HF portable abrasive blaster: any good?

[308nato]

I am considering buying the Harbor Freight portable abrasive blaster ($30). I need to clean rust off of a wrought iron gate, as well as remove paint/finish from some metal parts. This blaster looks as though it would fit the bill. One concern I have though, is that my Porter-Cable pancake compressor ($299 HD combo deal) is slightly below the tool's minimum requirements (the tool calls for 2HP - 3.3 CFM @90psi, and my compressor puts out 2HP - 2.6 CFM@90psi). Can anyone provide any me feedback/input? thanks.

[Joseph Meehan]

First I would question the quality of anything Harbor Freight sells. As for the minimum rating, it should still work, but if you are doing any volume of work, you will regret it. I bought a blaster to clean up the brick on my home. I had a compressor well over the stated minimum recommended values, but I ended up renting a trailer mounted gasoline compressor.

[SQLit]

I have the 5 gallon model and a 3 hp Sears 10 gallon compressor. When bead blasting my pool I could run for only 3 minutes before the pressure dropped to less than 80 psi which was the minimum I needed to remove the calcium. I added a old 5 foot high oxygen tank and let the compressor pump everything up to 120 psi. I could run almost a full 5 gallon tank of glass beads before the pressure dropped into the non useable pressure area. I have 200 feet of

1/2 air hose. Not the 3/8" that most people have.

This is hard duty for an oil-less compressor. The rings are Teflon coated and if you get them hot enough you will destroy your compressor.

For a gate I would not bother blasting. 4" grinder with a wire brush would be my first choice.

Check with your local abrasive suppliers I got a 75 pound bag of #10 glass beads for $40. The hood that comes with the kit is usable. I use a full face mask with filters when I use mine. I do not want all that glass in my lungs.

Might be cheaper to take it to a business that does this