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How to use a sandblasting cabinet

Updated: 21.10.2026

The cabinet is on the bench, the grit bag is open, and the usual first mistake is to tip media in and pull the trigger. How to use a sandblasting cabinet is a sequence: dry, silica-free abrasive, extraction before the air, the jet on the part, and the gun vented before the door opens. Dust in the garage, damp grit and a jet on the window or the gloves are the failures this page is here to stop. The listings are on the [sandblasting cabinet comparison](/hub/compressors/sandblasting-cabinet). The sequence follows the Clarke SB30 manual, HSE guidance WL18 and the COSHH silica rule. Figures from that manual belong to that model.

The cabinet is on the bench, the grit bag is open, and the usual first mistake is to tip media in and pull the trigger.

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SIP SIP medium sandblast cabinet

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SIP SIP medium sandblast cabinet
7.3/10about £167.99
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Generic Generic dual-gun cabinet

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On this page
  1. 1.Before any grit goes in
  2. 2.Load, set the pressure, blast
  3. 3.Stop, vent, then open
  4. 4.When the cabinet is the wrong tool

Before any grit goes in

Stand the cabinet so it cannot walk once the compressor starts, and check the lid seal and the gloves in daylight. A torn glove is a stop. Fit a sacrificial film if the cabinet uses one. If the listing never named gloves or a window, do not assume they are in the box. What the listing had to state is on the sandblasting cabinet buying guide. Drain the compressor receiver, and keep a water trap in the line if you have one. Damp media clumps, and the wrong fix is a larger nozzle. Clarke's SB30 manual tells you to use dry abrasive only, with the pickup under the grid, and to switch extraction on before the air. Copy that order. The SB30's own line, a minimum of 10 cubic feet per minute and a maximum of 100 psi, belongs to that model. Do not paste 100 psi onto another listing. COSHH 2002 Schedule 2 prohibits sand, or other free-silica material, as a blasting abrasive, cabinet included, in England, Wales and Scotland. If the bag does not state the content, do not guess it into the hopper.

Load, set the pressure, blast

Put in only enough dry media for the job, with the pickup under the grid. Close the door before you open the airline. Set the regulator at or below the maximum the listing or the manual states. Do not invent a pressure when the page is blank. In this set, only the SIP, ASIN B00BIK425U, states both 125 psi and an average of 7 CFM. The generic at £555.99 states 125 psi in the title and no consumption. The other five state no maximum. If pressure will not hold, use the compressor for a sandblasting cabinet page. Keep the jet on the part, and off the window, the gloves, the lamp and the seal. A foot switch, where the cabinet has one, stops the jet while both hands stay in the gloves. The SIP saved listing does not mention one. If the gun sputters, check damp media, a blocked pickup or water in the line before you fit a larger nozzle. If you can see a plume at a seam, stop.
SIP SIP medium sandblast cabinet

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SIP SIP medium sandblast cabinet
7.3/10about £167.99
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Stop, vent, then open

Leave the extraction running after the blast stops. WL18 describes good control as a fully enclosed cabinet under negative pressure, with filtration left on for about two minutes. Clarke's manual tells you to pull the trigger and vent the gun before the lid opens, with the nozzle pointed at the part or the hopper, not at the window. A frosted window gets a new film. If the cabinet leaked, the fix is the seam and the extraction. Store the media with a lid on.

When the cabinet is the wrong tool

Send the part out when it will not fit, or when it is a chassis, a fuel tank or a thin panel. None of these seven listings publish a decibel figure. The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 set employer action values at 80 and 85 dB(A). If the job needs more free air than a domestic 13 A circuit can supply, a larger nozzle will not fix a small compressor. If dust is in the room with the door shut, treat the enclosure as failed.

Common questions

What do I switch on first, the extractor or the air?
Switch the extractor on first, then the air, and leave it running for about two minutes after you stop. That order is in the Clarke SB30 manual and it matches HSE WL18. If the cabinet has no extractor, a closed lid is not the same control.
Can I use play sand or kiln sand in the cabinet?
No. COSHH 2002 Schedule 2 prohibits sand or other free-silica material as a blasting abrasive, and a cabinet counts, in England, Wales and Scotland. Northern Ireland is outside that schedule, and HSENI still says to avoid silica abrasives. Use a dry, labelled abrasive.
What do I do when the window goes cloudy?
Stop, vent the gun, and fit a new sacrificial film once extraction has run. Blasting harder through cloudy glass is how the jet hits the gloves or the lamp. If the listing never included a window or a film, you do not have this wear part.
Why does the gun sputter?
Sputter usually means damp media, water in the airline or a blocked pickup, not a need for a bigger nozzle. Drain the receiver and check that the abrasive is dry before you raise the regulator. Only the SIP in this set states 125 psi as a maximum. A 6 mm or 7 mm ceramic needs more air.
When can I open the door?
After the blast is off, the gun has been vented by pulling the trigger, and extraction has run for about two minutes. Clarke's SB30 manual includes the vent. WL18 is the source for the two minutes.
Do I need a dust mask inside a closed cabinet?
WL18 says respiratory protection inside that booth is normally not needed only when the cabinet is fully enclosed, under negative pressure, with the filtration working. If dust leaves the seams, that condition is gone and HSE sheet CN7 applies. A dust-free sentence, or an uncited 98%, does not meet that description by itself.

Related pages

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Best sandblasting cabinet: stated air and a clear skip

Sandblasting cabinet buying guide for first buyers

Compressor for a sandblasting cabinet, by free air

Sources

Sources taken from the research digest. Listings were checked on 19 October 2026.

  1. COSHH 2002 Schedule 2 (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  2. HSE WL18 (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  3. HSE HSG201 (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  4. Guyson Manual Blast Equipment Guidelines 2022 (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  5. Riley Surface World, blast cabinet systems (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  6. Blast It Clean, air supply (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  7. SIP 03868 medium sandblast cabinet (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  8. amazon.co.uk Sand Blasters bestsellers (retrieved 20 October 2026)