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Posted: 8/12/2012 12:44:07 PM EDT
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I'm up to my old tricks again, looking to get rid of the super shiny look of my stainless polished barrel on my 9mm rifle.
I'm looking to get an air compressor and media blasting gun. Media blasters all handle sand, glass beads, etc, right? Sand blast or bead blast in this case? And what type of media specifically? Should this really be done in a chamber or can it be done with a blasting gun and a box. It's a 16" barrel. |
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http://www.ar15.com/archive/topic.html?b=6&f=19&t=324577
I really like the look of aluminum oxide, but as the thread above suggests it may be easily marred. Forget about most of the sand you get at the local tool store. It blasts fine, but you are looking to finish the metal with it and sand gives an odd inconsistent look to me. A cabinet is usually best, but a corner of the yard away from stuff you care about works fine as well. As far as buying a compressor, and some bargain blaster (not knocking them).... It's likely cheaper just to find a local blasting shop and have them do it. Pound a rubber cork or dowel rod into all the holes, protect the gas block journals, crown, and threads - then explain to them what you want. They likely have example finishes for you to look at. Usually it can be done for $30 or so (no way it actually costs that much, but they have minimum values for jobs sometimes). A compressor that can keep up with a blaster..... maybe $300 to $1200 (ok fine, you could do it in small bursts from a $100 pawn shop compressor). A HF blaster... what like $60? media... maybe $10 for a small bag of the good stuff. Not worth it unless you have other projects in mind. |
| I did some research last night and came to the same conclusion. I'll have to figure out what local shops are in the area that can do a job like this for me. I live in a 1BR condo so my space is very limited and I quickly realized anything bigger than a small tank isn't going to work for me. |
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