Skat Cat 40 abrasive blast cabinet.Photo by the Motorcycle Classics staff.
Whether your restorations are for love or money, a good abrasive blast cabinet is a must. Nothing makes cleaning and prepping parts easier, and if you don’t already own a blast cabinet it’s probably only because you’re not sure what to get. Looking for a cabinet for in-house projects at Motorcycle Classics, we turned to TP Tools and ordered their Pro Shop Skat Cat 40 abrasive blast cabinet.
The side-loading Skat Cat 40 features a generous 40-inch by 28-inch by 28-inch interior work area, big enough to accept some frames and ample space for cylinders and cylinder heads. We used the Skat Cat 40 on various small bits during our recent 1970 Honda CB350 rebuild, and it was nothing short of revolutionary, making fast work of cleaning pieces we’d normally spend hours sanding and stripping.
So far we’ve been using the supplied Skat Magic Abrasive crushed glass media (you can also use walnut shells, glass beads and more), and for parts that will be painted it’s been the perfect media, leaving a clean surface that grabs paint readily. A 90-watt interior floodlight and large 12-inch by 24-inch tempered glass front ensure easy viewing of work, and the included HEPA vacuum does an excellent job of removing dust from inside the cabinet as you blast.
A 5 horsepower compressor rated at 10-15cfm at 80psi is suggested, and while our 3.7 horsepower compressor rated at 11.5cfm at 80psi proved perfectly capable, there’s no question it labors to maintain pressure with bigger jobs. An optional low air supply nozzle is on our short list of upgrades.
We also ordered a TP Tools water separator and regulator piping kit with all the pipe elbows, unions, tees and valves needed for the typical home installation, all quality made in the USA and of excellent value. That assessment also holds for the Skat Cat 40. Made in Canfield, Ohio, it’s a top-quality cabinet that delivers top-notch results. Price: $999 with vacuum. MC
