I am looking for sandblasting equipment to do small parts and spot repair.

Can any of you provide references for equipment you have seen or used?

What type system works better than others?

What medium works best for removing rust and paint without destroying surface?

GCW

the "pressure" pot type works much better than suction only type....

I bought all 3 of mine from Harbor Frieght (suction, pressure and cabinet)

for the cabinet, I bought the blasting media sold by HF, and for the other 2, I just use filtered playground sand bought from Home Depot

avoid blasting the engine compartment, you'll be finding sand for years and years later

Also... if you have a compressor driven blaster (most are), make sure your compressor is up to snuff. Little 5 gallon compressors won't cut it. YOu need to look at air flow rate, pressure, etc. Otherwise you'll find yourself blasting in small increments waiting for the pressure to build back up.

Search the forums here. It was discussed a couple of years ago.

I agree the pressure pot is way better than the suction blasters, you can adjust the amount of media your blasting, they also use much less media to do the job.

I'll second the bit about the engine compartment, not something I wish to repeat in the near future. In fact, I wouldn't suggest sandblasting anything on the car itself unless the car is largely disassembled.

Oh, a few tips: A full head shield is highly suggested, if not, then by all means wear ear plugs, a quality mask or respirator, and two layers of eye protection.

Yes, it is that messy. It was the nastiest thing I have done on a car by a long shot, I felt violated.

All cabinets are suction and not pressure. In a cabinet, you don't really lose the media, and with a decent compressor, it's not an issue. If you're doing mostly parts, get a cabinet. No fuss, no muss, no viloation (LOL).

I bought mine several years ago. I've tried various media in it; it really depends on what you're blasting. I pretty much just leave glass bead in mine anymore because it's very fine and will do just about everything I need to do.