Cheap-Ass Vapor Blasting

Having recently bought a reasonable capacity air compressor and having used one of those engine cleaning wands that blows compressed air and picks up cleaning solution through a tube dipped into a jug I thought the potential was there for a DIY vapor blaster.

I bought a 50 lb sack of glass beads from harbor freight and dumped may be 1 lb of the beads into a couple of liters of water in an empty laundry detergent jug (plenty of detergent still in the jug). The pick-up tube of the wand was zip-tied to a steel rod which was then dropped into the jug to keep the end the tube below the surface of the water but above the layer of glass beads that settled to the bottom of the jug very rapidly.

The glass beads were a revelation: very fine, they look and behave like corn starch. When the wand was operated the beads clogged it almost immediately, but opening up the hole through which the air jet protrudes, by just 1/32" prevented the clogging and produced some impressive results when working on a Commando cylinder head.

I wore a cartridge type respirator, but much of the bead slurry ended up captured in the plastic trough I had placed the head in. The rest ended up on the ground outdoors where I assume they will become incorporated into the soil and do no real harm in small quantity.

Although I would not have expected better results the process is a bit fiddly since you have to agitate the jug, to stop the beads from settling with one hand, while operating the wand with the other. If I had the motivation to develop the idea I'd probably use a blast cabinet and a paint can vibrator as an agitator. As it is, I like the finish produced by vapor blasting and will try to find someone local who does it professionally.

Hehe McGiver would be proud. Might add a side tube with a pincher to bubble the bead. Hope the glass power stayed out of sliding surfaces. Try it with baking soda to.

Glass beads definitely produce good results but how do you know 100% that you've got them all out? Some places use salt or bi-carbonate of soda which obviously dissolve in hot water. Ultrasonic cleaning is safe too and produces very good results.

Hi
I have had good results with soda blasting but bad results with the lawn and wife when the grass died :shock:
Glass does give a good result, but concern as suggested above is whether there is any glass left behind.

Best Regards
Burgs

Real vapor blasting is done with high pressure hot water and cleaning solvent, no abrasive media at all.

May be the terminology is a bit loose, but most of the references to vapor blasting on the web seem to involve some kind of solid material carried by the air and water blast.

I think vapor blasting (with glass beads) gets around the problems associated with dry bead blasting in that the water present cushions the impact of the beads somewhat, making them less likely to fragment and imbed themselves in the material you are trying to clean. Yes you still have to be scrupulous about flushing out all off the beads after blasting, but with dry blasting, no matter how thorough you are, you can be left with glass fragments imbedded in aluminum which can be released later.

Al do you know vapour blaster in our neck of the woods?

Hi Andy, I've used this guy before, another Andy if I remember right, http://www.suttonsodablasting.co.uk/ he's done small jobs while waiting, give him a call.

My bike was originally purchased as a basket case with a supposedly rebuilt engine. I decided to dismantle it and have a look because you never know about some unknown persons work. Upon inspection I found remnants of glass beads in the oil passages. Could have been a disaster.

About 28 years ago I had my inlet ports opened up by a very well respected Norton specialist and the head came back gleaming. I re-assembled it and ran fine it until a year ago when it needed a rebore. When I stripped it down there was blast media in the flats on the rocker shafts. No other apparent damage. I wouldn't use any solid media blasting again on any engine or gearbox or oil tank. If you must, soda blasting is the way ahead IMHO. Oil in frame Triumphs quit quickly after the frames have been blasted and powder coated. You just can't get the stuff out.

The guy I use for vapor blasting uses hot water and solvent, alloy parts come out looking new with no abrasive.

He does abrasive blasting as well, most types of media.

I use crushed walnut shells in my home blaster. They don't last long but do a nice job. And again, no abrasives. bad for engine parts.