Can You Sandblast Wooden Chairs?

Can You Sandblast Wooden Chairs?

Sandblasting is a technique to remove the paint, rust, and other covering from wooden chairs. It also prepares the surface and texture of the furniture and removes the molds from the plastic planes.

Can You Sandblast Wooden Chairs? You can sandblast wooden chairs by using a sandblaster; it will remove old paint from the furniture and prepare its surface for further finishing. You can also use other materials such as slag, copper slag, glass beads, aluminum oxide, steel grid, crushed glass, and ceramic for sandblasting. The best option is silica sand to remove the dust, rust, and paint out from the inner lining of a surface.

The pressure is set between 60 to 120 pounds per square inch, depending on the surface of the application.

You use furniture at home that is of wood. The wood is the thing that you can use again and again after polishing and painting. 

First, remove the old paint before the application of a new finish. It is a versatile method to prepare the surface ready for polish.

What do you need for sandblasting?

  • Sandblaster 
  • Sandblasting Pot
  • Air Compressor
  • Ceramic Nozzle 
  • Sandblasting Media
  • Blast Hood
  • Protective Gloves

Filling of sandblasting pot

Fill the pot with sandblasting media of about 150 pounds. The most common and available media is silica sand, and it costs $100 for this whole process. 

There are other materials: available for filling, for instance, walnut shells, crushed glass, ceramic, and steel grids. You can choose the media according to the surface of the furniture.

The softest media is soda, and the pumice is the most abrasive used for this method.

If you are erasing the paint from plastic material, use a less abrasive material to avoid loss. Always start your first experience with low pressure and on the test surface.

Installation of the nozzle

After filling the pot with sand, close one end. The nozzle should be 10 inches above the surface of the chair.

If you are using soft media like soda, install 2/43 inches nozzle. During the utilization of abrasive material, install 1/15 inches nozzle attached to a long tube.

Use a protective kit and wear goggles

Wear gloves, full sleeves shirt, long trousers, shoes, safety goggles, and a face shield before starting the application on a wooden chair. 

Cover your face with a hood: if not, the sand particles will move into the respiratory system through breathing and cause respiratory problems.

You should wear an overall while going through this to avoid dust particle penetration from the fabric. Also, sometimes it causes skin allergy and itching to those whose skin is sensitive to external particles.

Wear goggles and glasses to protect the eyes because the eyes are the most sensitive part and get injured with a small substance.

The dust particles irritate the eyes even in normal circumstances. You are using sand in high pressure and can imagine the injury from it. 

Turn on its Compressor

After doing all the measures, turn on the compressor to start the procedure. Set the pressure to 60 pounds per square inch and through the sand on the surface. 

Keep in mind that the opened knob of the nozzle should be against your face. Sometimes you start the compressor facing towards you, seeing how it is working.

Test sandblaster on a small area

Do not start it directly on an old wooden chair. Instead, perform a test on the small scraped area. Then, start the device by pulling the trigger and do back and forth movement.

This process involves overlapping but does not overlap pass by any more than 4/6 inches.

Turn off the compressor and see the results. If there is an uneven surface, bits, and chunks, start the compressor and move it more rapidly than before.

Repeat this procedure, and then start using them on a small surface because the results are positive for small test surfaces.

Sandblast the wooden chair surface

As you have tested the sandblaster, start it on the wooden chair. Then, move your device horizontally in a back-and-forth motion.

Keep the distance of about 10 inches from the surface to avoid unnecessary damage. 

Set the pressure of 60 pounds per square inch at the start and increase it to 120 pounds per square inch.

Throw its material on a whole surface with the same pressure. See the results when you have done it a single time.

Repeat this procedure if there remain any patches and uneven surfaces. If still there are no desired results, repeat this procedure with an increment of 10 pounds per square inch pressure. 

Fill the pot with other abrasive ingredients such as crushed glass and steel grid if sand is not working well. 

Check the results after 5 seconds of the whole process. Move it rapidly if too much material has vanished.

Where should I sandblast my wooden chairs?

It is a procedure in which sand or other materials are blow into the environment. 

You should set a place for sandblasting or should do this in an organized area.

If it is not available, do this outside away from the vehicles and other structures to protect them from damage.

There are other tips to set an ideal place for this whole procedure. For example, you need an empty room like a paint booth in your workshop.

Place the plastic curtain from the ceiling to the floor. Note that there is no space between allowing the sand particles to cross the walls.

Cover the curtains with wooden sheets overlapping. The lights of the sandblasting booth should be high because this process creates a dusty and cloudy environment.

Work in a ventilated or open area to keep the other household and furniture safe from its impact.

Place your wooden chair in an open area, such as in the ventilated room where other things are fully covered. The other option is in the courtyard as well as on the terrace.

Place the chair in a vacant area outside the home and then do this procedure. It will take less time, and all the stick paints and sands will move in the ground. 

When you do this in the home, you will put dust and sand on other accessories and furniture. Therefore, it requires extra effort to clean them all. 

Why would you Sandblast a wooden chair?

Wood is something that utilizes again and again. Your home has furniture mostly made up of wood. 

The paint of furniture fades away with time, and scratches appear when it gets old. So here is the versatile procedure to make the chair ready for new paint.

It removes all the sticky dust and rust from its surface and creates a bare area for new engravement and paint.

It happens when you buy furniture and bring it home. After that, you think the color of its paint does not match your home interior. It is the best option for the removal of polish and paint again.

While buying wood furniture, the first concern of every customer is the quality of wood. However, sometimes you found your desired quality, but you are not satisfied with its color.

Can you use sandblasting for all types of wood?

Yes, you can sandblast every type of wooden chair, such as pine, beech, ash, teak, oak, cedar, birch, cherry, redwood, and mahogany.

You should know the type of wood, either hardwood or softwood, before starting the process. In addition, it helps you to choose the media for doing this on furniture.

In addition, other materials except for wood such as glass, metal, stone, aluminum, silver, plastic, steel, and brass can be sandblasted.

How much does it cost to sandblast wooden chairs?

The sandblasting of wooden chairs will cost $1000 to $2500 without labor cost. However, adding a labor cost of $70 per hour will reach $1500 to $3000. 

It will not take more than one day. So the cost will not exceed the mentioned amount.

In addition, if you are fixing the whole furniture, it will charge according to the working hour of labor and material used. 

Time required

The time duration depends on the condition of an old wooden chair and the type of its wood.

Its time duration also depends on the size of the furniture. For example, if it is a medium-sized sitting chair like a dining chair, it will take 2 hours.

Sometimes, it takes a whole day when the sandblaster is not working well and creates disturbances, but the average for a chair is 2 hours.

Is sandblasting safe for a wooden chair?

Yes, it is safe for a wooden chair because more abrasive material such as steel and glass will damage the wood and forms chunks in the layers of wood.

It suggests that use sand of grains from 50 to 100. The sand is available with 50 to 250 grains. 

The use of quartz sand leads to silicosis, a lung disease that occurs when you inhale silicon dioxide. 

That is why it mentions following safety measures and put on a certified blasting hood.

Red garnet is available with less than 0.2% silicates, which is a less harmful and environmentally abrasive material to reduce this issue.

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