Hydro Blasting/ Vapour Blasting

[090]

Are there different types of this process? I just got ripped deluxe and was told (by him) his type was special as he uses two different mediums, the second a shot peening that closes up the pores in the ali so it doesn't absorb.

[Graham]

Naa, sorry brad only expensive ones and cheap ones,maybe you should have put him in the hydro bath and see if he is right or not, If he cant sit down the shoot peening on the ass does work !!

[maicomc490t]

G'day Brad.

Sounds like a lot of crap to me mate.

Generally the vapour blasting cabinet will only be loaded with one medium - glass bead (diameters vary depending on what outcomes are required - but most operators will only have one preferred size).
 
The idea of loading it with "shot" (tiny steel balls) sounds like he hasn't expained his process properly as I know if I was to put them in my machine it would root it for a number of reasons, among them rusted shot (unless it was stainless - unlikely), damage to the cabinet interior, especially the glass portal and contamination of any other media used after etc etc.

What he may have been doing is what some operators do. They 'dry' blast first with an agressive angular (grit) medium such as garnet or aluminium oxide then use the wet cabinet to blast the slurry of water and bead which is much more passive and it has the effect of gently closing the surface to get the finish that vapour / hydro / aqua is renowned for.

There is nothing special about his process and I generally don't like it unless the alloy is very corroded as the angular grit will affect gasket faces if a lot of pre blast preparation isn't carried out. As a preparation for vapourblasting dry GLASS BEAD is the only thing that should go near alloy items unless they has spent 50yrs lying at the bottom of the ocean!

The way I explain it to customers is the dry grit process is fine for surfaces that are to be painted if you want the paint to stick, especially steel items but for a long lasting alloy finish the vapor blast finish wins hands down.

If you want more info give me a call on 0416074750 and I'll explain it in more detail.

Hope this helps.

Dave Mac

PS - Your FrankenMaico looks great !!!

[090]

Thanks for the reply Dave. One thing that has been done that I haven't seen before is that the items he blasted are very shiny. Why would this be?

[NSR]

Walter
That was Greg from Suncoast Hydablast.  I have just had some parts done by him.  Looks great, not what I would call shiny though.
 

[maicomc490t]

Hello Walter
My machine is Aussie built as nearly all the others are Chinese (I hate buying from there as, as a an ex toolmaker that is the country that has helped put us out of business - with a lot of help from the govt !!!) Brand Warblaster. Cost was $20K on the shop floor not counting the 47cfm Hydrovane comp and receiver, water reticulation, recycling plant etc etc etc, lol. Could have bought some pretty peachy engineering machines for that, including a bigger lathe and digi mill or even CNC !!!
Are you thinking of buying one?
That wasn't me at CD7
Cheers
Dave

[maicomc490t]

Hi Brad
That is the optimum final finish from the machine. I have just done a pair of XR500 engines like that and they are fine for a final blingy finish however I prefer the slightly less shiny finish for most items.
I am betting he has done a two step process which could include dry blasting as I mentioned in my earlier reply.
Different blasters give different finishes depending on choice of blasting media and chosen pressures.
For a Maico as an example a slightly raw look looks better in my book. They never looked that shiny when new.
Cheers mate
Dave Mac

[090]

Thanks for the reply. You answered my question. I believe it is too shiny as well.

[maicomc490t]

Hi Walter.
No worries mate - if you don't want the expense of the whole rig I do a lot of work by post, the furthest thing was from WA so it doesn't get further than that!
Happy to talk to you re info either way. Australia is a big place after all and the crow eaters need a bit of a hand, lol!
As far as finish goes I like the raw alloy look but like all bare fininshes you have to look after them but yeah, I think it is definitely worth the hassle and far more durable than unblasted surfaces.
Like Brad says the slightly less shiny finish is a good one but I can do what ever the customer wants. Even run some very coarse bead if a coarse finish is desired but I don't push it but sometimes it is good if a case has had welding rectification work and the surrounding castings are rough.
Cheers
Dave

[carbyman]

Havent been on here for a while ken from vmx mag uses us regularly
for our steel ball burnishing process fixes all the above questions we and others believe its a far better finish
check this link out for pictures ect
 http://www.kawariders.com.au/showthread.php?16426-Mass-finishing-polishing-your-old-parts-to-original-finish&s=5c1d477625e65159d00344cff3ce0cb7
http://www.kawariders.com.au/showthread.php?15751-Masking-for-Soda-Sand-Bead-Blasting-of-Head/page2
we will also be 
Hi all we will be at liverpool catholic club cnr joadja & hoxton park rd liverpool nsw this sunday 29 may for the kool cruisers car show www.koolkruisers.com.au
we will be doing a small trade display with a few parts, engine cases, hubs, heads, for people to look at
feel free to drop in and say hello might be a good chance to see what the finish is really like in person .
Thanks nigel

[maicomc490t]

G'day Nigel.

Good to see there is a good finish for die cast engines now. I have been looking at buying one of those machines so I can offer a full range of surface finishes. I used to wonder how Ducati engine covers where so shiny (almost like they were polished) until I found out about mass finishing methods.

I would have to say though that while it is a great finish it would look pretty odd on a lot of the Euro bikes eg Maico, Ducati, BMW, Moto Guzzi, Laverda etc to be all shined up when their original finishes were conventionally cast and not like that from new so rather than saying your finish is better as you said I would prefer to say it is great where it was used by a factory originally and another good alternative to either plain old dry bead blasting or highly machine buffed bling (which still looks great anywhere).

Suffice to say our methods compliment each other and you still can't beat dry blast media for preparing cases that are to be painted. I guess it all boils down to what customers want, need or prefer.

What sort of money are you looking at for a mass finishing machine eg that will fit heads and manifolds etc ? I've seen a few options that I am exploring but haven't priced them yet.

Cheers.

Dave Mac