Can someone recommend a general blasting media for a blasting cabinet? I might go out and get one either tomorrow or the day after but i'm not sure which type of media to put in it. I want to use it to clean off the various steel and aluminum parts in these cars (probably mostly steel to strip paint and rust and then repaint stuff). I know not to use sand with aluminum parts, and the harbor freight here in town sells different grit walnut shells and glass beads.

Use the glass beads. If you have a Tractor Supply the are a whole lot cheaper on the glass beads. $35 for 50#

Like a lot of things in life, no one product is going to do everything well. Anything that strips paint and rust quickly (black beauty, carbide, aluminum oxide) is going to mess up aluminum parts. Conversely, anything that cleans aluminum well (glass bead, walnut shell) is going to be slow striping paint.

FWIW, I switch between glass bead and alum oxide.

Glass bead meets most of the needs in my garage. I do have aluminum oxide I can switch into the cabinet, but it doesn't happen very often. Definitely for your first batch of media you should get glass bead. You can blast far more materials with it than anything else.

Glass bead works great

Glass bead Got it at werk, got it at home.

Will course grit glass bead at a higher pressure be able to strip steel of it's paint and rust faster? Maybe by tweaking the air pressure feed it won't take forever to strip it?

I have fine glass bead and coarse bead. I also have Black Magnum which doesnt brake down easy for tougher jobs. I also switch between nozzles which most cabinets come with. Just make sure you get a cabinet to at least fit a rim inside.

I understand that, but what i was trying to ask is what's the difference between course and fine beads. Do they leave a different finish? I know fine beads will be able to fit in crevices that course beads cannot fit into, however what would be the advantage to using course beads if this is the case? Does it strip rust and paint faster than the fine beads, etc?

I actually use a 50/50 blend of glass beads and aluminum oxide. The aluminum oxide cuts good and the glass beads leave a nice finish. The two together gives a nice compromise.

The finer glass beads leaves a smoother finish, but at the same time it cuts slower.

Glass beads break down into smaller finer particles with use.

Higher pressures only makes glass beads (or most any media) break down quicker.

Aluminum oxide or some of the other medias will cut through paint and rust quickly but leave a little more rough surface. Aluminum oxide can destroy aluminum (or soft) parts.

I use aluminum oxide for rust removal. I use glass beads for aluminum parts. I buy most of my media at the local farm supply store. I also source some from the local Grainger.

That's exactly what i was curious about. Thank you

If I am going to paint item after it has been bead blasted I always buff it to a smooth shine with a fine wire wheel. I makes a whole lot of difference.

I have been using 80 grit Garnet - available at Tractor Supply. Seems to do the job and it is cheap. but a lot depends on what material you are blasting.

Ok, last question i promise. I have a blasting cabinet now, all setup and been using it on some suspension parts. But now i'm getting glass bead dust all over the back of the cabinet right by the vent. It has a port on the side for a vacuum hook up. Does anyone here use the vacuum hook up and if so what type of vacuum is needed? Can i use my craftsman shop wet/dry vacuum on it, or does it require some special type of vacuum?

That's normal without a vac unit. You can use the shop vac but you should have a filter mounted in the inside. If not, the glass bead dust will go through the motor and in a short time the motor will sound like it has gravel in it. Been there, done that

Use a 'drywall' sanding filter. The only ones fine enough to catch the grit.