Vent box flapper; can you media blast it?

[bull]

I have a question about that flapper inside the vent box I'm getting ready to restore. Below is a picture of one I stole from Shakey's heater box thread and in it you can see the flapper is surrounded by moulded rubber that is attached to the metal. How can I blast the rust off w/o screwing up the rubber? I've heard of blasting tape but first off I don't know what that is exactly and secondly, will it work in this situation? How did you guys deal with it?

[gasoline_24]

I media blasted mine. 

[Hemidog]

mine had alot of rust underneath the rubber too, so I took it off, blasted and painted it, then glued it back 

[Shakey]

I cleaned the rubber really good, then covered it in masking tape and then covered it with sand blasting tape.  Sand blastinig tape is just a thick rubber tape.  Once it was taped, lightly sand blast, being careful around the edges.

[bull]

Thanks for the replies.

mine had alot of rust underneath the rubber too, so I took it off, blasted and painted it, then glued it back 

Mine looks pretty good under the rubber and on one side. The other side, probably the top when closed, is the bad side and it's really not too bad at all but there's enough rust that I need to do something more than just sand it.

Shakey, where did you get that sandblasting tape?

[gasoline_24]

Bull, regular 3m auto masking tape will work as well.  If you are concerned about the rubber just turn down your pressure a little.

[mopar_nut_440_6]

Duct Tape will work well too and what handyman doesn't have a roll or 10 of that around! 

[Shakey]

When I took some items to a local sandblaster they had large sheets of it and cut off a 24" x 24" sheet for me to take home.  I just cut small pieces of it as I need it.  As the others had stated, other tape (thick) will suffice, maybe just use a few layers to be safe.

[mopar_nut_440_6]

You can also pick the material up at any trim shop which makes decals. A friend had a decal business and use to be able to take a photocopy of a flat part and download it into his computer and have it cut perfectly very quickly although you likely do not require this I thought I would mention it for others who may have intricate parts to cover. What would take a lot of time manually could be done quickly on a machine.

I also worked in a body shop and he would take large pieces of thick wood, cut decals out of this clear/thick decal material and apply it. We would then sandblast the wood and it would only blast around the decal area. This made some very cool signs. 

[redfourjohnd]

If you're careful you don't even need to tape the rubber up. I blasted mine with glass bead and didn't mask it at all.

We use thin rubber sheeting to armor the inside of the blast cabinets. The media just bounces off. Takes a long time to wear a hole in it.

Thanks,

John D

[bull]

I didn't end up taping it at all and it worked out fine. I just turned the pressure down to about 80 psi and took it easy - no problem.