Sandblaster for smoothing prints?

[dunginhawk]

any pictures of some of your parts? im pretty sure ive seen some others in the past, just looks pitted and gritty right?

[LambdaFF]

We recently had a pretty good thread on this topic. Searching might be able to find it.

Thanks, probably this one ? http://3dprintboard.com/showthread.p...ght=blast+sand

[dunginhawk]

how do the sandblasted parts accept paint? obviously it will stick well, but is the grit fine enough that a few coats of spraypaint will smooth it out? or would you still see some of the roughness?
thanks

[jimc]

i dont have any pics unfortunately. last time it did it has to be well over a year ago. as for the finish and paint....again that all depends on media and how you blast it. it really doesnt cause pits unless you keep the gun too close or on the part in one spot and you start chewing the plastic away. its alot like spray painting. you have to keep things moving. there are tons of different medias in all different grit sizes. the crushed glass that normally is in my cabinet is very fine so a couple coats of automotive primer and paint would have no problem smoothing it out however if you were going to paint the parts then your not really gaining anything by the blasting. the blasting gives a very matte finish and hides the layer lines for the most part. it doesnt really remove the lines. they are still there. it sort of just blends them together a bit and makes them less noticeable. somewhere on the board there was a thread with some pictures. the thread might be gone though since i know we lost alot of threads and postings when the forum was down or being updated 4-6 mos ago.

[LambdaFF]

I posted the link just above.

[Marm]

If you reduce your grit size, then it will get insanely smooth. If you get into the 100+ grits (140 feels like flour), it will leave a nice smooth smooth finish that paint will love. You can then use a rotary tool and some polishing grit on the paint itself (after it's well dried of course) to finish the piece.

I would actually be tempted if I had a home setup to try a few pounds of flour as medium to see how it works. This was just a brain storm, so something may be better, something that easily washes off, is easy to dry (probably not flour), and won't kill you if you accidentally inhale it.

[dunginhawk]

So im giving a look to this one http://www.amazon.com/Gallon-Portabl...ds=sandblaster
its priced well enough... and has good reviews... I have a porter cable compressor already... so ill need a pistol to push the media.

Any recomendations on media type? or just any 100+ grit media? Any particular gun i should be aiming for too? this is all brand new to me
thanks

[Hugues]

..
I would actually be tempted if I had a home setup to try a few pounds of flour as medium to see how it works....

don't want to be overly cautious here but fine powder + air + confined area = risk of explosion

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dust_explosion

[Alibert]

As a chemical engineer, I agree with Hugues.

Flour (or any fine carbohydrate particles) will make a highly explosive mixture when dispersed in air. It is not intuitive as we tend to see flour as a relatively inert material, but it is a real risc. The chemical (and food) industry has had a number of 'mishaps' in its history ...........

[jimc]

yes, if you want a fine media then buy a fine media or use the stuff in your cabinet until it breaks down and it fine. dont improvise. certain substances can get dangerous and extremely hazardous when blasting with them. sand is a prime example. never blast with sand. while we are surrounded by it every day, its super toxic to blast with. as the grains break when they hit the surface they will give off a gas that will kill you. i have a crushed glass here that is so fine its like baby powder. very nice for special uses like what we are talking about here.

lambda....yes thats the thread. not sure how i missed your post.