Bead Blasted 98c

  Ok my pro shop does annodizing and I know that you can't ano a tippmann but as prep work they do bead blasting/or polishing. So I emailed em and asked if they could bead blast it and they said yes for 30$.

   Could bead blasting give my gun a smooth metal finish? I know sand blasting can but whats the difference between the two? Or if they "polished it" which they said was the oposite of bead blasting get the same result? I want a spify shiny metal look. What should I do? "Bead blast" or "Polish it"  Thanks in advance. Also Could I get some pics of "polished Tippys" and "Bead blasted tippys"

Edited by MoNkeY Hunter - 15 February 2006 at 9:49pm

um... Bead Blast

 Sweet Um.. My guns still painted well sorta so do I need to remove the paint before I send It in or will It come off when the beadblast it. Another thing is I have 95% of the original powder coat off. Will Bead blasting take this off or do I need to bust out the sand paper?

Edited by MoNkeY Hunter - 15 February 2006 at 9:58pm

just thought i would add my two cents...

when you get it bead blasted, have them blast the inside where the bolt slides around, this will be a perfect addition to the list of mods. while you are at it you should replace all the o-rings too, after all that your gun should be like BUDDAH.

Bruce A Frank you have done it again, another informative post. Everyone listen up, most people that comment have no idea what they are talking about but Bruce is not one of them. Sand\Bead Blasting will make the surface of the metal rough and way harder to polish. Also have you told the shop its aluminum that you want blasted because blasting aluminum is a bit sketchy in my experience (and yes i have some, i work in a machine shop) i find it is really easy to make the surface very pitted.

MoNkeY Hunter wrote:  OK so I m. What do I ? What if they didn't bead blast it but instead just polished It? Would that remove any small scratches and make my Tippy shiny and spiffy, Whats the difference between "polishing and bead blasting?" They said they cant do both or said that you cant do one then the other and vis versa, same price to ether polish it or bead blast it.

Work it over yourself with steel wool and sandpaper to remove imperfections. Then give it to them to polish. Tell 'em you want a mirror finish. Then keep it waxed to reduce staining from finger prints and moisture.

Clean it well with a wet then a dry soft cloth after play and it will stay brilliant for a long time. It will also be easy to touch up with a soft cloth and aluminum polish when it needs it (Flitz is a good aviation quality aluminum polish good for touch ups)

MoNkeY Hunter wrote:  Ok thanks but when they polish it aree they going to remove the powder coat or whats left of the powder coat.

Depending on the operation they may use, as I said before, a blast with a soft media, a chemical treatment, or a bristle wheel to remove the remaining paint before polishing. If they do this for a business, you don't have to tell them how to do their job. They will do what ever process they do to prep the shells for polishing.

If you think the shells have excessively deep scratches  then doing some of your own prep work, steel wool, sanding or Scotch Brite, before they begin to polish. Some places may even use a light very fine grit sand or bead blast to remove stubborn coatings.

Put it in their hands, ask what they are charging for the finish you want, and wait until they call you when it is done!

cus98tom wrote: You stated that you wanted a smooth look , for that follow Bruces advice , but I've seen a marker that was beed blasted (outside surface) and it looked good also. just my $.02

Actually, I like the look of the matte finish of the bead blasted marker, but I found it hard to clean because of the roughness. The bead blasted surface sort of looks like Parkerizing/Phosphating (Mil Spec stuff).