John in Tennessee

I have used one of these in the past. Worked like a champ. So good I put one on my toy list. I have a 7HP 60 gal 100% duty cycle compressor and a medium cabinet.. The dad burn thing is slower than a UT (Tenn) player at a IQ test. Compressor is fine here is a pic of the gun. That looks like a ceramic nozzle. Do they wear out?

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Handyman

yes they ware out. I don't know how many hours of use you can get out of a nozzle but thay have a life span. The ceramic part is what chokes the nozzle down to build pressure. As that happens the sand or medium eats away at the ceramic tip.

__________________
Collector of Old Tools
Fixer of all things broke
Expert = Drip under pressure

firehawkmph

John,
I rebuild old vintage off road motorcycles. A few years ago I bought a 4' wide cabinet blaster from TP Tools, Inc., right here in Ohio. They have a complete line of blasting cabinets and all the media and replacement parts to go with it. There are different size nozzles available (bore size) and it makes a huge difference. You want to use the largest bore size that your compressor can handle. TP has all the recommended cfm requirements measured at 90psi. I would highly recommend this company, good people to deal with. You can google their name and their site should come right up. Also make sure your draw tube isn't clogged at the bottom end. Mine did that recently and wouldn't draw the glass media I was using at all. Took a piece of wire and cleaned it out and it was back to normal. Moisture is always the big problem with cabinet blasters. When not in use it is recommended to place a water trap inside the cabinet. It is a plastic container with white beads that attract moisture and are replaceable when they get too wet. The moisture comes from the warm air coming out of the compressor.
Mike Hawkins

John in Tennessee

Thanks Mike My nozzle looks like is .25 in diameter. I'll all tomorrow

firehawkmph

John,
forgot to address the wear issue. The tips most definitely wear out. I am using ceramic tips, they also have carbide which will last longer and cost more. They recommend turning the insert periodically 1/4 turn at a time to take advantage of the whole inside of the nozzle. The nozzle doesn't wear evenly. You will see a slot starting to form. When you notice this, give it a turn. After the third turn, replace it. How fast it wears depends on what is going through it. Plastic media and things like ground up walnut shells are pretty easy on the nozzle. From there the next step up would be glass beads, then what TP calls 'skat magic', which is ground up windshield glass. It's a little more agressive than glass beads and lasts a little longer. I think the next step up is aluminum oxide. That's about as coarse as I have used. Here's the link for TP Tools. Besides blasters, they carry a full line of air compressors and everything to do with automotive refinishing. They have a very nice store if you are ever in the area.
www.tptools.com
Mike Hawkins

Paul K

John, the tips do wear out, but from reading your post, it sounds like you bought a new one or some such, and that using it was slow? Was the tip new, was it slow, what were you trying to do? It shoudl strip rust, paint etc, pretty darn quick with a decent compressor behind it. What medium were you using? Were you using a booth or not? Much easier in my limited experience to use it in a booth if you can see the work well enough, and certainly a bit safer as far as breathing the dust. Research what medium to use, but don't use regular sand, as it appears to be much more hazardous to your health. I have a small cabinet, and I use it with a tank and compressor about the same size as yours, and it works great. I have a larger gun too which I have used outside the booth and it works well too, but it certainly is messier.
paul