Sandblast with sand?

[Bonnewagon]

565bbchevy, now that I see how well this stuff works I will probably find many more uses. So how many hours of blasting would you say a 50lb bag would last?

 

[565bbchevy]

I bought 2 bags at 30 lbs each and I have probably 10 lbs left in the second bag. I have a 40 lb. sandblaster but ended up putting in the extra just to see if it would give more capacity and it works fine.
I bought mine at least 5 years ago with many hours of blasting but most of what I was blasting was not rust it was mostly paint removal and a lot of aluminum parts so now that I am working on the Regal I have been using it to blast rusty parts but still seems to do the job the same as the beginning but I am sure it will shorten its life compared to before.
So to answer your question I really have no clue.

 

[Bonnewagon]

OK, thanks. One more thing- do you blast outdoors with the slag? Is cleanup a problem? Is it worth doing or just stay with sand? I figure sand is expendable and easily cleaned up then spread around the yard or whatever.

 

[565bbchevy]

I used to have a pressurized blaster I used outdoors and only used sand because it was cheap and I was not concerned too much about clean up I would blast on the grass and just blow the excess sand off the driveway with the compressor.

 

[ssn696]

Careful - if you use aluminum oxide on the driveway, the crumbs you miss will stick to your tires and do a great job taking the paint off your rockers....and the finish off the Pergo floor in your house....

 

[Bonnewagon]

Thank's. I have a Tricon portable blaster you stick in a bucket that I use outside on big stuff. As you said, sand is cheap, and when I was done I would sweep it into my driveway's dry well, which is on sand anyway. That is what my original question was about- sand is cheap and everywhere, why not use it in a cabinet. But after using the slag I am convinced that is much better in a cabinet. I will still use sand outside,
since it is cheap and easy and no disposal issues..