Quick Tip - Harbor Freight Portable Sand Blaster Review

Is the $35 portable sand blaster sold by harbor freight any good? Does it work. In this video I will give you a few of my lessons learned after using this product.

[@williambranham6249]

Dental hygienists use a proprietary blend of soda bicarbonate to remove tenacious stain and light calculus.The machine is called a Prophy Jet. I am a retired dentist and dental labs use a cabinet style blaster to clean plaster from dental casting. They used crushed walnut powder. I also learned that professional cleaners after a fire use sodium bicarbonate to clean all wood in the fire that is salvageable.

[@angelmtzmtz8799]

So I've only used this pressure washer one time. kzbin.infoUgkxfQauTxLT0JLSvqkq10rD79TU4k0Vz8zP The one time I used it, it worked great. I recently had new siding installed but kept the old gutters and small areas surrounding my house that weren't replaced so they looked horrible and dirty because of the new siding. I needed to get it cleaned asap. When I used the pressure washer, man it just melted all the dirt and grime that was on those areas of my house. I used that krud kutter soap and it was over after that. Easy to assemble, feels durable, very simple to use. Also, I purchased a used one to save money and there was absolutely nothing wrong with it. I want to get more use out of it so I think I'll be washing the cars and update this comment as time goes on.

[@jackblack9208]

I got one and I also bought a large plastic storage bin. I blasted my parts inside the bin just outside of my garage. it lessened the mess and made it easier to reuse the blast media. however, I did have issues with the media hose clogging up quite a bit. that was with baking soda. I switched to a more aggressive media and it worked better but still clogged a couple of times. even though the baking soda is non toxic, I suggest still wearing a face covering as the baking soda tends to be a bit dusty

[@AlleyPicked]

Thanks for the advice!

[@treowayne]

Make sure your compressor doesn't have any water in it.

[@iamthefatstig]

I got the Draper branded version of this (exactly the same) and I settled on glass bead media. Does a great job on small engine cases etc.

[@jimcampos8781]

Great info! Would had love to know what compressor would be adequate enough for the type of blaster here used. Love to know. Thanks

[@fair2middlin]

This answered exactly half what I wanted to know.

[@JMaahs23]

Great video giving us the nitty gritty on the blaster and media. I've been needing to get the rust off the truck's plow hooks and wasn't looking forward to using a wire brush attachment. I started looking into this blaster. All the reviews on the HF site were very positive. But you showed it in (in)action with the baking soda. Now I need to decide to go with the blaster and another medium or get on my back and use a wire brush. Oh, and I only have a pancake air compressor. Your video moves me further along. Thank you.

[@joey8567]

Did my box blade , made in USA, with walnut. I'm like you.

[@ehcatsfaneric2211]

Would a 30 gallonn 110vac home air compressor be enough for this??

[@vivachristorey7622]

What sized grit were you using? Fine? Medium?

[@kennethmoore427]

Will a 6 gallon compressor be enough to run this?

[@brycepiontek161]

It'll run it you'll just have to stop constantly to let it refill

[@danalaniz7314]

Excellent! Thanks so much. I'm interested in using sand blasting on a couple of projects. I always learn something from your videos.

[@AlleyPicked]

Glad to help. I learn a lot from making them :-)

[@ericmichel3857]

Baking soda is meant for soft substrates like wood, fiberglass, plastic... The much cheaper and aggressive media's would destroy those materials. For example I just refinished my oak kitchen cabinets and they had a lot of raised details making traditional sanding a very long and difficult task. I spent hours just to do two cabinet doors, then with a soda blaster I stripped the remaining 22 doors down to bare wood in less time. It perfectly took off the finish without harming the wood at all, that is why you pay so much more to use soda. Plus that sand blaster is not ideal for soda.

[@kimers137]

What’s the smallest compressor I can use for light work? I have an already sanded 32 caliber WW1 pistol. I just need to evenly rough it before I Manganese & Phosphoric dip it. Any help is appreciated. Thank you.

[@fair2middlin]

what about clogging? what about different medias?

[@joey8567]

It actually works with different stuff. Just adjust air. I found 20-25psi with 4$ bag of fine, medium, or heavy sand or walnut from tractor supply. And I'm not a H.F. person 😁🤫

[@billjennifer8803]

How big is your compressor. Will it run with pancake compressor or are those too small? What PSI did you run?

[@JosephTammaro]

Great Video. Thank you. If I used this to remove paint from a wood door. What media should I use?

[@AlleyPicked]

Are you planning to use this indoors? I don't think this is recommended for a wood floor.

[@yuppiecruncher]

I used the exact same media and blaster and the hose immediately clogged and was unusable. Repeatedly clogged and cleared. Could not get more than 1 second of media blasting before clearing the clogs. All material was dry. can you help with some troubleshooting?

[@AlleyPicked]

I don't think its clogged. Perhaps you need to use a higher PSI on your compressor. There is one thing I cant figure out when I use mine. It sprays the blast media out for 5-10 seconds, then it pauses, then it starts again. I don't get one constant blast. I make due with it but thats the one thing I don't uderstand.

[@MacPakinga-gl8bu]

Cool i have one love it doing small jobs from metal to furniture ❤. Thanks for sharing ❤ plus i use a closed camping tent to recycle my sand all stays in 1area then when my day is over vacuum & pour back in to my hopper ❤😂😂

[@AlleyPicked]

camping tent - great idea

[@jacobkidd4468]

You didn’t review the actual sand blaster at all…

[@wiley0714]

That's why he made the video. To not show you.

[@Bigfoot14000]

How much of a compressor was needed for this blast unit? What CFM/PSI?

[@AlleyPicked]

It's a minimum of 50PSI. I was using a large compressor and it was running most of the time. I don't think it will run very long if you use a smaller compressor.

[@treowayne]

I use that blaster with a compressor with a 60-gallon tank and a 220V oiled compressor. If you want to use an abrasive blaster, make sure your air supply is dry. Moisture in the compressed air can cause a lot of clogging. I use my blaster often enough that I installed an automated tank drain contraption to drain moisture every night. An inline dessicant pack may also be helpful depending on local weather conditions. My blaster used to clog constantly until I drained the water out of the tank for the first time in years. At least a gallon of water drained out of the bottom. I have a little pop-up tent I bought for spraying paint. I use it when sandblasting. After I blast a pot full of coal slag I pick up the tent and let the grit drain into a plastic tub for screening and re-use.

[@philupdegrave731]

I bought one over the weekend along with their HF 3 cu/ft compressor and a bag of coal slad from Tractor Supply. I got the entire rig set up in short order and charged the compressor. I get nothing by air from the nozzle, not grit at all, even after elevating the unit. Any suggestions?

[@AlleyPicked]

Usually 2 things will cause that. Not enough air pressure or the blast media particles are too big.If you are sure those are fine, then you may have a defective gun. I am not an expert. I did notice that on my gun, it sprays out the particles, then it stops. Sprays then stops. It cycles through that and I wasn't sure why myself.

[@philupdegrave731]

@@AlleyPicked Thanks.

[@Roachie149]

Love the video and how informative it is.. Only thing is you didn't put what type of media that black blast is? What grit? Or does it only come is one grit size? I'm extremely new to sand blasting. Thanks for your help.

[@AlleyPicked]

The black stuff was a bag I bought at Menards. It's cheaper than baking soda but not as eco-friendly. I think there was only one option at Menards. I can't recall for sure.

[@evanharris584]

I skipped, I was called out so hard 🤣

[@AeiSedai1976]

What about salt?

[@ericsikma4764]

"Hardware Wars"? Oh, wait. That was "Star Wars". Never mind. Have seen those blasting cabinets in use before. Worth considering: If a lot of blasting is done or there's a regular use, eventually the thing becomes free because of the media reuse--not always buying it.

[@treowayne]

I use a tiny little pop up tent for blasting. I can pick it up and dump it out into a container to re-use the media. I do have to stop blasting to do this, unlike a real cabinet. The upside is that I can blast some pretty large objects.

[@Junior-fd8ux]

Great video on this. Iv been on the fence on buying one of these for over a year. How well do you think this would work blasting a painted Dirtbike frame and also what size compressor are you using? Thank you

[@AlleyPicked]

I am using a large craftsman compressor. The problem I have with this harbor freight blaster is that it sprays and then cuts out, then sprays more and cuts out....perhaps its the medium I was using. I'll need to experiment more with it before I get a good grasp of whats happening.

[@Kiwi-ot3wz]

@@AlleyPicked The pickup hose kinks as you use it. Hell, its already kinked when new !

[@davidj.gallardo4553]

Alley Picked, I'm getting ready to give all 135 cabinets in my house, and after research, I believe sandblasting the existing finish will be the best way to get in all the corners of the design... would you recommend using this portable blaster with soda on oak, or do you think something tougher would be better?

[@AlleyPicked]

Well...the biggest issue I have with this unit is the inconsistent spray. It blasts for about 10 seconds, then stops for about 10 seconds. It repeats this and it's very annoying. I can't imaging using it on 135 cabinets. Sand blasting is extremely messy also. How do you intend to blast cabinets in your house? I assume these are wood? Do you plan to repaint or stain?

[@davidj.gallardo4553]

@Alley Picked I'm going to remove all doors and drawers that have the design with a lot of corners and blast them outside... the rest will be straight, flat surfaces that I can easily get with a sander or even by hand... I've done some homework and find the scfm is what's going to make the difference but as you know a compressor with that output is pricy... I've found a few compressors on Craigslist with a 7 hp motor, single stage compressor that puts out 13 scfm at 90 psi... so the next thing is hope it's in descent condition... I think I'm just going to invest in a good setup and sand and paint the heck out of everything I have... the trim of the house could use it..

[@allenstotts4097]

How much psi was needed to use that. Can I use a smaller compressor or will it need a large one.

[@AlleyPicked]

It has a minimum and maximum. I don't think that a small compressor will be able to maintain enough pressure. The specs probably list the requirement. You might want to check online as I don't have the user guide handy.

[@allenstotts4097]

@@AlleyPicked Ok thank you

[@stevenblinn2032]

Tom, do you think this would remove paint from the underside of a wood banister or spindles with ground walnut?

[@AlleyPicked]

Why not just use sandpaper?

[@stevenblinn2032]

@@AlleyPicked Sandpaper is not a time saver. I'm dealing with the underside of a banister that's not easy to get to and has at least two layers of paint.

[@AlleyPicked]

@@stevenblinn2032 Sand blasting is messy. Not practical inside on a bannister indoors.

[@Lucky-ou4vz]

I'll Give U a Tip. 50 lb bag of Play Sand $6.00

[@AlleyPicked]

That seems too obvious :-). Have you tried it?

[@Lucky-ou4vz]

@@AlleyPicked Yes actually doing an engine lid cover on a 70 911 today. white play sand works great and will not harm the metal !! Also use it in a Snap-On Vacuum Sand Blaster. Along with high pressure and also siphon blasters

[@AlleyPicked]

Thanks for the tip!

[@Lucky-ou4vz]

@@AlleyPicked you're welcome you'll be impressed

[@MarkMcCluney]

Most interesting Tom, and quite a bargain. I suppose they're not entirely comparable but how do you think sand-blasting measures up to chemical paint stripper? Horses for courses I guess. Cheers mate, always something interesting from you.

[@AlleyPicked]

Hi Mark - I have tried 2 brands of paint stripper on the sconce light but that didn't work. Maybe some brands are better than others. Maybe a future video review of paint strippers is on the horizon.

[@treowayne]

​@@AlleyPicked Dichloromethane has been banned from paint strippers in the United States. The result is that paint stripper is much less effective than it used to be, especially on any kind of catalyzed paint. If you're going to test paint strippers, make sure you use fresh stuff from the store in order to get accurate "results". The new Klean-Strip Aircraft "Ultra" is supposed to be a pretty big improvement, but it is like $80/gallon, you have to put it on pretty thick, and you have to wrap tightly in plastic to keep it from evaporating away.

[@dominickcally2735]

Can I use this to remove mold from wood ?

[@AlleyPicked]

For mold, I would wash with bleach.

[@TinaOnEarth]

Very cool! Which abrasive would you use for wooden furniture projects? I’ve always wanted to look into it since it gets hard to get into intricate details for refinishing. Thanks!

[@AlleyPicked]

I'm surely not an expert (yet :-) but I would start with a mild abrasive. In fact, I will test it out sometime.

[@mattalbrecht7471]

I need something to get old paint off my plaster pool. A sanding wheel on my grider will take FOR ever!

[@AlleyPicked]

The one thing I haven't figured out yet with this sand blaster is why it starts then stops. It does this repeatedly and is rather aggravating. If anybody know why, please comment. I would appreciate the insight.

[@philiprhoades3139]

You still need a hefty air compressor to use it...

[@italianrelic]

Safe on aluminum??

[@AlleyPicked]

yes, but depends what medium you are blasting and how thick the aluminum.

[@kwslife116]

Nice review, I guess 😅

[@themeat5053]

Anything "good" for the environment never seems to work well, hmm.....

[@treowayne]

Coal slag dust is bad for you, but pretty much all airborne dust is bad for you. Coal slag is a non-issue when it comes to disposal. If it gets in your yard it is not a problem. Blasting with coal slag is definitely less bad for you than blasting with actual sand (do not blast with actual sand).

[@privateprivate4486]

Wtf did I just watch smh

[@AlleyPicked]

...only the best KZbin channel on the planet!

[@privateprivate4486]

@@AlleyPicked lolol, 2shae

[@heydonray]

Whatever….