Do-it-yourself sandblasting gun

Quite often, when carrying out work in certain areas, it becomes necessary to carry out high-quality cleaning of surfaces from contamination, to degrease them, to prepare for finishing or in glass matting. Cleaning surfaces is especially important in small car workshops or garages. Special equipment for such manipulations is not cheap. But if there is a compressor with good performance, then if you wish, you can create sandblasting for such operations on your own. Let's try to figure out how to make a homemade sandblaster.

The sandblasting option under consideration with your own hand can be made on the basis of 2 variants of design schemes, which differ from one another by the process of feeding the abrasive into the outlet channel. At the same time, their implementation will require almost the same set of components.

The design of such a device will be distinguished by good performance and low price. The scheme of its operation will be as follows: the abrasive, which is usually sifted fine sand, under the action of the air currents formed by the compressor, goes through a reinforced hose to the nozzle and enters through the hole in it onto the surface to be treated. Due to the high pressure of the air flow, the sand particles receive a large energy of the kinetic type, which is the reason for the effectiveness of the actions carried out.

The gun used for such processing does not function autonomously. With the help of special hoses, it must be connected to the compressor, where high air pressure is generated. In addition, there is a need to provide sanding to the gun from a separate container.

In order for such a homemade pistol to work properly, a technical system must be created, the basis of which will be a compressor, dispensers and other elements. And also, serious attention will need to be paid to the quality of the sand, which must first be sifted with a sieve and cleaned of all excess. The sand should consist of fractions specified in size. If you do not comply with these requirements, then with a high probability the nozzle of the gun will simply clog up, so the device will not be able to work normally.

At the exit, such a sandblast should create a flow of an air-abrasive mixture. At the same time, the pressure circuit is used to supply the abrasive using pressure to the outlet pipe, where it mixes with the air flows generated by the compressor. Household ejector sandblasting uses the Bernoulli principle to create a vacuum in the abrasive intake area. And the latter goes into the mixing tank.

Drawings and sandblasting schemes, which make it possible to create such an apparatus on their own, can have a variety of options.

To obtain sandblasting, you will need to have the following components on hand:

• nozzle;
• compressor;
• gas cylinder, which will act as a container for the abrasive.

In addition, depending on the features of the construction type, the following elements may be needed:

• Ball Valves;
• rubber hose equipped with reinforced inserts 1.4 cm or more;
• air hose with a diameter of up to 1 cm;
• transitional coupling;
• fittings, which are hose fasteners or collet-type clamps;
• fum tape, which allows you to seal the joints;
• glue gun or analog for polyurethane foam;
• hot melt glue;
• an empty 0.5 liter plastic bottle;
• grinder or file;
• sandpaper with a bar;
• drill with drills;
• Bulgarian;
• sharp knife;
• pliers.

Now let's look at how to make such a pistol from various devices. The first will be instructions for creating a version of the device from a blow gun. You will need to have:

• blow gun;
• drill according to the diameter of the nozzle.

First, cut off the strip on the neck of the bottle, which is located under the cork. Where there was a strip, a hole is made. Now you need to try on the nozzle by inserting it into the drilled hole. We carry out the marking with a marker for the groove of the technological type opening in the pistol nozzle, after which we grind this place with a file. Now you need to insert the nozzle into the hole.

After that, it remains only to seal the junction, and then fix it with hot glue. It remains to pour the sand into the bottle, connect the device to the compressor and you can start cleaning the tool from rust.

However, when working with a sandblaster, you must comply with safety standards and use the necessary personal protective equipment: glasses, closed clothing, a respirator, mittens or gloves.

The next option for creating such an apparatus is from a gas cylinder. You will need to have in stock:

• gas cylinder;
• ball valves - 2 pcs.;
• a piece of pipe that will become the base of the funnel for filling the container with sand;
• brake tees - 2 pcs.;
• hoses with a nominal bore of 10 and 14 mm - they are needed to connect to the compressor and withdraw the mixture;
• clamps for securing sleeves;
• fum tape.

The algorithm of actions will be as follows.

1. Balloon preparation... It will be necessary to remove the remaining gas from it and clean the inside of the surface using non-abrasive detergents and wait until the surface is dry.
2. Making holes in the container. The hole at the top will be used to fill in the sand. It must be sized according to the dimensions of the prepared pipe. The hole on the bottom is for the compressor, or more precisely, for connecting the tap.
3. Crane installation. It can be welded on or simply screwed on with an adapter pipe.
4. Now remains install the brake tee and the mixer block. To make the threaded connection as tight as possible, you can use fum tape.
5. On balloon valve a crane is mounted, after which a tee is located.

It remains to make the connection of parts of the channels for supplying and dispensing the composition:

• fittings must be mounted on a tee and a balloon valve;
• a hose with a 14mm bore should be placed between the tee and the mixer area;
• a discharge type installation should be connected to the tee branch, which is free and equipped with a fitting;
• a hose is connected to the last free outlet from the tee for supplying the finished composition.

To create a tightness of the structure, a screw-type cap can be mounted on the pipe filling the cylinder with sand.

Sandblasting can also be made from a spray gun. You should prepare the following components:

• a gun with a mixing valve;
• a handle with an air supply device;
• a plastic bottle that will act as a container for an abrasive;
• tee;
• ball valve with which it will be possible to control the supply of sand.

The assembly of such a device will be carried out according to the following algorithm:

1. the gun should be bored to increase the diameter of the inlet nozzle;
2. the mixing tee must be connected to the gun;
3. then it is necessary to carry out the installation and fastening of the supply and circulation hoses;
4. now you need to squeeze the trigger so that the abrasive is ejected. If everything is working properly, then the device from the paint station is ready for use.

A sandblasting gun is also made from other devices. The most common options include reworking the pressure washer. This is, for example, the Kärcher mini-sink. Such a sink generates a very high water pressure at a low water consumption, and therefore is an ideal solution for obtaining a sandblaster. It will be especially important to use fine (calibrated) sand of uniform dispersion.

Another advantage is that there is no need to disassemble the mini-sink itself. It will only be necessary to make a nozzle for the outlet tube of the device.

To do this, you will need to purchase:

• ceramic nozzle;
• reinforced hoses;
• mixing block in the form of a tee of a suitable diameter;
• dispenser in the form of a cylinder.

As mentioned above, a feature of this device will be that not air, but water will be responsible for the supply of sand here. Pressurized fluid will flow through the mixing chamber, creating a vacuum in the hose, which is responsible for feeding the abrasive. Due to this, sand will be ejected with great force, which will allow cleaning, sanding and matting of the surface.

Another interesting option is to make an anti-gravel apparatus from a conventional fire extinguisher. This will require finding a fire extinguisher, and then creating a plug with a lathe to seal the upper area. You will need to put on a sealing ring made of rubber on the plug, and then screw it into the neck of the device. This hole will be used for filling the sand inside.

After that, you will need to drill holes in the housings in the upper part, as well as in the bottom. First, you need to clean these areas from the old paint coating. In addition, legs from fittings or pipes can be welded to the bottom by welding. After the installation of tees and hoses for supply and output, the sandblast will be ready for use as intended.

As you can see, there are a large number of options for creating a sandblasting gun: from a moving pistol, spray gun, fire extinguisher and other devices or improvised means. In principle, this is not difficult, but you should clearly understand what exactly you are doing, and also have the necessary components at hand.

For information on how to make a sandblasting gun with your own hands, see the video.