F451

Considering buying either a parts cleaner, or a blast cabinet. Either would be on the low end of the cost/functionality scale.

If you were going to buy one or the other, which one would you buy first?

I've needed both of these for years, I hate putting dirty parts back on my 928, other cars, motorcycles, lawn mowers, etc.

I spend an inordinate amount of time cleaning parts and its a hassle trying to do it in the make shift fashion that I have done it by for years now.

I'm leaning towards the parts cleaner first.

Any thoughts on this?

Thanks. -Ed

Rob Edwards

Buy the little 3.5 gallon parts washer and 2 gallons of odorless mineral spirits, old toothbrushes and brass & steel brushes, and a metal mesh strainer (I stole one successfully from the kitchen. Shhhh....) Total cost should be about $80, you can do all hardware that comes off the car in it, drip dry on cardboard, then water rinse with the garden hose and then blow dry with compressed air. Bolts torque better without crap on them.

Here's the one I bought, available everywhere!

http://www.google.com/products?hl=en...ed=0CB8QrQQwAA

F451

That's pretty much exactly what I was thinking of. Good to hear its useful. Thanks.

hacker-pschorr

If I had a big enough compressor for the blast cabinet, no contest.

F451

Hmm, hadn't realized how spendy the blast cabinets are. And no big compressor.

May have to go the craigslist route for a blast cabinet sometime in the future.

the flyin' scotsman

I bought a parts washer. The only issue I have is if you cant get the special solvents then you have to put up with the smell and potential fire danger assuming its in the garage.

I store mine in the non-attached shop and it works very well.

Rob Edwards

My compressor (I'm limited by no 230V AC to the garage, working on fixing that) can only do 4.5 SCFM at 90 psi and is woefully inadequate. I can only blast for 4-5 minutes at a time and then have to wait 5 minutes for it to catch up. (Though this ends up being ok, if I'm hunched over it for more than 5 minutes at a time it kills my back. Yeah, I'm rationalizing.)

Even so, the blast cabinet really is a beautiful thing, though you'd better have the storage space for it.

I strongly recommend TPtools.com for blasting stuff- If I could do it again I'd buy their 780-TL, one could blast 17 or 18" wheels in it- the one I have will barely swallow a 15" and that's stretching it. Though I was able to do the whole front A-arm/spindle assemblies, no problem.

http://www.tptools.com/p/432,367_780...t-Cabinet.html


They have a great FAQ and really good tech support guys on the phone, too.

http://www.tptools.com/lp2/Abrasive_...g_Started.html



It'd be hard to rationalize a cabinet unless you have a whole car's worth of parts to do. Guess I'll have to buy another project car.....

An added side benefit is that all my neighbors think I'm refining fissile material in my garage.

Ducman82

harbor fright had a cabinet for about 150 i think. i have a 30 gal compressor, but its kinda small for big jobs.

BPG_Austin

Ed, my vote is for the parts washer. Then, check your local CL and see if there are any folks offering blasting services. Its easy to get expensive with the TP tools blast cabinets, though they're very nice. We have several of them here at work and they are very, very good units. (made in usa!) They will easily outmatch most home compressors though. 10-15 cfm at 90 psi required for our 976 model. You'd need a 5hp 80 gallon to keep up.
Let us know what you get.
BG

blown 87

parts washer, our gets used ten times as much as the bead blaster.

Earl Gillstrom

Ed,

You may remember my blast cabinet when you were here. It is homemade of 3/4" plywood, cheap, and works good. I think I got the plans from TP? My cabinet is a little on the small side. I would build bigger. If you need more detail, let me know.

I have a Harbor Freight ~$60 parts cleaning cabinet that I would recommend.

Earl

karl ruiter

I use a Home Depot five gallon paint bucket for a parts washer. If I want to strip something I use battery acid rather than bead blast. Puts less nasty stuff in the air. If I have big things to do (intake manifolds, etc) I take them to the machine shop for hot tank and sodium blast.

F451

Hi Earl,

Nice to hear from you. I do remember your blast cabinet, as well as your "paint booth" setup, the tire balancer, the wheel alignment setup...

And yes, I would love to hear more about how you put together your blast cabinet. I just did my first rabbit hutch, so I think I'm ready for something a bit more challenging.

Re Harbor Frieght, I just stopped by there and they only had a small plastic tub parts cleaner, no go on that. Stopped by Sears, Schucks, and Napa, no luck there either.

Will try Home Depot and Lowe's over the weekend.

Thanks for all the tips guys.

Ed

ps: Earl, my S4 developed a knock, sounds and feels like its the water pump, but I have not dug into it yet. Hope to look at it this weekend. Otherwise it has been running great.

Earl Gillstrom

Ed,

I am pretty sure this is the co. that I used, and they have all the parts.

http://www.tptools.com/p/335,,_Build...ed-System.html

Check Harbor freight on line for a parts cleaner cabinet.

F451

Thanks Earl, that looks like a nice kit and a fun project. -Ed