# Sand injection



## johnpaint (Sep 20, 2008)

Have any of you guys' used the sand injection systems that you connect to your power washer. If so how did it work, and is it worth the hassle? thinking about getting on.


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## tsunamicontract (May 3, 2008)

just bought one today!! I am super excited. Its like a $300 unit that SW unloaded on me for $100. I will report back after I use it (next week)


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## IHATE_HOMEDEPOT (May 27, 2008)

I used one long ago, and I remember it worked well. We had to get rid of peeling paint on some highly raised grain cedar shakes. If I remember correctly you had to be close to the bucket of sand with your pressure wand.


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## johnthepainter (Apr 1, 2008)

ive seen one in action removing rust from posts/bullards,,,,,,,they had a wheelbarrow full of sand, stuck the lance in and blasted away,,,,,,


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## [email protected] (Mar 1, 2008)

They work slow / have to keep your sand dry/ you can go through a lot of sand. Do I use mine you bet but if I can do it dry I will do that first.


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## tsunamicontract (May 3, 2008)

alright, here is the report. We used ours for the first time today. It is sweet. And messy. And incredible slow. But it worked its way through mastic epoxy, carpet adhesive, and could have bored right through the concrete probably too. We went through a 100lb bag of sand about every half hour. But, as Ken is an advocate of, removing the adhesive was all about the right chemicals. They worked way faster and easier than trying to remove the glue with the sand injection.


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## johnpaint (Sep 20, 2008)

So where do you see using it? I wonder how it would do at feathering down old rough paint?


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## tsunamicontract (May 3, 2008)

johnpaint said:


> I wonder how it would do at feathering down old rough paint?


wouldnt count on it.

As a replacement to sandblasting, mostly concrete and metal for a final removal (after chems or what ever) and maybe stripping fish scale shakes or something.


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## woodee (Oct 8, 2008)

That last answer from tsunamicontract is very accurate.
I have had one for years & just had to buy another one due to wearing it out. I had only used it on smaller jobs, over the years, instead of dry blasting where dust is a concern, or if it is too inconvenient to haul out all the dry blasting equipment. 
It is just another tool, somewhat like a turbo tip, but more concentrated. What I like is the sands ability to break open the surface and let the H2O remove the loosened coating.
I have larger than usual water blasting units (5+ gpm at 4000 psi). I find that the higher gpm really increases my crews production. So, I do not know if the sand injector would be as productive with the more common, easily obtainable smaller (4 or less gpm with 3000 or less psi) water blasters sold at paint or hardware stores. 
I buy larger, much more expensive, Honda motors (24 hp) and bigger 5+ gpm Cat pumps, then install them, belt driven (with correct ratio) using custom pulleys, mounted on custom frames. 
Still, the sand injection is pretty slow, so I only use it when dry blasting is not the best option and the if the H2O does not have enough umph to do the job. It works good on structural steel if there isn't too broad an area to clean (pipe railing, L metal, small to medium I beams, etc.). I suppose it can be used on select concrete or (very carefully) only on certain, flaking type (fish scale) type wood jobs. I used my older unit, that had a 4' wand on various unique jobs e.g. removing rust stains caused from internal rebar, that was bleeding out of some clear waterproofed, exposed aggregate, tilt up walls. I think I last used it on a very rusty Sea-doo trailer and a rusted steel ladder rack to prepare it for a high performance coating system on one of my work trucks.
I bought this new one & set it up with out the wand (still, it's about 15" long) to do some tall, fluted, aluminum street light standards. They originally had an expensive, nicely done faux finish to simulate Venitian Bronze and the clear protective coating finally de-laminated (after 25-30 years). 
After adjusting the unit to A) use a finer than usual grit of sand, B) carefully adjusting the pressure (I use an inline pressure gauge as I adjust the unloader), & C) gauging the distance from the surface, all 3 critical which made the sand injection work perfectly. It only removed the layer of failing clear coating, without removing any of the the darker faux finish base coat that it was protecting. We were then able to apply a high quality, 2 component, clear urethane to protect the undisturbed faux base coat for another 25 to 30 years. Dry blasting would not have had the control. The same with hand or mechanical prep and that would have been too slow and inconsistent anyway, to remove only the clear coating layer from the fluted poles. 
We are 1/2 way through the project (a few hundred 28' tall street light poles) and we have not had to touch up the existing faux finish yet. The original dry blasting spec would not have done this job as well. There would have been hard to reproduce faux finish touch up, not to mention a lot more clean up, if I had not changed the spec'ed system to the sand injected water blaster we are using.
I did have to replace my original unit. The dozen or so nozzles go 1st, just like dry blasting, but then if it is used a lot, over the years, the cast (aluminum) housing's (or manifold's) interior passage will wear out to the point you can't meter the injected sand, then not long afterward it just did not not suck up the sand at all.
Well, that probably a lot more than anyone wants to know, but that should clear up any questions on where & how to use the sand injection. ...


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## johnpaint (Sep 20, 2008)

Thanks guy's at least I know what I can use it on now.That is the good thing about asking questions on a site like this, sometimes you get find what your looking for.


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## tsunamicontract (May 3, 2008)

yup, this is PT actually working. No KBpainting or Sev in this thread. (knock on wood)


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## CApainter (Jun 29, 2007)

I spent the last two days getting beat down by one of these sand siphoning gizmos.

Scenario:
Some Jackhole recently demonstrated his or hers creative expression on a split face masonry block wall at one of our facilities. I knew the pressure washer with sand injection would work because I'm sure I've done it before. Any ways, it didn't work. San got wet, tube plugged, and when it did work, it was slow even with the O tip provided with the accessory.

Basically abandoned the whole set up. What did work on the block wall without creating too much dust, was the vacuum blaster I have, [without the vacuum set up]

My conclusion is, if you want to blast something and keep the dust down, rent a 180 CFM compressor with a two sack sand pot. Have your buddy use the pressure washer to keep the dust down while you knock the job out with the blast set up.


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## RaleighPainter (Jun 13, 2011)

Google - "taginator" Spray on, pressure wash off. Graffiti = gone. In and out 1 hour.


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## CApainter (Jun 29, 2007)

RaleighPainter said:


> Google - "taginator" Spray on, pressure wash off. Graffiti = gone. In and out 1 hour.


Thanks, I'll order some.

However, I'm not too confident that it'll work like the video suggests. I did use a graffiti removal product [that'll remain unnamed] on an alkyd based paint that was used to tag a masonry block wall without a sacrificial coating or sealer as protection. We have since applied a protective sealer.

I'll report my results on the next project.


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## RaleighPainter (Jun 13, 2011)

You won't be sorry, we have used it on several schools, town parks etc.. it really makes short work of graffiti removal.


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## creativeeyeball (Feb 20, 2014)

graffiti is where our unit shines the best. haven't found it useful in other areas.


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