Sandblasting guns

Compressed air guns are the perfect tools for airbrushing. Operating on vacuum, they are the perfect system for one-off applications requiring low compressor power. In the same way as our other sandblasting equipment, the guns are used to clean or strip metal or wood surfaces...

What is a sandblasting gun used for?

A sandblasting gun is the main element in sandblasting, microblasting, airbrushing, shot blasting and, more generally, impact surface treatment operations. The blasting gun is used to project the abrasive under pressure, or projected by suction (Venturi suction effect), via a nozzle which may be made of ceramic, tungsten carbide or boron carbide. 

Depending on its design, the gun can be fitted with either a trigger that needs to be pulled to start blasting, or a foot pedal that activates the abrasive spray to give you a better grip on the gun. 

The sandblasting gun is used in free jet sandblasting equipment, or airbrushes, in which case it consists of a tank or a dip tube placed in the bag containing the abrasive. It is also used in sandblasting cabinets.In this case, the gun is connected to the abrasive recycling system from the bottom of the hopper or the abrasive dust removal cyclone.

Features of our sandblasting guns

ARENA BLAST offers two types of blasting guns: the vacuum guns and suppression suppression guns. Both consist of a nozzle holder and a blasting nozzle. The abrasive feed hoses differ, however

The vacuum blast gun comprises two hoses: one for compressed air, which draws in the abrasive from the tank using the Venturi effect, and the other for compressed air, which is projected through the blast nozzle. The vacuum sandblasting gun includes an injector which creates the Venturi effect. This type of sandblasting gun is often found on small sandblasters for wood stripping operations, or gentle bead blasting for finishing. It has the advantage of being easy to maintain and inexpensive, as the wear parts will be less robust. 

The other type of sandblasting gun is an overpressure gun. It consists solely of a nozzle holder with a tightening nut for the nozzle. There is a single inlet with a larger hose, because the abrasive is projected under pressure, so it has greater force than with vacuum. The advantage of this type of gun is that it allows much more intensive surface treatment operations to be carried out at high pressure. For example, metal blasting, removal of epoxy-type paints by spraying plastic media or surface stripping 3 to 5 times faster than with vacuum guns.

We fit this type of gun on sandblasting cabinet with pressure systems: EXPERT PF and PRO PS , as well as our mobile pressure sandblasting machines NS8 40 T.

How to use a sandblasting gun properly  ?

To use a sandblasting gun correctly, you should first check the power of the compressed air compressor, which provides the air flow required to power the gun. The larger the diameter of the nozzle, the greater the air flow and the more powerful the compressor. 

Refer to the table below for nozzle size correspondences : 

The nozzle diameter is also important, depending on the particle size of the abrasive used. 

You will need to use abrasives dedicated to surface treatment, such as silica-free sand, aluminium silicate, iron silicate, calcium silicate, glass or ceramic beads, metal shot, corundum, stainless steel or steel microbeads, or angular glass.

You will also need to pay attention to the proper maintenance of spare parts, see the next paragraph. . 

How do I maintain a sandblasting gun ?

Maintaining a sandblasting gun, especially after sandblasting, shotblasting or stripping operations using highly corrosive abrasives such as corundum, garnet, steel or stainless steel shot or iron, aluminium or calcium silicates, is very important to avoid breakdowns or load losses. 

The spare part that will wear out the fastest is the nozzle. If the nozzle is made of ceramic, it will wear out much more quickly than those made of tungsten carbide or boron (which we use on all our sandblasting equipment such as airbrushes, free jet sandblasters or sandblasting cabinets). To change it, unscrew the nozzle from its holder using a suitable tool. In the case of ARENA vacuum machines, a simple spanner is all that is needed, and for ARENA overpressure machines, the nut must be loosened by hand.

 If the nozzle is too worn, its diameter will increase, which will require a higher level of air flow, so if the compressor is not powerful enough, the sandblasting will lose load and be less effective. 

The other part that will wear is the abrasive inlet hose, in the case of a vacuum system, Venturi effect, or the pressurised abrasive inlet hose, in the case of overpressure machines. The hoses will need to be changed more often on machines that do not have abrasive dust removal, or when using highly corrosive media such as corundum, metal shot, etc. metallic or garnet. 

If the blasting gun has a trigger, there is a risk that it will seize up and therefore also be a part to be replaced. That's why at ARENA BLAST we prefer blasting guns without triggers that are operated by mechanical, pneumatic or electric pedals (depending on the range of equipment), as there will be no problem with the trigger wearing out and seizing up.