IMPROVING THE BLASTING EXPERIENCE
Like most machines, our glass beader has two 75 watt lightbulbs hanging down from the inside top. These cause a lot of shadows, glare in your line of sight and every once in a while, when you least expect it, a bulb shatters as if for no reason raining glass everywhere inside. While at the RV store I saw they sold “Cree” LED strip lights, and the cost is reasonable. These run on 12 volts. We found a cheap 1-amp motorcycle trickle charger/ battery maintainer at a yard sale for $2.00. So that’s what we powered our LEDs with! Our strip lights have self adhesive tape on the back and have stayed in position for about two years now. We ran the entire 12 foot strip around the inside of the window, and now we have a shadow free view of what we are blasting. These lights are intended to be used under an awning for light at night. – I also was tired of replacing the expensive safety glass on a regular basis, so we got some remnants of Lexan from the home store, about 3/16” thick, like they use in storm doors. It works fine for about a month or so, then it fogs over. My solution for that is to clean & polish it with “Gel-Gloss” or boat polish that can be found at marine stores. We leave the “Gel-Gloss” next to the beader, and instructed the operator to polish it as required. That way, if the operator has to polish the Lexan, he makes sure he blasts away from it. This keeps it clearer longer by giving him more responsibility for keeping it clear.
Timm Jurinc
Tuf-Enuf Auto & Marine Performance
Avondale, AZ.
October, 2016
