Sandblasting a UDS question

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like2smoke

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I recently picked up a food grade 55 gallon barrel and I saw than many people recommend having the barrel sandblasted to remove the liner. So I called a bunch of local places to get it done and many did not want to deal with it at all. One place in particular said they wouldn't do it because of the toxicity of liner dust.

I finally found a guy who said he would do it on his new dustless blasting setup. He was eager to try out his new setup and I was a willing guinea pig. He texted me the other day and said it's taking him a while because he's having a problem getting at the insides because the blow back is making it hard to see what he's doing.

So my question is this. Is sandblasting a barrel a difficult project or am I just talking to the wrong people? Is there a particular kind of blasting that is better suited to a barrel? I've read so many posts of people saying "just blast it" that I figured it would be a really simple operation. But truth be told I have zero knowledge of the process.
 
The hardest things when blasting something like a drum is dialing down the pressure, having the right medium (the type of sand or other particles) and having the correct nozzle. For the inside they are just trying to get the liner off. On the outside, the goal is to remove the paint AND slightly rough up the metal (which is called profile). You want a light profile so your high temp primer will adhere better. However, a coarse medium with higher pressures can blow a hole in the barrel.

My buddy that builds UDS's has a deal with a local contractor and he takes the guy 2 or 3 drums, and then when they have a regular blasting job they blast the drums too. They call him on blasting day because freshly blasted steel can rust very easily, especially if you live in a high humidity area. He stores them inside his shop until he is ready for paint.

I'm in oil and gas country, so blasting pipes, tanks, structures is very common.
 
Interesting

So it sounds like something that needs to be done quite strategically. The guy I took it to is going to use a rust inhibitor that's supposed to give you a 72 hour window to get it painted. I'm hoping that the timing works out so I can avoid the rust. Thanks for the insight.
 
like2smoke said:
So it sounds like something that needs to be done quite strategically. The guy I took it to is going to use a rust inhibitor that's supposed to give you a 72 hour window to get it painted. I'm hoping that the timing works out so I can avoid the rust. Thanks for the insight.
Click to expand...

Just make sure that his "coating" will not affect a hi-temp primer. Primer is the foundation to any painting system.
 
Yeah I actually emailed the company that makes it because I wanted to ask them about getting rid of it on the inside before seasoning. The said I could paint right over it so it should be good.
 
It just seemed like a good idea.

I read an unhealthy amount of posts on the topic of UDS and it seemed like people were saying that it was too much hassle to remove the notorious red liner via burning. There are lot of posts with people recommending blasting over burning.
Before making calls I tried using Bar Keeper's Friend and a green scrubby on the lid just to get an idea of what it would be like and honestly the liner came off pretty easy, but being that I have a 3 year old, a crazy work schedule not a lot of extra time on my hands I figured I'd try to take the easy way out for once so long as it was relatively cheap.
 
like2smoke said:
I read an unhealthy amount of posts on the topic of UDS and it seemed like people were saying that it was too much hassle to remove the notorious red liner via burning. There are lot of posts with people recommending blasting over burning.
Before making calls I tried using Bar Keeper's Friend and a green scrubby on the lid just to get an idea of what it would be like and honestly the liner came off pretty easy, but being that I have a 3 year old, a crazy work schedule not a lot of extra time on my hands I figured I'd try to take the easy way out for once so long as it was relatively cheap.
Click to expand...

I hear what you're saying. I have done 4 UDS's now. I have burned each one of them. I think it's a super easy way. Plus you can sit there and drink beer with fire going. Yeah!!

But, seriously, if you use a weed burner it works great. Takes about 30-40 minutes per drum. The PIA part is cleaning the drum. I use a wire brush on an angle grinder. Make sure you wear the appropriate safety gear.
 
SmokerKing said:
I buy my drums without the liner
Click to expand...

THIS

I have built around six drums. After burning and grinding out two liners I will NEVER do it again. Find an oil/gas supplier, they will probably have some liner free drums. Our local company sells them for 10 bucks.
 
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