Micro Abrasive Sandblaster & Baking Powder

[artyfacts]

Micro Abrasive Sandblaster & Baking Powder

I responded with this to a post, but felt this deserved its own thread. I use baking powder in my micro sandblaster for cooked and stained coins & artifacts of lesser value to experiment on. The baking soda is abrasive enough, smaller than 5/1000s, it falls through my screen which is 5/1000's its probably closer to 1 or 2 /1000's, One of the advantages is, you can see your progress as its being cleaned. If you try this technique, make sure you have a water moisture separator as close to the micro blaster as possible. Start with the tip away from item being cleaned and slowly get it closer until you see progress. You can back the tip off slowing the amount of pressure and abrasive giving you control. Use a old penny to practice on to give you an idea of the removal rate dictating the pressure (distance) used and also starting points (how far away to start without effecting object). Keep the tip a constant distance once you see a change on the surface of object giving you a nice even cleaning. Remember the key word, micro abrasive. The presidential race coin was cleaned but badly stained pitted and nasty, not to my liking, sorry no before pics. Since this was for my collection I wanted it to look its best and blasted the stains off. For coins & artifacts with obscure dates, words or details, you can use this technique, blast a little, recheck for any possible hints of said, and repeat if necessary. This is an abrasive, if used slowly you can remove just about anything. Some exclusions, rubber and other dense spongy materials. The abrasive quality of the baking powder is very fine and minute, if used correctly it can take off unwanted materials and still leave sharp details on coins and relics. Make sure you empty blaster and clear all lines after use, it will cake clogging small ports, clear blaster after emptying hopper using just air. Use common sense on which objects you blast, I will repeat this, it is an abrasive. Experiment, and the most important, experiment. Arty

 

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[Iron Patch]

Re: Micro Abrasive Sandblaster & Baking Powder

I'm curious to see the type of relic and condition you would use this process on. I can see it works for the chosen purpose, but I believe there's probably a better way for almost anything you find regardless of whether it's common or rare. Stripping the surface is the last resort, but I assume that's exactly the idea with what you're doing? I say all that based on personal preference of course.

 

[artyfacts]

Re: Micro Abrasive Sandblaster & Baking Powder

Let me start by saying that I have been blasting in the art field for over 38 years, not a newbie. The presidential race medal is a great example of what type of relic I would subject this to and I'm very happy with the results. Other candidates to date, a very delicate iron key, a couple of coppers with no visible anything, a box of brass and copper crap that would have made it to a corner where it would of remained a box of crap, some very nasty bad buttons and in restoring original Tiffany lamps and lamp bases, that's where this idea came from. These are great experimental pieces for blasting, not the lamps. One thing that is not clarified is that any media used, powders, sand, walnut shell, glass bead, metal, and water will cut through just about anything. www.kramerindustriesonline.com/blasting-media.htm This technique if used correctly, distance, pressure, and media being used, baking powder, walnut shell, plastic etc. can clean with the lightest whisper bouncing the particles 1 to 2 /1000s and larger off the harder material taking away anything softer with no impact on the substrate, the key word is bounce not cut. Most restorers will use walnut shell. If I take the pressure and increase it, mechanically or by shortening the distance of the tip of the blaster nozzle to lets say a coin, I would have a hole in it in minutes or unwanted wear. There is a fine line, that's why I stress the word abrasive. I do not know if this answers your question I.P., its like splitting hairs. If you remove corrosion, oxidization or mineralization I think you would have to say you are in essence stripping the surface and possibly removing good material because it is part of it. As far as results, better than most depending on the material and purpose. The presidential race medal was taken to its original surface and left untreated, it is toning nicely without the stains and crap stuck in all the pitting. It should be a real beauty in about a hundred years. There is always going to be a better way, finding it is another story. This technique & post is here as a possible tool for any adventurous souls that are willing to give it a try. Also a good way to test your setup so your not digging into good metal is to experiment blasting at glass, bottles whatever you find, you should be able to blast at it and leave no etching. Good luck and feel free to ask questions. Arty

 

[Iron Patch]

Re: Micro Abrasive Sandblaster & Baking Powder

Let me start by saying that I have been blasting in the art field for over 38 years, not a newbie. The presidential race medal is a perfect, prime example of what type of relic I would subject this to and I'm very happy with the results, just my preference. Other candidates to date, a very delicate iron key, a couple of coppers with no visible anything, a box of brass and copper crap that would have made it to a corner where it would of remained a box of crap, some very nasty bad buttons and in restoring original Tiffany lamps and lamp bases, that's where this idea came from. These are great experimental pieces for blasting, not the lamps. One thing that is not clarified is that any media used, powders, sand, walnut shell, glass bead, metal, and water will cut through just about anything. This technique if used correctly, distance, pressure, and media being used, baking powder or walnut shell, can clean with the lightest whisper bouncing the particles 1 to 2 /1000s off the harder material taking away anything softer, the key word is bounce not cut. If I take the pressure and increase it, mechanically or by shortening the distance of the tip of the blaster nozzle to lets say a coin, I would have a hole in it in minutes. There is a fine line, that's why I stress the word abrasive. I do not know if this answers your question I.P., its like slitting hairs. If you remove corrosion, oxidization or mineralization I think you would have to say you are in essence stripping the surface and possibly removing good material because it is part of it. As far as results, better than most depending on the material. The presidential race medal was taken to its original surface and left untreated, it is toning nicely without the stains and crap stuck in all the pitting. It should be a real beauty in about a hundred years. There is always going to be a better way, finding it is another story. This technique & post is here as a possible tool for any adventurous souls that are willing to give it a try. Also a good way to test your setup so your not digging into good metal is to experiment blasting at glass, bottles whatever you find, you should be able to blast at it and leave no etching. Good luck and feel free to ask questions. Arty

The main point I'm getting at is when I find a green corroded relic and clean it, it's still green when I'm done. If you over-due it, it will be brown, black, or down to the base metal. Very rarely do I need anything abrasive to clean my finds, but on occasion it has happened, and was for the better of the find.

 

[artyfacts]

Re: Micro Abrasive Sandblaster & Baking Powder

Excellent, I understand that you would not want to take these any deeper than the original surface leaving your relic with a nice patina and original. For the cases where you want to remove a minute layer at a time or to clean the impossible it just takes practice and works very nicely with great results. I wouldn't want anyone messing up a beautiful patina and ruining an artifact. I would say that this technique falls into a special category for special cases and is a great tool in the cleaning arsenal.

 

[boogeyman]

Re: Micro Abrasive Sandblaster & Baking Powder

Hey Arty,

What micro blaster are you using? Can you give me a brand model# etc.? Might be a really good tool for some stuff I'm doing.

BTW, nice photos good detail.

Thanks!!

 

[artyfacts]

Re: Micro Abrasive Sandblaster & Baking Powder

I use four different blasters in my work, each has its own job. For doing small projects the siphon bottle blaster would be good for you if you wish to dictate the amount of pressure to use on an object ( adjust pressure on the compressor), and by lightly engaging the foot switch, great for delicate work and using a soft touch, you are limited to fine grade blast medias using this or the micro. I have a large siphon blaster used for larger projects with a choice of all the medias, this can also be adjusted down to forty psi for the same soft touch, mine uses the pistol style nozzle. With the pistol style you can lightly squeeze the trigger and get a trickle of media, (versatile). Remember to check nozzle size and match to media being used. The carbide replacement nozzles are worth the extra money they last allot longer than the ceramic. The material hopper on the bottle blaster is small but you can rig this to a five gallon bucket or any container with a little work and blast to your hearts content outside over a large tarp. You can collect and reuse certain medias again and again, always use a screen to take out any unwanted materials when recycling blast media. The pressure micro blaster is a fantastic tool with different shaped tips. Don't bother with the additional shading tips for the micro unless you are doing some serious artwork. I have drilled out a couple of straight single flow tips to allow for materials over .060. My larger pressure blaster is a brute coupled with higher pressures and a large nozzle, it will clean almost anything quickly. The blast media I use for etching glass is silica, very dangerous to breath in and you do not want this fine dust blanketing a workroom it can put you in the hospital very quickly. I have a blast room dedicated to removing this dust. Make sure to purchase a particulate mask whenever blasting any media, use air to clean out the filters on the particulate mask, it can get clogged if blasting for long periods and you will start sucking air and particles around the face closure. To keep your eyes safe if blasting outside of a cabinet, use a 12 x 12 piece of glass 1/8 thick as a shield for your face and eyes. Make sure you sand the edges down to avoid bleeding. You can find cabinets for a little over a hundred bucks and they will recycle your media and you can use any type of blaster in the cabinet with a little work. If you find one with a dust collector go for it, it will knock the dust down in your cabinet so you can see and it will keep you safe and the dust out of your work area, if inside. When I first started I used a small dc fan in conduit to pump the tiny particles into a pillow case outside. The medias used are crucial to the job at hand, make sure to look up there uses. The biggest tips I can give you is to start slow, pressure and distance of tip to object, media being used www.kramerindustriesonline.com/blasting-media.htm and if you do not have a air dryer do not blast on humid days get a water separator as close to the working end as possible. Never look directly into the nozzle and pull the trigger. Always experiment. This site has some nice blasters. Both my pressure blasters came from this company. Arty http://www.glastar.com/ This site is informative but not very thorough. http://home.fuse.net/davestr4a/Paint/Sand_Blaster.html