Don't use sand, its way too dusty. I use Black Beauty, a coal slag product, for when i need to get it done quick. It is inert and makes real short work out of rust and paint. It's aggressive. It'll leave a texture.
Tractor supply sells it , if theres one near you. If you can't find it there, I've gotten it at a mason supply yard also used for blasting. It's same stuff thats used on black roofing shingle granules. It's also used on traction tape for stairs etc... It's about $20 for 100 lbs, cheap and effective.
It all depends on what you're doing. I have glass bead and walnut shells for the finer things.
Congtats on the new tool Ray! Sorry for the delayed response but I have been laid up in bed most all week. I use #80 glass bead and 150 alum oxide. The bead does good for light polishing of clean metal but is very inefficient at removing rust or scale. 150 Alum oxide does good on light rust but still leaves a fairly smooth finish. Sand is deff out and in my HO the media HF sells is way to coarse and there bead doesn’t work as well as the stuff I buy from the local blasting supply company. These guys also showed me that mixing alum oxide and glass bead makes a good finish as well as cuts good.
