Hello all,
While this would not work for repairs, I can get close to the
look of a sandblast finish by running my pieces in my cheapie
hobby tumbler for about 20 minutes with pumice and a little
ammonia. Throwing in a liver of sulpher cube can also give a
neat finish.
Pauline
Hi you jewellers
I will be glad if anyone can help me. I made a hollow
constructed bangle with a pierced “floor” and want to sandblast
the inside and a few sections ontop of the bangle. this will be
the first time I do sandblasting. I heard that masking tape
works, the epoxy sounds like a good idea, but how do you remove
it again. I was wondering if the stuff I used while doing
graphic design: “masking fliud” will also resist the
sandblasting. It is liqiud latex which becomes rubbery when dry.
(after finishing painting you rub it, and pull it from the
paper, leaving white areas) I did not want to use masking tape
because it will take too much time cutting out the pieces
(intricate piercing). Help !
linki
Hi Linki,
Your liquid latex masking fluid should work just fine. A thin
coating of latex will absorb the energy in the media that strikes
it. As a result, it won’t abrade the metal.
To satisfy your couriosity, you might paint a piece of scrap
metal with the latex (make a few different size cutouts) & try
it.
Dave
I was wondering, has anyone tried to use rubber cement to mask
surfaces before sandblasting? Also, is there a way to thin this
stuff so it’ll spread easier? I’ve got a micrograver (from rio),
and I thought that since the pressure required is quite low
(90psi) that rubber cement might be enough to resist the
sandblasting. (I too, don’t fancy the idea of cutting masking
tape into teeny pieces…) Thanks, Marlo M.
FWIW - People looking for inexpensive sandblasting setups might
want to look in the J.C. Whitney catalog. You can order a
catalog on their sight at http://www.jcwhitney.com .
They have a few different things listed. One was a plastic box
that looked like a cooler with a nozzle, filtered exhaust bag,
clear window on top for about $45. Another was just a nozzle for
less than $20. Look under ‘abrasive’ in the index.
Some of these mention using the nozzle with liquids for cleaning
things.
I haven’t purchased any of these yet.
Chunk
the epoxy sounds like a good idea, but how do you remove it again. I was wondering if the stuff I used while doing graphic design: "masking fliud" will also resist the sandblasting.
Hi Linki, Welcome to Orchid 
I’m sure the masking fluid,
Friskit/Miskit-depending on the brand, will work. It is sold as
liquid masking tape and you can build up the thickness of it. I
have some I brought home for that purpose…it’s serving double
duty as masking whites on my watercolors and sandblast resist.
“Attack” will remove the epoxy.
Good luck,
Terry Swift
Hello all, When I was trying metal etching I used a liquid staff
which is called ‘gutta’. It is something used in silk painting.
You draw with it around the designs to keep the dye staying in
the design. You can find that in any shop where they sell silk
painting staff. It should be the kind which dissolves in benzine
(there is another type dissoves in water). It dries in one day
but it worked for my metal etching project. I am sure you can use
it for sand blasting. You can also get pipette (plastic bottle)
and a metal part(I do not remember the name)to draw with. I never
did sandblasting myself. Kind regards from Turkey,
Just a quick addition to the sandblasting discussion. Why not
use diamond burrs? They create a beautiful matt, almost sandy
surface. So much easier than messing around with masking
methods. Cheers Christel van der Laan
Marlo, There is a thinner that is made specifically for rubber
cement. It should be available at most art supply stores. If you
can’t find any, try acetone. With any solvents be sure to read
the manufacturers precautions.
Joel
Just a quick addition to the sandblasting discussion. Why not
use diamond burrs? They create a beautiful matt, almost sandy
surface.
On that note, the aluminum oxide wheels in fine work great for
creating a matte finish! Check them out in the Rio catalog.
Rebecca.
Marlo, You might find that Winsor & Newton Art Masking Fluid
would be ideal for your purposes. It’s a thin latex fluid, sold
as a resist for watercolour painting. (Apply it over an area of
paper where you don’t want paint, and peel it off after you’re
done.) It has a lot of uses which the maker never intended…
If you have a Pearl or Michael’s Arts & Crafts store nearby
you should have no trouble finding the product. -Pete-
I was wondering, has anyone tried to use rubber cement to mask surfaces before sandblasting? Also, is there a way to thin this stuff so it'll spread easier?
Rubber cement can be thinned easily with rubber cement thinner
obtained whereever you get your rubber cement. I generally add a
few drops of color to it (oil paint or acrylic paint would do)
to see where you’ve applied it. Works like frisket and will
protect the stone. JZD
When I was trying metal etching I used a liquid staff which is called 'gutta'. It is something used in silk painting.
Hello,
In response to using gutta, this is a rubber cement product that
is used specifically for fabric painting. It is made to absorbed
into the fibers so that the dyes do not bleed into each other
when creating a design. It is much more expensive than
commercial rubber cement (eg. $5.75 for 4oz. wholesale) and by
using a rubber cement thinner, you can achieve the same thin
consistency as the gutta. On the subject of fabric painting,
there are applicators and metal tips (variety of tip opening
sizes) available to draw designs with the gutta (USA- Rubert
Gibbon & Spider-800-442-0455 or 707-433-9577 outside USA) that
might help in the design process for metal masking. The
applicator and tip are $2.99 wholesale through RGS. I have not
used the rubber cement with sandblasting, however. Good Luck!
Rebecca.
For the people who want to sandblast occasionally and not invest
in an air compressor, could one use their oxygen bottle hooked up
to the sandblaster.
best regards all
bill wismar
NOT A GOOD IDEA! Any stray oil or oil contamination of the grit
could be disastrous. Nitrogen, CO2, Argon, or any other
compressed gas other than Acetylene, or Hydrogen might be
effective, but NOT O2! sorry about the shouting but we had a fire
started just this way. fortunately it was brought under control
before it got out of hand.
MIKE
NO NEVER use OXYGEN for blowing offf parts, sand blasting or any
other use than the conventional use in a proper torch setup.
Oxygen can cause distructive fires and explosions if used
improperly. You can get Oxygen saftey guidelines from your oxygen
supplier for free. Use them. This has been gone into before. I
hope this enough to say. Jesse (40+ years in the oxygen business)
For the people who want to sandblast occasionally and not invest in an air compressor, could one use their oxygen bottle hooked up to the sandblaster.
G’day, Bill and any others. For goodness sake don’t even THINK
of doing anything like that with an oxygen bottle. Compressed
oxygen is an enormously powerful oxidizer (surprise, surprise)
and has a hungry affinity for anything in the slightest way
combustible. And even dust is combustible. Pouf-Boum! as they say
in France (or somewhere). Please don’t share yourself with the
neighbours; they won’t enjoy the mess… –
/\ John Burgess
/ /
/ / Johnb@ts.co.nz
/ /__|\
(_______) I often wonder what it is the vintners buy one
half so precious as the goods they sell.
For the people who want to sandblast occasionally and not invest in an air compressor, could one use their oxygen bottle hooked up to the sandblaster.
Hello Bill,
You are asking for trouble if you attempt using oxygen as a
substitute for compressed air. As you know, pure oxygen is
dangerous. Sandblasting can generate static electricity. All that
you would need to start a fire or have an explosion would be a
fuel of some sort. Don’t even think about attempting it.
Some other gas such as nitrogen would work. But this would be
more expensive than a compressor.
Are you interested in texturing a small area? Do you have a
hammer handpiece for your flex shaft? If so, sharpen a tip for
your handpiece. This can be used to make detailed patterns
without masking.
Timothy A. Hansen
Yikes!!!
Don’t even think about it! Given the quantity of fine dust and
the risk of spark (turn the lights dim and watch what happens
when the grit hits steel - like that of the sandblast enclosure)
I think you might not want to introduce oxygen into the mix! In a
lot of senses oxygen is more dangerous than fuel gases. In the
presence of oxygen you would be amazed at what materials will
ignite.
That and the cost of O2 versus air. You can buy portable air
containers at most auto supply houses - cost under $50. Fill them
at a service station. My experience with sand blasting is with
larger units (ie. for machine parts, etching designs in rocks) -
it consumes a lot of air. A 2hp compressor barely can keep up and
needs a lot of cooling off breaks. Not sure what volume is
required for the small air brush size but an air tank might do
the trick.
Please don’t hook up your oxygen bottle, your safety is not
worth $50 for a tank.
Thanks,
Cameron Speedie
Island Gem and Rock
Note From Ganoksin Staff:
Looking for a sandblasting cabinet for your jewelry projects? We recommend:
- Reading our guide to the Best Sandblasting Cabinets Review for jewelry work here
- Searching for more discussions about Best Sandblasting Cabinets here on the Orchid forum