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How to use a sandblasting gun

Updated: 21.10.2026

The first trigger on a new gun often gives you air and no grit, or a face full of abrasive. How to use a sandblasting gun, for a handheld compressor gun in this amazon.co.uk set, is dry air, a lawful abrasive, a shut-off you have tested, and standing out of the dust. Model choice sits on the [sandblaster comparison](/hub/compressors/sandblaster). The Products Compared editorial team used the 19 October 2026 listings and HSE CN7. It is not a lab test. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you. The rule on sand is on [sandblasting media](/hub/compressors/sandblaster/sub/sandblaster-media).

The first trigger on a new gun often gives you air and no grit, or a face full of abrasive.

Our top picks

Metabo Metabo SSP 1000

Best overall

Metabo Metabo SSP 1000
7.5/10about £21.79
View offer
InoKraft InoKraft Sand Blaster Premium Kit

Alternative

InoKraft InoKraft Sand Blaster Premium Kit
6.8/10about £49.99
View offer
BGS BGS 3244

Best value

BGS BGS 3244
6.5/10about £14.87
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Set the air up before the hopper
  2. 2.Load only dry, lawful media
  3. 3.First pass on scrap
  4. 4.If nothing comes out

Set the air up before the hopper

Drain the compressor tank, fit a separator if you have one, and drain that too. The InoKraft premium kit is the listing that includes an oil-water separator. The basic kit does not. Metabo's SSP 1000 instructions want air free of condensate and oil, and a hose bore of at least 10 mm. Put the compressor upwind of the work, which is what CN7 asks. Set the regulator at the low end of the range the listing prints. For the InoKraft kits that band is 60–120 psi. For the Metabo it is 7 bar and 300 litres per minute. The BGS listing prints 453 litres per minute and no working pressure. Do not invent a pressure for a listing that prints none, such as the AMTOVL kit. UK fittings are often Euro or PCL, while several guns only say 1/4 inch or quick connector. If the coupling does not seal, stop and fit an adapter.

Load only dry, lawful media

Pour in an abrasive the listing is allowed to name, and keep it dry. Damp grit clumps. The InoKraft guide names soda, glass beads, and aluminium oxide. The BGS listing names brown aluminium oxide in grain 46–100. The Metabo listing names current steel abrasives. None of that is permission to use paving sand or the dry silica sand named on the HoldOneLight lance. If the bag is sand, it does not go in. Fill a 900 cc hopper for a spot, not a gate. The BGS container is 600 cm³. On a siphon gun the pickup must sit in the grit, and the vent has to breathe.
Metabo Metabo SSP 1000

Testsieger

Metabo Metabo SSP 1000
7.5/10about £21.79
View offer

First pass on scrap

Kit goggles are in several boxes. CN7 asks for an air-fed helmet at assigned protection factor 40 for open blasting. The goggles are not that helmet. If you suspect lead in old paint, stop. Test the shut-off on scrap of the same metal before you touch the part. Keep the gun moving. A dwell at close range is how a BGS reviewer reached bare metal, which is useful on thick steel and destructive on a panel. Gravity guns stay level or pointing down. BGS reviews go poor once the gun points up, because the hopper stops feeding. Which surfaces a gun can dish is on sandblast rust off metal.

If nothing comes out

Air with no grit is the common first fault, and more pressure is not the fix. Wet grit is the first suspect. With the airline disconnected, empty the cup and try a fresh handful of the same lawful abrasive. LIYOU reviews describe a hopper exit made smaller by the securing screw. BGS reviewers clear clogs by disconnecting the airline, not by poking a live nozzle. Do not drill a blocked outlet as the repair. Pointing a gravity gun upward looks like a blocked nozzle when the hopper has simply stopped feeding. Level it and try scrap again. If an InoKraft quick connector does not match the hose, trigger time will not fill the nozzle. Missing airflow figures and coupling profiles are on the buying guide.

Common questions

How do I connect a sandblasting gun to a compressor?
Drain the tank, fit and drain a separator, and use a hose bore of at least 10 mm if you are following the Metabo note. Release the trigger, seal the coupling, then set the regulator to the low end of the range that listing prints. A leak at the tail means you change the adapter.
What pressure should I start at?
Start at the bottom of the range the listing prints, on scrap, and do not exceed the top of that range. For the InoKraft kits the band is 60–120 psi. For the Metabo the figure is 7 bar. The BGS page does not print a working pressure. Reviewers cite about 6–8 bar, which is their report, not a second specification.
Why is there air but no grit?
Usual causes here are damp media, a gravity gun pointed upward, a hopper exit that is too small, a compressor that has not recovered, or a siphon pickup that is not in the grit. Disconnect the airline before you clear a nozzle. More pressure on a wet cup makes a lump, not a blast.
Do I have to blast outside?
InoKraft reviewers describe grit everywhere and tell you to work outside. CN7 also wants the compressor upwind and nobody else in the cloud. Noise from a house can be a nuisance under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Outside does not remove the need for an air-fed helmet on open blasting.
How do I clear a clog without taking the gun apart under pressure?
Shut the compressor off, release the trigger, and disconnect the airline, which is how BGS reviewers deal with a clog. Then empty wet grit or free the nozzle while the hose is dead. If the path is blocked by design, the gun goes back.
When should I stop and call someone?
Stop when the part is a car shell or a flat panel, when the paint may contain lead, when an inlet valve cannot be confirmed closed, or when the work is paid. Also stop if the gun still will not feed after you have dried the media and cleared it with the air off. A blocked cheap gun is a return, not a project.

Related pages

Sandblasting cabinet

Sandblaster

Best sandblaster gun UK: match the job and the air

Sandblaster for air compressor: match air and feed

Sandblasting media UK silica: what the rule allows

Sandblast rust off metal: thick steel, not a panel

Sources

Sources taken from the research digest. amazon.co.uk prices and star lines were checked on 19 October 2026. Stated pressures and airflow figures are listing claims, not measurements at the nozzle.

  1. COSHH 2002 Schedule 2 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  2. HSE CN7 Abrasive blasting (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  3. HSENI silica dust (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  4. HSE WL18 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  5. Atlas Copco UK sandblasting compressor (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  6. Metabo SSP 1000 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  7. Frost soda blasting (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  8. Scangrit olivine (retrieved 19 October 2026)