How to blaster cylinder?

[BigBoreSwede]

Hello.

Even if I´m not a huge fan of shiny bikes with 1000 eagels on it I do appreciate a nice, clean bike. For me, a mint condition bike would not work. I´m just to careless with it and wánts to hit the dirt once in a while

Never the less I´d like to blaster my cylinder and maybe the head also since there´s some old oil and shit that´s a pain in the ass to get rid of....you know!

I do have access to a glass blaster and a sand blaster but it seems a soda blaster is most common.....or gives the best result. Anyone have any good advice here?

Either way, I realise it´s necessary to cover all the areas where gaskets will be mounted and also cover the barrels.


It´s frekin cold in Sweden right now/BigBoreSwede

 

[Tech7]

If you've got the engine apart, glass is your best choice for aluminum. Just make VERY sure to clean it very well after blasting. Any blast media left will destroy bearings.

 

[angus67]

if you use anything, wear a respirator.
a good soak in kerosene, or engine brite, simple green. works good too.
soda blasting is nice because it isnt aggressive, and dissolves with water, and is natural, so it makes the woodland creatures happy.
there. did my part to save the planet.
if you have the engine apart, use glass. it will leave a ruff texture, and will be harder to claen later.

 

[5twins]

Yes, use glass beads, the cylinder and head are a rough sand cast already so you won't be changing the texture at all. I use soda blasting on carbs but I don't think it's aggressive enough for the nasty, dirty top ends we encounter. Since I've done a couple 650s and plan on doing more, I put together a little "kit" of block-off plates made out of plywood .....

The exception was the exhaust ports because I wanted to blast their flanges and studs. For those I needed plugs which I made from old baseball bats .....

The jugs get plastic covers over the barrel bottoms and the wood plate on top .....

 

[BigBoreSwede]

Holy smokes!!!

Since I work as a carpenter I REALLY like the idea with wodden plates to cover up all the necessary areas that you don´t want to blast.

The best with forums like this, and specially this I must say, is all the creative stuff people come up with and that they also are willing to share it. I hope that people realize how many hours they save by using this forum.

Knowledge is the most valuable you can own and here it´s for free


When it comes th clean the parts you have glass blastered.......will there be particles left that you´re able to see or will they be so small that you can´t see them and therefore a very carefull cleaning is require?


Thanks a lot/BigBoreSwede

 

[5twins]

The wood plates keep, I'd say like 98% of the glass beads out. A little still gets in so a cleaning is needed. I do a hot soap and water scrub, blow dry, then oil the steel parts (bores, combustion chambers, valve guide bores if the valves are out). Oh, those are "before" shots, here's some "after" .....

 

[twinrider]

To give a shiny original casting look, go with glass beads as was said. Soda will clean but will leave a matte greyish look to cast parts.

I did mine with glass and it looks just fresh out of factory!

 

[Punkskalar]

I love me some Bead Blasted parts. Spent all weekend blasting cases, wheels, top end, etc.. for my new build...

 

[Travis]

5twins, nice work.. any reason you couldn't do the cylinders and head as one unit? That would save you from making two wooden block-off plates.

 

[5twins]

Actually, I use the same block-off plate for the top of the cylinders and the head bottom. You could do it as one unit but it would be heavier and harder to handle with those rubber gloves inside the blasting cabinet. My cabinet isn't super huge, either. It's the HF bench top model. It's actually pretty big for a bench top so I mounted it on a wheeled metal frame so I can roll it around and use it on the ground .....

 

[Tim H]

Do you guys coat with anything to preserve the finish or just leave it bare aluminum? I just blasted a set of carbs and they look great but will they last like that or get nasty fast?

Also I used glass on the carbs I hope that it wasn't too agressive and i ruined them.

 

[Travis]

I have this one so I think it should fit with no problems. But like you mentioned, big things aren't the easiest to handle with those gloves on so maybe the one extra block-off is worth making anyway. Thanks for the info and pictures!

 

[jackstraw650]

Have you considered walnut shell blasting? Any residual left is much less likely to cause trouble than glass because it is organic and breaks down readily. Walnut shell blasting leaves a very nice soft satin finish that looks great. I used it on sports car parts and was very happy with the results. Good luck!

 

[Punkskalar]

Do you guys coat with anything to preserve the finish or just leave it bare aluminum? I just blasted a set of carbs and they look great but will they last like that or get nasty fast?

Also I used glass on the carbs I hope that it wasn't too agressive and i ruined them.

I leave the engine parts raw, and they still look great.

 

[Travis]

Where do you guys get your blasting media from? Where I buy it from it cost $30-40 for a little bucket of the stuff. Is there anywhere to get it cheaper or is that the going rate?

 

[jackstraw650]

Question for you, 5twins......I've been thinking about getting a blast cabinet like yours.....How much compressor do you need to run one effectively? I don't know much about air compressors, but I would like to get one to do some minor blasting and occasionally use air tools. I don't have access to 220-240V power, are there ones that would work for that on standard current? Sorry, didn't mean to hijack the thread!

 

[Punkskalar]

Bigger the better. I HATE waiting on a small compressor to build up pressure just so I can blast for 30 seconds again...

I'm using the Floor Model from HF and using a 3 Cylinder Kobalt 80 gallon compressor to keep it happy.

 

[5twins]

Yes, the bigger the better. I have an old 5 or 6 horse Craftsman, 25 or 30 gallon tank, 220 but just a single stage. It works but it does work the thing hard, hardest I've put it through since I got it. But hey, that's what I bought the thing for near 20 years ago - to use it. Up until now I mostly just blew tires up with it, lol.

I got my glass beads from HF too, about $40 for a 50 lb. box. They have a 25 lb. box as well but it's near $30 so the 50 pounder is a much better deal. I checked the web for prices and this was pretty good, plus I brought the box home right with the cabinet. I only need about 1/3 of the box at a time so I have a back-up supply for a while. I haven't ever changed it out, just added some when it got low. Now that I re-caulked all the seams, it don't leak out like it did at 1st, lol. There were little piles of glass beads under the cabinet at first, like sand through an hour glass.

It's not that difficult to do a 240 line. It runs right into the same fuse box as the rest of the house wiring, just a little heavier wiring, different plug, and different breaker.

 

[YL82]

The wood plates keep, I'd say like 98% of the glass beads out. A little still gets in so a cleaning is needed. I do a hot soap and water scrub, blow dry, then oil the steel parts (bores, combustion chambers, valve guide bores if the valves are out). Oh, those are "before" shots, here's some "after" .....

Yes - I realize this is an old Thread - but, hey, I'm doing Searches...

So, even though plates are in place to keep glass beads out, you recommend the parts be given a bubble bath? Not disagreeing, but in my case, I've got rocker arms in place in the cover and valves installed in the head. I plan to (temporarily) bolt cover and head back together and make covers for all openings. I just don't want to remove all those steel parts again.... With the cylinder block, I likewise am planning to make a cover for top (using gasket as template) and seal off barrels.

Sounds like the importance of removing all bead residue from these parts is of greater import than getting steel parts wet (which can be dealt with via drying and oiling).

Any need to install gaskets along with the fabbed covers? Not sure I want to put pricey gaskets at risk to keep beads out.

Thanks!

 

[weaselbeak]

I use walnut shells to polish cartridges for my reloading. It does a wonderful job in a tumbler, never tried anything other than silicone based stuff in a line blaster.