beadblasting newbie and cheap

[throttletony]

Hi all, I have an itch to bead blast one of my stainless revolvers (except for high polish the cylinder). Strictly cosmetic and cause I want to.
I do not have a bead blaster.
This is likely the only bead blasting project that I see myself doing in the near future
Should I buy a cheapie setup? Cost for something like that?
OR -- Should I take it to a gunsmith or autobody/metal shop to have it blasted?
What's a price for something like that (I'll strip the gun, mask off sights/cylinder release, etc)?

Any recommendations on type of beads, etc are also welcome

It's a GP100 Match Champion w/ dovetail sights, and I've never removed the firing pin or the cylinder release button, maybe just mask those??

 

[AllenM]

It would not be realistic to buy the equipment to do just one. and you want to make sure it is getting glass bead blasted not "sand blasted".
I would pay someone to do it if I were you.
I have a small blaster with glass beads but it really only works well on small parts and what not. I thought it would do better when I bought it

A regular body shop will not have this equipment you will need a gunsmith or machine shop for this.
You would be welcome to use mine and with patience it would probably do the job, It wouldn't hurt anything, but its your call on that

 

[throttletony]

THanks Allen. I'm in MI right now (I should have specified that, sorry).
Yes, for getting a matte finish, I just want bead blasted correct?
Sand is much more abrasive, correct?

All I want would be a matte finish, no material removed.... yikes!

 

[throttletony]

something like this from Gemini customs
(just the matte vs polished) Obviously I'm not jewelling triggers/hammers, etc.

 

[Gluemanz28]

That is a sexy looking pistol

My only concern is cylinder ring on the highly polished cylinder.

 

[Drail]

Why is that a concern?

 

[throttletony]

Not a concern for me.
It's much less obvious on a polished cylinder anyways.

 

[throttletony]

I also should have mentioned that one of my main motivations for this is that there are some chatter/machining marks (from factory) where the barrel was slab sided (GP100 Match champ has slabbed barrel).

I want to smooth those out, then the sides will be much shinier that I'd want. so then, I'd make the whole thing matte, except the cylinder.

I guess I just wanted to be flamboyant like that.... you know, cause being flamboyant is cool nowadays
(add purple where necessary)

 

[Psode27]

That looks awesome! Post pictures if you get it it done!

 

[midget]

This is what I did... I use it quite often, so it was worth the money...

I bought this: Abrasive Blast Cabinet
I then went through and caulked the seams and installed a light.

But along with this you will need a decent shop vac with a dust separator (bead blasting dust will clog filters quicker than anything else).

All told, I am in around 300$...

 

[88E30M50]

If you do go with buying a bead blaster yourself, don't waste your money on the Harbor Freight 'glass bead' media. It's not glass bead at all, but is ground glass. It will leave a much more course finish than actual glass bead does. In Indy, there's a blast media supply house on the east side of town that sells the various grits of glass bead in 50# bags. 50# of quality glass bead from them is much cheaper than the crap you get from Harbor Freight. If I remember correctly, the larger the glass bead, the more of a polishing effect it has.

They really are handy things to have around if you work on guns, old cars, or just about anything else that needs restored from time to time.

 

[17 squirrel]

Not a concern for me.
It's much less obvious on a polished cylinder anyways.

The ring on my Python has never bothered me.. Guns are supposed to be shot..

If you want the bead finish to look good, without streaks and verying degrees of finish,... pay a Gunsmith to do it.
Something's in life you just can't beat a man at his own game.

 

[midget]

If you do go with buying a bead blaster yourself, don't waste your money on the Harbor Freight 'glass bead' media. It's not glass bead at all, but is ground glass. It will leave a much more course finish than actual glass bead does. In Indy, there's a blast media supply house on the east side of town that sells the various grits of glass bead in 50# bags. 50# of quality glass bead from them is much cheaper than the crap you get from Harbor Freight. If I remember correctly, the larger the glass bead, the more of a polishing effect it has.

They really are handy things to have around if you work on guns, old cars, or just about anything else that needs restored from time to time.

True story on the HF media. I mostly use it to strip finish. I will then go back and polish afterwards.

Oh, and one thing you absolutely need to do, even though you are using a cabinet, wear eye protection... And after you are done handling the item you blasted, scrub your hands... Glass bead in your eyes sucks really bad.

 

[Gluemanz28]

This is what I did... I use it quite often, so it was worth the money...

I bought this: Abrasive Blast Cabinet
I then went through and caulked the seams and installed a light.

But along with this you will need a decent shop vac with a dust separator (bead blasting dust will clog filters quicker than anything else).

All told, I am in around 300$...

I have a free standing unit. It requires a lot of air.

I have a 60 gallon Ingersol Rand Two Stage unit. It really needs an air drier to get the best results.

I use it for my side business rebuilding spray foam equipment. It has paid for it self many times over.


I would still take it to a professional and let them get you the look that you want, not what your stuck with.

 

[throttletony]

Found a local gunsmith (Michigan) who will help me with this.
I told him I'd strip the gun down and just wanted the frame and trigger housing (no internals) bead blasted. He quoted me $20-25 (estimated).

I think I 'll do it soon and I'll have pics to share with you all.

 

[Drail]

Always put some oil on it afterwards - especially if you don't know what its carbon content is. The pits from the bead blasts will hold a good coat of oil just like Parkerizing. Oil it.

 

[RustyHornet]

This looks like a fun project. Below is a pic of what I was able to do with Ruger stainless and glass beads. This pic shows it the best on a SR1911, Churchmouse has it now.. It looks really good, little bit more grainy than the factory bead blast finish.