Bead to Vapour Blast Conversion.

Signal

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I think this should be in the Garage but if the MODs think it should be in the Lounge that’s all good.


I was never really that happy with the job I did setting up my bead blaster, after a few months it started to leak beads even though the joints had been sealed after assembly.

Now with a bit of time on my hands before starting the next shed job I wanted to tidy up the bead blaster.

Late one night I found on YouTube a guy here in NZ that converts bead blaster like the one I have to vapour blasters. A guy in Aussie has also picked up the ball and run with it. After watching a few clips I soon found I had enough info to be able to convert mine to vapour so why not have a go.



My conversion will not be a complicated as the Aussie one but will include the bilge blower as I have one already. I will also use 12VDC for the control circuit, lights, wiper and bilge blower. I have been able to source 2 latching pedal switches so won’t need any fancy circuitry. Apart from the wiper pretty much all the parts are on their way.

Today I stripped the blaster, cleaned it and started painting the insides white. They come standard in red which has a pretty poor reflectance factor. When it is re assembled all the joints will have silicon sealer applied to the meeting parts to ensure a water tight seal.
Will post some photos when there is something to show.
 
This project is a definite "maybe". I have one of these cabinets. I sealed it during assembly (it still spews dust), but the painting-the-insides-white is something I never thought of. Genius! I'll be monitoring your progress (I'm nosy! :wink2: ).
 
My interest is piqued so I'll tag along. About white paint, I can't imagine it would last long in a blasting environment. Maybe use white plastic panels to line the inside. Just a thought...
 
This project is a definite "maybe".
I take it back. After further review (watching both videos a couple more times), I've decided that (for me) it's too much work. I'll stick with dry media blasting for now. If I absolutely have to have something vapor-blasted, I'll send it out. It'll be much cheaper than the retrofit... :twocents:
 
75 cases copy.jpg
Im sticking with my cut and conditioned .014 304 SS media. No dust ,no water. Going to experiment with 110 ceramic beads next.
 
75z1walter copy.jpg
Dang that looks good;) where do you get that media and what equipment are you using?

Im using a modified HF blaster. I scrap the gun and pick up tube and use a gun and foot pedal from Tacoma Co http://www.tacomacompany.com. I also convert the viewing window. I use the back hole(modified) for a vac system (which I also got from HF) and cut a new air intake on the side with a shield inside. Before the vac I use a cyclone separator to catch any media for reuse.I also use a speed control and run the vac at the slowest speed. The media is from Pellets LLC and is .014 in dia. I run at about 60 lbs air pressure. I use the std cut wire to cut through the corrosion of 40 years then the conditioned wire which peens the surface. You could stop there but I finish cleaning in hot water with Dawn dish soap and 0000 steel wool. I make MDF covers to protect the insides but probably not needed. I do plug all female threads and oil passages. I use bolts in the female threads or aluminum tape for smaller jobs. The media is costly but 25 lbs of each will last you for a long time. I use about a 1 1/2 cups in the bottom where the new pick up is. You get very little media in you separator. Maybe 2 tablespoon after cleaning a Z1900 set of cases. I still get a little bit of media coming out of the cabinet. I think I need to put a better baffle on the air inlet. The last time I sent a set of Z1 cases ,head,and cylinder it cost me 400 and that was 6 years ago. Before anything goes into the cabinet it is extremly clean. I wash the parts in solvent then hot soapy water. Here is the bike waiting for my head and cylinders to come back
 
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You do nice work! Hope you'll post the final completion. Gonna book mark this thread. My goal this coming year is getting a KZ650 frame and stuff an XS in it.
 
Media exfiltration is probably a sign of positive pressure in the cabinet. I would try cranking up the speed of the vacuum although I know that will just foul the filter all the quicker from my experience.
Those are some beautiful results you have there, certainly as nice looking as any vapor blasting I've seen.
 
The unit is in a negative. Just media bouncing around and out the inlet port i believe. I can turn the vac up a bit and see what happens. The nice thing about the media is you dont have the silica dust plugging up the filter just the little bit of corrosion you get off the part. Plus it goes through a seperator fist before it hits the filter.
 
The unit is in a negative. Just media bouncing around and out the inlet port i believe. I can turn the vac up a bit and see what happens. The nice thing about the media is you dont have the silica dust plugging up the filter just the little bit of corrosion you get off the part. Plus it goes through a seperator fist before it hits the filter.
I need to see pics cra-z1
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The cabinet is back together inside painted white and all sealed. The bottom tundish has been opened up to allow the slurry pump to be positioned through the cabinet. A bilge blower, LED lights and windscreen wiper have been fitted. The door seal has been upgraded and a spray curtain fitted to the access door.

The wiring is done, it has toggle switches for the lights and extract fan. Pedal switches for the air, slurry and wiper.

Had a bit of a hold up with the transformer as it was one that has been in the shed for years and I thought it was a 230 to 12V turns out it was 230 to 120V. Had another one that is 230 to 24V so pulled the covers off to see if it had a centre tap to give me 12V but no luck. Going to use a 24VDC to 12VDC converter after the rectifier. It’s cheaper to go that way than get a new transformer.

Waiting on a few more parts from China and it will be ready for testing.

Blaster upgrade.jpg
 
Did you seal the seams when you bolted it back together. I would be tempted to weld all the seams.
 
Yes all sealed with plenty of RTV sealer. The cabinet was leaking beads at the join off the tundish to the upper part. It was sealed with a foam strip but over time the foam compressed and the seal was lost.
 
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