Gunner
I worked at a Sandblasting shop for almost 10 years and trust me if you
get Sandblasting Sand there is not any silica in it anymore, that has long
since been removed for health reasons. However if your serious about the
blasting and want something that will last a long time look at aluminium
oxide. You can re-use this for a long time. Most local Blasting shops can
get it for you. We use to use "old" glass bead to polish aluminium and car
rims. Also if you really want to take something down one layer at a time use
baking soda. Last point is to make sure the pressure is not very high, keep
it around 90-100 psi otherwise you just crush your media into powder and
it's no good to reuse.