A Quick Guide To Finding The Right Sandblasting Nozzle For Your Paint Job

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If you have a car paint project that requires a sandblaster, it is vital that you purchase the right nozzle tip for the job. The nozzle helps dispense the sand and helps to control the flow as you work, making it essential that you have the right nozzle for the job you are trying to do.

Types Of Tips

There are three primary types of materials used to make sand blasting tips. The material of the tip determines how quickly the tip wears down and how effectively it allows you to do your job.

• Carbide Tips
• The most expensive type of tip that you can purchase are carbide tips. However, carbide tips are the most wear resistant of all the tips you can purchase for your sandblaster. As you blast sand through the tip, the tip will expand and wear down, especially if you are using a high level of pressure. For jobs where you need to use harder abrasives, carbide tips are the way to go. Harder abrasives will wear down cheaper tips really quickly and will require you to change tips multiple times during a project instead of using one for the entire project.
• Ceramic Tips
• Ceramic tips fall right below carbide tips. They cost a little less than carbide tips and also fall right below carbide tips in their wear resistant properties. They work well for most jobs that you can use your sandblaster for. Ceramic tips are generally really easy to find and purchase in most hardware stores.
• Steel Tips
• Steel tips are good for jobs that use light abrasives. If you are only going to be doing light work with your sandblaster, steel tips may be a good option for you. They tend to work best with siphon sandblaster units because these types of units do not use as much pressure as other units, which means that that tips can last longer.

Using Sandblasting Tips There are a few things that you need to be aware of about how sandblasting nozzle tips work before you get started on your first job.

Wear Is Related To Abrasive To Air Ratio The tip of the nozzle is where all the air and sand comes together before coming out of your machine in a narrow stream. The flow throughout the machine is reduced as it comes out of the tip in order to increase the output flow. Your tip will wear out more quickly when the ratio of abrasive used to air is high; if you want to get more use out of the tip that you purchased, you need to reduce the ratio of abrasive to air. Use the valve on your machine to reduce the ratio.

Pay Attention To The Wear As you make your way through your project, it is vital that you pay attention to how the nozzle is wearing down. Make note of the size of the tip, and measure the diameter as you work. Once the tip's diameter increases significantly from its starting point, you need to change out the tip. Changing out the tip once you notice the diameter has increased will allow you to more effectively perform your job.

To learn more, contact a company like Black Horse Auto Body Shop Inc. 

26 May 2016