I am in the final stages of my garage addition and the one item that I have always wanted was a blast cabinet. Now that I have room I want some advice on what to get (size, media, etc). I have a 60 gallon upright compressor but no blast cabinet.

Any suggestions from guys who media blast?

I was thinking glass bead media or sodium bicarb media. I will be doing suspension, brackets and small parts...no body panels...

Al

First you will need a bigger compressor.
My 5hp 2 stage 80 gal compressor can't keep up with my cabinet. It runs non stop while I use the cabinet and have to stop and wait for it to catch up.

Glass beads are great for internal engine parts except aluminum. Glass beads are for very fine work not so much for rust removal.

Aluiminum oxide or maybe crushed glass or even just silca sand for rust removal is what I have used.

Typo, mine is an 80 gall (5hp, 2 stage) as well.

Check with tp tools in Canfield,OH. I bought
one of their cabinets 2 years ago and am
pleased with it. They will recommend the type
of media you need. Ask for the catalog, lots of accessories for blasting and tools.
I also have a 5 hp 2-stage 80 gal. compressor.
tptools.com

Don't worry about horse power, look at how much cfm your unit produces and how much the cabinet blaster will use. I also have an 80 Gal tank compressor but it produces 30cfm @ 100 psi and no problems running blasters.

I also have a 2 stage 80 gal that puts out only 23 cfm at 100psi. But that is enough for my bead blaster. I have also a skat blast from TP tools, Excellent quality and support.

I built my own cabinet, cuz i was cheap, haha. Under $200 including buying a $70 jig saw. Besides that, I use glass bead for most stuff, even rust removal, just takes a bit longer.

Any suggestions on door style for the cabinet...side loader or top-load?

I am looking at the tptools.com but I live right by a harbor freight so I wouldn't have to pay for shipping.

A

Get a Barrel Blaster. I've had mine for 6 or 7 years and love it.
http://www.barrelblaster.com/BarrelBlaster1.htm
I use their Blast Magic media. It does a good job on steel and aluminum.
It works great at 60 to 70 psi. Any more pressure and your compressor runs way too much, plus it shortens the effective life of the blast media.
My compressor does 13.4 SCFM at 40 psi and 11.2 at 80 psi. At 60 psi the compressor runs about half the time I'm using the blaster.

The $200 or so blast cabinet (when it's on sale) from Harbor Fright is a pretty good deal. Mine gets an awful lot of use. Only thing that sucks is replacing the plastic taped on window shields. But you can do wheels, heads, air cleaners, valve covers no problem. I've even squeezed in a sway bar sideways.I use Black Diamond.

I got my blast cabinet from Harbour Frieght and it has served me very well for at least 10 years now. I use the glass media from Harbour Frieght as well. An easy way to get around the clear, tape on sheets that go on the inside of the glass, is to use clear packing tape, but be sure to overlap the tape about 1/4". This also lasts a lot longer than those silly tape on sheets. Best of luck, 69440