[dfwright]

My experience is almost exactly what midniteblues has already posted. The harbor freight pressure pot is inexpensive, but be prepared that the entire blaster is a "wear component", including all the valves, hoses and controls.

The real trick is having dry air and lots of it. The bigger the compressor, the better, and multiple stages of drying will make blasting go so much better.

I've also changed out the air/sand control valves and put in a deadman valve for the handle, and used this setup to blast my entire truck. I also have a HF cabinet blaster for the smaller stuff.