Sandblasting grit

Well the cheapest is ground glass. You will need to change it very frequently tho as it gets pulverised and ends up as dust It's basically a replacement for traditional sand.

Ally oxide is a more expensive but longer lasting option. Better for cabinets really.

Soda is soluble so can be used on stuff you don't want to get contaminated with nasty abrasive grit (engine block etc.) and it also won't' key' the metal itself, just take off the paint and light corrosion (good for polished stuff)

You can get cheaper alternatives to'soda' like chalk that isn't soluble but is still very soft.

If you have a cheap cabinet you will probably need fine or ultra fine grades. 'Medium' is way too corse for small cabinets.

Oh and I have to say, Don't expect the world. Stuff like suspension components are usually heavily rusted and or painted and a small cheap suction feed cabinet will struggle with that sort of thing. You need pressure pot type blasters to get much done really.

Thanks .so I'm thinking of this
Clarke 7.5kg 80-120 Grit Aluminium Oxide Powder.
Does this sound about right?

Thanks a lot fella

yes you should..... but its a long way to collect ;-)

Try an abrasive supplier. The kind of place where the trade get grinding wheels, emery cloth etc.
I buy recycled grit which is crushed and graded old grinding wheels. Same place will also supply the trade with "virgin" grit - and a fraction of what Machine mart and such charge for a small bucket.

Sand isn't exactly good for your breathing system though, that's why nobody uses it professionally. If you are going to use it use an air fed mask both whilst using it and cleaning up afterwards.

Edit Silicosis I think is the word I was looking for

Apart from the silicosis aspect of using sand,kiln dried sand can be sourced from the sea, and as such contains salt. A guy I know used to do sandblasting of oak frame houses etc using kiln dried sand before it was banned for commercial blasting. He always said it was pointless to blast metal with it as it embedded salt into the base material and made it rust even quicker....