Whats the usual price to sandblast steel wheels?

I need to clean up two 15x6 steel wheels for my pickup. I thought a simple quick sandblasting was the way to go. I am having trouble finding someone to do it, and the ones I find want $25 per wheel! These are nothing special, just stock wheels with old paint and a little surface rust. Am I just a cheapskate, or is that about the going rate??

 

Sounds about right, considering all the costs involved.....sand, power, labor, cleanup, etc.

 

I take mine to the local gravestone engraver, he blasts them on the side for about $10 a piece. Does a good job also!

 

at seattle powdercoat, $25 to blast, $65 to blast and powdercoat.

 

From what I have seen locally prices are all over the place. From 5 or ten bucks up to 30 depending on where you go. There is a local cylinder head shop that has a shot blast cabinet that usually is fairly reasonable if a guy takes in clean wheels with no grease or oil on them. All they have to do though is stick them in the cabinet, close the door and flip the switch and then a bit later flip the switch and open the door and take them out. Catching them when they don't have a line of heads waiting to go in is a hassle though.

 

Locally here it is $ 25 per wheel to blast, about $ 70 per wheel to blast and powdercoat. Well worth it IMO, drop off rusty old wheels, pick up nice shiny ones the next week.

Don

 

if you think $25 is too much, try doing one yourself. unless you have a booth, it can be a pain in the ass. i've found that sometimes the sand gets redirected back at you. it isn't fun.
but yeah, 25 bucks seems the going rate around here also.

 

20-25 here, and ? for early Ford wire wheels depending on condition. Getting in and around all the spokes is a real pain...blast shut down, remove hood, check for spots missed, start up and blast more...repeat

Paint comes off alot quicker than rust, the more rust the longer they take...$$$

I did go to a blaster years ago, he is no longer in business but would hook me up. Most blasters have an hourerly rate, aroung $60, i took him alot of work and he usually would charge be a $1 a minute

 

Around here it's been 25 bucks a wheel for 20 years! Getting them dipped or blasted. I have not checked prices recently. There doesn't seem to be much inflation on this job.

 

My local blaster charged me $100 for 4 wheels which seems to be the average.

 

Yep, no matter how you cover up, that sand finds it's way into the strangest places !




Don

 

and it's like the curved surfaces of the wheel sends the sand right back at you.

where are your gloves?

 

I have 4 wheels sitting behind my shop waiting for me to blast them, I tried waving $100 in front of my face and they still haven't got done.

 

I do mine myself in a cabinet. The rusty ones are a real PITA and I think I would be willing to pay someone $20-$25 just to free up about an hour or two of time! The rusty ones take at least 45 minutes each in a small cabinet!

 

25 bucks a wheel is a good price..wait too long..it will be 30$ a wheel..than 35$..keep looking for it to be done cheaper and it will cost you

 

Sorry to hijack. Silent Rick, where do you get them done in northwest Indiana?

 

I was quoted $125 per wheel a couple of months ago. I figured I would just by my own sandblaster for that.

 

I've blasted enough rusty iron that, if I were to do it for someone else, I doubt that I'd charge any less than $25 a wheel.

 

I use the local gas tank shop. They have a huge shot blasting cabinet and do nice work.
$25.00 is the going rate for wheels and I'm glad to pay it!

I just had a Mopar B Body K frame and two front control arms done. Lots of hidden spaces etc...
They charged me $60.00 AND they pick it up and drop it off to me as they have a truck going back and forth to town a coupla times a day and my work is right on the route!
Works out great!!!

 

Theres a place down the street thats done a few for me, they usually charge $10 a wheel.

 

Almost any of your larger cities have a truck tire center that does semi truck rims either on site or use an off site facility that specializes in this work.Inspections wont let you run around with rusty wheels so these are realy affordable.In my area I get these done for 25.00 and you dont need to blast them as they have to go through a process of an oven shot blast unit and into a powder coat and curing process.You are limited on color,but the place that does mine has red ,white, black ,yellow and a few otyher colors.Dan

 

Sometimes you just gotta pay da man!

 

I always did the same thing as OshkoshRob. I just went to the gravestone place and usually it was $10 for the face, or $25 for the whole wheel. Try using a wire wheel on a grinder on one wheel, and you"ll not only be happy to pay the $25, but you might even tip the guy! Good Luck with your project.

 

I normaly charge $100/Hr. and I can do 4 or more in an hour.

WARNING!!! Dont expect to get power coated wheels done for that price! When a customer shows up with them, I tell him to buy new ones, it's cheaper.

 

I charge $35 a bag to blast. wheels usualy run between $10 to $20 a wheel. just depends on how much rust they have.

 

If you don't want to pay the 25 you can use a small grinder and a wire wheel,Personally I would rather pay the 25.

 

the local place I have used here in South Dakota charges by the hour for blasting...
usually a set of wheels that aren't too nasty is about $50.00.

i did take a set of alloys that were pitted badly (warranty wheels from the dealership) and had them blasted and powdercoated for $11.00 each.

if you find a place like that, maybe they will just blast them for you.

this place is a Goodyear truck tire dealer, and they have a guy that all he does is strip wheels and powdercoat them, all day, every day.

I bet a case of beer or Red Bull would go far with someone like that.

just don't start at the front of the store, go find where the kid (usually) does the work, which is usually back in the boonies of the shop.

 

Like the man said check with cemetary memorial places. Sandblasting is how they do the designs on grave stones, doing a set of wheels in between a cocuple headstones is NBD and they really don't charge as much as they should.

 

Check your YellowPages for sandblasting companies if you're near or in a city... we've got a local place here called Consolidated Compressor that will rent you use of a sandblast "station" outside in their lot, includes hood with piped in air, industrial sized hose/nozzle with unlimited air and sand... you gotta hang on with both hands and stand about three feet from the piece, but you can do a fender in about 10 minutes... you need to be careful with your technique to avoid putting too much heat into sheet metal panels, but you can do wheels/frames etc all day... price is 85 buck an hour, charged in 5 minute increments.. I'm there two or three times a year for anything that doesn't fit in the cabinet at home...

 

For that kind of money, why not just make your own sandblaster?
Blaster cost= nothing.
Sand=$10 for a hundred lb bag.

Atleast thats how I do it!