DIY Soda Blasting Aluminium

[Legacywr]

I’m thinking about having a go at soda blasting a Holley carb I have.

Has anybody had a go at this? I understand I’ll need a gravity fed spray gun, but any other advice?

The job in hand…

[Krikkit]

How big a compressor have you got? Anything shy of a bloody massive one and it'll turn into a right saga.

[NMNeil]

I tried beadblasting once and it took forever to get all the residue out of all those tiny holes and passages inside the carb. If you use soda, you would need to soak it in water afterwards to dissolve any soda particles.
Been using this stuff since then. Strip carb, put in liquid overnight, and the parts came out like new.
https://www.berrymanproducts.com/products/eco-frie...

[Legacywr]

NMNeil said:

I tried beadblasting once and it took forever to get all the residue out of all those tiny holes and passages inside the carb. If you use soda, you would need to soak it in water afterwards to dissolve any soda particles.
Been using this stuff since then. Strip carb, put in liquid overnight, and the parts came out like new.
https://www.berrymanproducts.com/products/eco-frie...

Very interesting, thanks.

Vapour blasting is going to cost me £60, plus I’d have to completely strip the card, would you recommend this chemical stripping over that?

Found it on Ebay.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/363897052640?mkcid=16&a...

[Krikkit]

Home liquid dipping etc will be much quicker than trying to media blast it yourself without the right gear.

Tbh I'd probably spend the £60 an a couple of hours stripping and rebuilding it.

[donkmeister]

Legacywr said:

Very interesting, thanks.

Vapour blasting is going to cost me £60, plus I’d have to completely strip the card, would you recommend this chemical stripping over that?

Found it on Ebay.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/363897052640?mkcid=16&a...

I know you aren't going to be drinking it, but be aware the datasheet shows this stuff contains a high concentration of heterocyclic amines... These are highly carcinogenic and the alcohols in the mix will help transport them through your skin very effectively so be sure to wear nitrile gloves!!!
(I was interested in how something like this could work without damaging rubber and plastic, hence the squizz at the datasheet.)

[Legacywr]

donkmeister said:

Legacywr said:

Very interesting, thanks.

Vapour blasting is going to cost me £60, plus I’d have to completely strip the card, would you recommend this chemical stripping over that?

Found it on Ebay.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/363897052640?mkcid=16&a...

I know you aren't going to be drinking it, but be aware the datasheet shows this stuff contains a high concentration of heterocyclic amines... These are highly carcinogenic and the alcohols in the mix will help transport them through your skin very effectively so be sure to wear nitrile gloves!!!
(I was interested in how something like this could work without damaging rubber and plastic, hence the squizz at the datasheet.)

Ouch, thanks for that.

I decided against it after watching a few Youtube demonstrations, they cleaned whatever, but not to the standard i'd have hoped for.

[TGCOTF-dewey]

Krikkit said:

How big a compressor have you got? Anything shy of a bloody massive one and it'll turn into a right saga.

Agreed. I bought a kit to do some suspension bits. Total waste of money as my compressor isn't powerful enough.

[Legacywr]

I would have done it at work, not only for the CFM, but we also have a dryer, moisture would be your enemy also.

[paintman]

TGCOTF-dewey said:

Krikkit said:

How big a compressor have you got? Anything shy of a bloody massive one and it'll turn into a right saga.

Agreed. I bought a kit to do some suspension bits. Total waste of money as my compressor isn't powerful enough.

^^^That. I got a small grit blast gun & would have done better throwing the medium by hand.

[donkmeister]

paintman said:

TGCOTF-dewey said:

Krikkit said:

How big a compressor have you got? Anything shy of a bloody massive one and it'll turn into a right saga.

Agreed. I bought a kit to do some suspension bits. Total waste of money as my compressor isn't powerful enough.

^^^That. I got a small grit blast gun & would have done better throwing the medium by hand.

I've occasionally watched one of those videos on YouTube where they restore some rusty gadget and often they use a small blaster cabinet. I see the rust and paint blast away and think "I should get one of those, think of all the things I could do"... Out of interest what CFM/tank size compressors gave disappointing performance?

[Legacywr]

Sent it to be vapour blasted, £45

[paintman]

donkmeister said:

paintman said:

TGCOTF-dewey said:

Krikkit said:

How big a compressor have you got? Anything shy of a bloody massive one and it'll turn into a right saga.

Agreed. I bought a kit to do some suspension bits. Total waste of money as my compressor isn't powerful enough.

^^^That. I got a small grit blast gun & would have done better throwing the medium by hand.

I've occasionally watched one of those videos on YouTube where they restore some rusty gadget and often they use a small blaster cabinet. I see the rust and paint blast away and think "I should get one of those, think of all the things I could do"... Out of interest what CFM/tank size compressors gave disappointing performance?

2hp ABAC, Works fine with gravity feed miniguns & will also run a Devilbiss FLG5 gravity feed gun.
I'd borrowed the blast gun - one of the Clarke type suction feed blast guns - more out of curiosity than anything else.
2hp simply doesn't deliver enough air at sustained high pressure to make it viable even for rust spots.
Second or two from a full tank but the pressure drops like a stone.

Machine Mart suggests that 3hp will run some of their gritblast guns I have my doubts - bear in mind that 3hp is just about the top for domestic plugin.
Friend has a 3hp V twin compressor (don't ask me the make, it's been a while since I've seen him) for SMART repairs & even though it is declared OK by the manufacturer for 13 amp sockets it does sometimes trip customer's circuit breakers.

The Clarke blast cabinet says it needs at least 10cfm maintained at a minimum 100psi.
Best to ask them which compressor they recommend & whether it will need dedicated wiring to use - perhaps a cooker circuit.

Don't forget that many compressors are shown as air displacement. TBH I consider that a bit of a con as the relevant figure is the free air delivery. Divide displacement figure by 2 & you'll be about right for the FAD.

[Legacywr]

Vapour blasted, £45.

Stripped and ultrasonically cleaned.

[S6PNJ]

Who did you use in the end? Might need a recommendation for the future...

[Legacywr]

Elite Vapour Blasting, Shdfield, near Wickham.

[S6PNJ]

Do they have a website? I can't find them by a Google search on their name.

[Legacywr]

It seems they rely on Facebook for advertising.

[Legacywr]

[Lotobear]

Legacywr said:

Vapour blasted, £45.

Stripped and ultrasonically cleaned.

Did you have it vapour blasted then ultrasonically cleaned?