Blasting paint off cranks

[Mags]

Anyone have any experience blasting paint off cranks? Some of the stuff I have I don't want to paint over paint as it will kill the action or add too much weight. I really don't like messing with harsh chemicals for doing this, so my thought was blasting it off with a sand blaster. I bought a small hand held blaster at Harbour Freight and some glass bead media, but haven't had time to play with it yet. If it works I'll buy a cabinet. Anything is better than stripping and scraping the paint off. Gotta be better way.

Steve

[21xdc]

Sounds like you may have a good thing going to me... I think you will loose some detail but you loose some adding paint, scuffing or sanding too.

[diemai]

@ Mags

I don't think , that it would work out without causing too much damage to the lure .

Been doing some sandblasting with a very fine media(finer than the sand in a birds cage) at my work , trying to clean off my homemade paint patterns(primer , modelmaking enamels and 2K topcoat)from spoons and spinnerblades .

Had to set that thing on real high power to get the paint off , I don't think , that plastic lures would withstand that abuse .

Hardwood might possibly withstand better , only its surface grain might become rather rough and "fuzzy" , might require sanding and/or even treatment with woodfiller to retain a smooth surface again .

And how do you intend to mask the transparent lips ?

Simply taping won't work , the sandblasting would soon shred it to pieces , you'd need a masking of maybe thin , flexible plastic or even aluminium sheet .

Or you'd be OK with the lips getting to a milky , light greyish color ?

What I mean to say is , that it really depends on the sandblasting power you need to remove the paint would not be too strong to damage the lure . Maybe some paints also come off easier than others ? Really a matter of trial and error !

I can't imagine it to work out , but I would surely like to be proven wrong in that way:yes: !

good luck , diemai

[BobP]

Hughes Custom Painted Baits has probably repainted more lures, for longer, than anybody. Tim Hughes occasionally posts here on TU and mentioned that they use media blasting to remove paint....so you're in good company.

[Mags]

Yes, I saw Mr. Hughes say that a while back which got me thinking about using blasting media. There are a lot of different blasting medias out there that will take off paint, but leave the base alone. They use walnut shell, glass beads, plastic beads, steel shot, soda etc. It just depends on what you want to remove and how smooth you want the base material to come out. Some of the media are more agressive than the others. Research it on the web and you'll find lots of information, but none on taking it off plastic or wood crankbaits. The problem is doing this on a small scale and inexpensively. I don't need an industrial strength blaster. With a small cabinet and blaster I should be able to remove the paint and reuse the media for hundreds of baits. Harbour Freight sells a small cabinet for $124. I am just seraching for the right media. I already tried some plastic bead media and it took the paint off, but the gun I had didn't shoot it consistently enough and it didn't take it all the way down to the plastic. Next is glass beads. I guess it may be one of those secrets that stays in the Ozark hills. If I have any luck I'll post with the results. Like I said theres got to be a better way. No way I'm scraping off paint with stripper on hundreds of baits.

[Spike-A-Pike]

As a medium, sand may be a bit harsh... I have that soda blasting is a touch milder and every effective.

[Snaggletooth812]

@ Mags

I don't think , that it would work out without causing too much damage to the lure .

Been doing some sandblasting with a very fine media(finer than the sand in a birds cage) at my work , trying to clean off my homemade paint patterns(primer , modelmaking enamels and 2K topcoat)from spoons and spinnerblades .

Had to set that thing on real high power to get the paint off , I don't think , that plastic lures would withstand that abuse .

Hardwood might possibly withstand better , only its surface grain might become rather rough and "fuzzy" , might require sanding and/or even treatment with woodfiller to retain a smooth surface again .

And how do you intend to mask the transparent lips ?

Simply taping won't work , the sandblasting would soon shred it to pieces , you'd need a masking of maybe thin , flexible plastic or even aluminium sheet .

Or you'd be OK with the lips getting to a milky , light greyish color ?

What I mean to say is , that it really depends on the sandblasting power you need to remove the paint would not be too strong to damage the lure . Maybe some paints also come off easier than others ? Really a matter of trial and error !

I can't imagine it to work out , but I would surely like to be proven wrong in that way:yes: !

good luck , diemai

:?Maybe a masking of aluminum duct tape. Just a thought at a try

[Mags]

Sand Blaster 2, Mags 0

The crushed glass media worked fine on the plastic bait, but ate a little of wood on a Poes 400 cedar bait. It sanded out easily. The Harbour Freight hand held blaster is a piece of junk. Clogged constantly. The other thing I learned was that this will definately take a cabinet. Stuff went everywhere. I was doing it outside so no big deal. I was also wearing a respirator and safety goggles. Family got a kick out of the Martian outfit. Without a cabinet and the ability to re-capture the media, it is cost prohibitive. Tractor supply sells a cheap media. That is next. Tried some plain old Quikcrete sand. It clogged the blaster and when I did get it to come out it wasn't agressive enough to take the paint off. Back to the lab Dr. Frakenstein.

[Hughesy]

I do use fine glass for blasting. I get it from Grainer's. It will not work on wood only plastic. It also does not work well on etex or d2t. It does work great on most factory finishes. You will loose some detail but not hardly noticeable. Since the glass is recycled it becomes finer and finer with age. After a while, you will loose no detail at all. Use heavy duty masking tape on the bills. The glass seems to bounce off more than penetrate the tape. I run about 100 psi. The only time you damage a lure is if you hold it too long in one spot. After blasting, Wipe clean with a Qtip and acetone. You may want to re-tape the bill because it makes for a cleaner edge and gets rid of any sand that is trapped in the tape.

[Mags]

Thanks. I appreciate your help and admire your work. I need to get a cabinet to make this work.

Steve

[diemai]

@ Mags

Really seems , that I ought to revise on my previous statement !

But happy to hear , that sandblasting crankbaits does work somehow:yes: !

Live and learn:yes: !

good luck:yay: , diemai

[FishThanks]

There are quite a few companies making small bench top sand blasting cabinets around the $100.00 mark. Some have ports for a shop vac and have a light inside. I would say they are about the size of two milk crates side by side.

[Hughesy]

Just a quick heads up on the bench models. Try to get one with a top loading door. The ones that have the sides that open up, are a pain because the media spills out the sides when loading and unloading. The shop vac attachment works but clogs very quickly. I vent mine outside. You lose some media but not very much. It also pays to buy blasting clear film to tape over the windows. It last a long time before it fogs up. Then, you just peel it off and tape on a new one. Kinda like the ones used on windshields in Nascar. People often have a hard time with the media clogging up the gun. Most of the time it is caused by moisture in the air line so its best to have a moisture trap .

Edited January 1, 2009 by Hughesy