One of the most useful additions to your gunsmithing shop is a blasting cabinet. It allows you to create different finish effects on a firearm’s metal, it is also very useful for removing old finishes, rust and corrosion. It’s possible to sandblast with a handheld gun, but that makes for a couple of problems. One is the mess and the danger as the work is out in the open. You will need full face/eye protection, a respirator and tough gloves. (I know from personal experience that sandblasting your hand is very painful.) The other problem is that you cannot reliably recover the blasting medium, so it becomes an expensive consumable.
   A cabinet allows recovery and reuse of the blasting medium and it surrounds the work piece for safety. Your hands are also safely protected by the built-in gloves. Working on long guns will require a cabinet large enough to accept the length of the barrel or barreled action. My primary cabinet will accomodate objects up to 40" in length. However, it was a bit pricey. If you are working on handguns, actions, short barrels or small parts you may consider a smaller cabinet. One of the best values is the King Combination Tabletop Sandblast/Beadblast Cabinet. It’s 22" wide, so it can handle a lot of gun projects including many barrels if you insert them diagonally. I got mine from MidwayUSA, where the current price is $120.
   The process is generically called “sand blasting,” but that’s really not completely accurate. In fact, some types of sand can be dangerous, as inhaling the dust can cause serious health problems. It’s best to use only commercial medium that is known to be safe. There are two types of commercial blasting medium that a hobby gunsmith will use for most work.
   Glass beads work well for creating a soft matte finish on the metal. They can be used in preparation for bluing, but glass bead blasting is not recommended as preparation for applying spray-on finishes. The reason is that glass is not abrasive. The beads sort of “beat” the metal rather than cut it. This creates a smoother, softer finish, but one that lacks the “tooth” or gripping edges that are desirable for a good bond with spray-on finishes.

Bead blasting helped the author prepare the surfaces of an old shotgun [1] for refinishing. Refinishing in the open [2] requires the use of heavy gloves and wastes blasting medium. Different media create different effects. Glass beads [3, r.] create a soft matte finish that is good for bluing, but Aluminum oxide [3, l.] is more abrasive. It creates a rougher surface with the requisite “tooth” for spray-on finishes. A blasting cabinet [4] protects the user and the work. It also allows for the recovery of blast medium.

   Bead blasting works well on metal that will not be finished. For example, I have a muzzleloader in stainless steel that has a very shiny barrel. I like the stainless look of the gun, so the answer was to bead blast it to a less reflective matte. I also use this softer look on stainless steel parts of the gun that may contrast with a spray-on finish. For example, bead blasting a screw head that will be installed in conjunction with a spray-on finish creates a custom look. By varying the “grit” or size of the beads you can control how the finish looks. Bead blasting works best if the piece is polished prior to blasting.
   The other blasting material is aluminum oxide. This is a “sand” of sorts, but a very abrasive one. It can be used for cleaning up old, rusty and pitted guns. It will remove bluing or old finishes—even paint—and will create a foundation for many other finishes like Parkerizing or spray-on coatings. Aluminum oxide can even be used to create a more aggressive-looking matt finish on stainless steel. Aluminum oxide is available in a wide selection of “grits,” but the gunsmith will usually use those ranging from No. 60 to No. 220. The lower the number, the larger the abrasive and the more aggressively it cuts.
   One example of using this medium is when I was reclaiming an old shotgun that had seen a very rough life. It was a “barn gun” for some farmer, which meant it was stuck in the corner, covered with splatters of cow dung for years, which caused rust and shallow pitting on the metal. I degreased the action and taped off the areas I wanted to protect. Then, with No. 120 aluminum oxide blasting medium in the King cabinet, I cleaned the rust from the action, paying attention to the pitted areas. By controlling the air pressure I was able to use the abrasive quality of the blasting material to remove some of the smaller pits and to smooth the contours of the larger pits, making them less noticeable. I worked the action with the blasting material until I had removed all the rust and as many of the pits as possible. Then I turned down the air pressure a little and worked over the entire area until I had a consistent and even finish on the metal.
   I completed the job with Wheeler Engineering Cerama-Coat, a spray on-finish that I cured in a toaster oven. This flat black finish looks good on the action and contrasts well with the gray, air-dry spray-on coating I used on the barrel. The result is a pretty cool looking “truck gun” to carry during hunting season.
   Readers of this column know that I am a big fan of DuraCoat finish. It is a spray-on finish that is tough and durable. It’s available in a wide selection of colors and the best feature for a hobby gunsmith is that it can air dry. DuraCoat owner Steve Lauer says that while DuraCoat will work on just about any clean surface, it is always best to blast the metal with aluminum oxide before applying DuraCoat. The thousands of little ridges created, (referred to earlier as “tooth”) help form a better bond.
   I have found that by manipulating the grit and the air pressure I can also change the appearance. For example, I recently did a makeover on a Remington Model 760 rifle. I wanted a very “flat” look to the finish that would hide the rifle well in the woods. I used No. 80 grit with slightly higher air pressure, and the result is very flat and a much different look than other rifles I have finished from the same can of DuraCoat.
   With a blasting cabinet, an air compressor, a variety of blasting medium and a creative mind, a hobby gunsmith is unlimited in the appearance he can create on his finished guns.