a lot of help on the racks.

To help save my hands and my sander some, I'd like to see if there is a good affordable option available for a super strong sandblaster I could use to get all of the rust off of the racks.

My concern is that most sandblasters I've seen from Home Depot aren't strong enough to get baked-on paint off (from these old machines that were made with quality) and just get off the surface rust. Ideally I'd like to get to the metal and then I can do a smooth hand sand and get to paint.

Ideas?

Why not just use a wire wheel in a corded electric drill (not battery powered unless it's a newer Lithium Ion). The wheels come in various sizes, shapes and coarseness. They make removing rust really simple and you can get to bare metal easily. Just don't get carried away and gouge the metal. Be sure to wear safety glasses! Follow that with some light sanding to remove any scratches. Use a good quality primer that will prime as well as fill any light scratches, then lightly sand with 2000 grit paper, then paint with high quality enamel. I used a automotive undercarriage spray paint and it turned out great. Very smooth and strong finish.

Guess I've just never seen a rack bad enough to require sand blasting.

If you have any paint you want to remove, try some JASCO paint remover. It's nasty stuff but sure gets the job done with little effort. Follow the instructions carefully! Use it outdoors, not in your garage. The fumes are pretty bad.

 

[SamUK]

The biggest problem with DIY sandblasters is getting a big enough air supply. Ideally you want a 200 litre (or bigger) compressor and an additional tank of the same size or larger. A vein compressor would be perfect but at what price do you stop just for a sandblaster?

The DIY type are great for rusted bolts and brackets but take quite some time to remove old powder coat and years of rust/scale. I’d say you’d be far better off paying a blasting company, would work out cheaper in the long run.

 

[fishfiles]

Do you have a pressure washer ? ------ I have a water/sand blaster that attaches to the pressure washer hose , it has a suction hose that you put into a drum or bucket of sand , I use regular toy box sandfrom home depot , that I sift thru a homemade screen to get out any rocks , it does a quick job , no dust , it does leave a pile of sand on the ground , if you do it in the grass , it all melts down into the grass and becomes fill , along with all the toxics from the paint LOL

 

[TBRider]

A blast shop would probably clean them up cheaper than getting an entire setup.

Wet blasting like fish said is the cheapest route to go. At the shop I worked at he would have probably blasted them both front and rear for 100 bucks, and it would have taken about 15 min max....

 

[fishfiles]

On the pressure washer blasting , don't buy a Harbor Freight rig , a decent wet sand gun is about $250 , then you need to buy sand and gas for the pressure washer , so TB is right , if you are going to be doing one job with it , just take it somewhere and pay to have it done

 

[hodge5]

Unless you want to invest in the equipment for later use, I'd go to some local body shops and inquire about sandblasters in the area. I once hired one to blast some seams in a truck bed. He worked for a local commercial builder, and they had an engine driven compressor. He blasted the seams in a couple of minutes (set up took much longer than the blasting), and he charged me $50.
I'd prefer blasting over a grinding wheel or brush, all day long.

 

[TBRider]

You might be able to rent a pressure washer and sand blast kit, you need a machine that will put out the proper gpm to get them to work properly, the one we had at work needed atleast 4 gpm for it to work good...

 

[retro]

I paid a local company to blast my wheels clean last year and I had to ask them to do them over again. I paid them both times cause I was happy in the end... but I could have just taken those 4 wheels to the local powder coating company and waited a month or so for them, for about $30-$40 more. I was quoted $125 for silver powder coating (price included blasting) 4 wheels. I felt pretty dumb once my hands got sore sanding on those buggers. I'm looking forward to your project.

 

[LedFTed]

in the good old days, you could use oven cleaner. its a waste of money to do this nowadays.

 

[Z7What]

Whatever you do, don't waste your money on the hand held sand blaster from HF. I have one and its garbage.

Do you have a pressure washer ? ------ I have a water/sand blaster that attaches to the pressure washer hose , it has a suction hose that you put into a drum or bucket of sand , I use regular toy box sandfrom home depot , that I sift thru a homemade screen to get out any rocks , it does a quick job , no dust , it does leave a pile of sand on the ground , if you do it in the grass , it all melts down into the grass and becomes fill , along with all the toxics from the paint LOL

This is the first time ive heard of this attachment, but it sounds like something I may have to get. I watch a lot of those shows that they restore cars and they are always using Dustless Blasting, which is basically what this attachment does. Ive always wondered if it section you first blasted starts to rust before you finish blasting it? Just did a quick search and one of the threads I found spoke about this very issue. They called it "Flash Rust".

Is this what your referring to?
https://www.amazon.com/Powerhorse-High-Pressure-Abrasive-Blasting-Kit/dp/B073V5VST4

in the good old days, you could use oven cleaner. its a waste of money to do this nowadays.

Have you tried it back in the good ol days and recently? The reason I ask is because I never thought about using it to clean a frame or any other metal work but I did recently use it on a set of headlights I'm modifying for my buddies truck to remove the chrome from the housings before painting them. I literally just sprayed it on, let it sit and hosed it off and it magically removed the chrome. No scrubbing or elbow grease at all. Granted, this thin chrome layer is a lot different than paint or powder coating but you have me curious if it would work. I just Easy Off Oven Cleaner.

Wayne

 

[fishfiles]

Wayne

same principal , but that is a very cheap version @ $23 , $200 puts you in a better class , flash rust is a something I have heard of and seen if you let it dry on it's own it will get some surface rust , as soon as you are finished , blow off the part with air , then wipe it down with some thinner or what ever and blow it off again

 

[fishfiles]

another thing I learned from using the water sand blaster , you need good dry sand , free of tiny rocks , a 35 gallon drum makes a good supply container , you don't need to buy expensive sand blasting sand and can use play box sand , just make yourself a strainer with the right sized hardware cloth and pour the sand thru it

I bought the pressure sand blaster attachment after Katrina , as my house had a whole lot of that cast iron grape vine decor on the doors , window and eves , I was able to take them off the house and pressure blast them , it was taking hours with a wire wheel

 

[14foreman500]

I dont know about your area but in my area the high school auto body shop has a blaster. Bet you could work out a deal to get it done cheap if you could leave it with them. My school used to dg o stuff free since school was paying for supplies and students were doing the work learning

 

[LedFTed]

oven cleaner

i used oven cleaner to take factory paint of of engine blocks. including heads, some intakes, even oil pans. it was before 1996.. the stuff thay sell now has a nice lemony smell. the stuff i used back then, you wanted to be upwind from it.
it might depend on the kind of paint they have, nowdays as to whether oven cleaner works. there was a time you could get plasti-kote engine spray paint, rated a 550f-600f, for about $4.00 a can. it was the best, then.
i seem to have a hard time finding any spray paint i like any more. that is for a different thread.. :sad

 

[YukonXL04]

I have a 20lb mobile sand blaster from harbor freight. We used it on my uncle's racks and frame when we did his frame swap. It worked great, used it outside with the black diamond media from northern tool. Big tarp underneath to catch about 1/2 to 3/4 of the media to reuse.
Used my uncles 20 gal compressor, just had to find the right mix of pressure and flow to keep up.

Used my 8gal harbor freight compressor and did a old cast iron stove. Been outdoors for 10+ years, made it look like new. It's a mess though.