I ordered 50lbs of this: http://www.tptools.com/p/357,183_First-Choice-Abrasive.html and it works amazingly but It's too expensive for me to keep ordering, shipping kills me. Where should I go to look for abrasives in town? a body shop maybe? And what do I look for or ask for? I'm using it to de-rust the underbody. Unless someone has a better suggestion. Thanks
Play sand also has a lot of silica in it - very bad for the person doing the blasting! Call a local welding supply house and see if they know of a place in town.
I've got a friend up in Montreal that used straight sand to do his sandblasting. Wore gloves and a mask and he's fine. Cheap too.
I used play sand but would not reccomend it without a proper eyewear and respirator. Silicosis is bad for you!
Like Craig said, contain the area you're blasting in, collect it back up sift it through a sieve and reuse it a few times until it's no longer doing the job. I've got 4-5 applications out of a bag worth before using this method. Try the tough stuff first and lesser rusted stuff with the reused stuff. You can buy an extra, cheap screen sieve at the grocery store so you don't end up with the vegetables smelling like silica or rusty metal....