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Vapor Blasting of Aluminum Parts

Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2015 6:13 pm
by NobleHops
UPDATE JANUARY 2021

RestoCycle is now closed. Thank you all for the support, it was a fantastic 6 year adventure.

Nils Menten

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Hello gang,

I am very excited to finally pull the wraps off of something I have been working on for 6 months. Kind-of a worst-kept secret, but here's the skinny.

In February I purchased the finest vapor blasting equipment I could find, plus a dry blast cabinet, parts washer, rinse sink, industrial compressor and dryer, and much more. I rented space nearby in Tucson and since then I have been setting up my shop and testing different products and techniques and learning the ropes of how to restore aluminum parts with vapor blasting.

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If you've never seen this done, it's kind-of amazing to see. It's more or less a blast cabinet, but instead of dry media, siphon fed, it creates a high-pressure vapor using compressed air, water, detergent, and abrasive media.

The results pretty much speak for themselves.

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Two docs are attached - a "Frequently Asked Questions doc about the process, and also an order form :P . The service costs $50 per hour till the first of the year, when it will jump up to a more market-rate of $70 an hour. Please feel free to ask me any questions about the service or the process, here or via PM or email. The business email is nils@restocycle.com
Frequently Asked Questions about Vapor Blasting.pdf
RestoCycle_VaporBlast_Order_Form.pdf

You can also find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RestoCycleLLC, and if you do visit us there, please "Like" the page and you'll see our regular updates in your news feed as we go.

Thanks and wish me luck!

Nils Menten
RestoCycle LLC

Vapor Blasting of Aluminum Parts

Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2015 9:46 pm
by steve murdoch icoa #5322
Congratulations, Nils.
Seriously, i don't think you will be needing any good luck wishes.
Time to read the articles you provided.

Vapor Blasting of Aluminum Parts

Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 7:47 am
by Michael Vidovic
Good luck

Vapor Blasting of Aluminum Parts

Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 9:09 am
by NobleHops
Thank you gentlemen!

Vapor Blasting of Aluminum Parts

Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 9:26 am
by Rick Pope
That sure looks like a fun way to spend your retirement. Good luck.

Vapor Blasting of Aluminum Parts

Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 1:49 pm
by NobleHops
Rick Pope wrote:That sure looks like a fun way to spend your retirement. Good luck.
Thank you very much Rick. I do enjoy helping people with their projects, really excited about this.

N.

Vapor Blasting of Aluminum Parts

Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2015 11:47 am
by FalldownPhil
:banana: :bigthumb:

Vapor Blasting of Aluminum Parts

Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2015 11:57 am
by SteveG
Congrats on your newest venture, Nils!! Where were you when I needed you 5 years ago!?! Now I am gonna have to get another project going.

Steve

Re: Open for business! Vapor Blasting of Aluminum Parts

Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2015 1:01 pm
by NobleHops
SteveG wrote:Congrats on your newest venture, Nils!! Where were you when I needed you 5 years ago!?! Now I am gonna have to get another project going.

Steve

Yes you do Steve! :-). Thanks for the good wishes, greatly appreciated. You too Phil. :text-thankyouyellow:

Re: Open for business! Vapor Blasting of Aluminum Parts

Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2015 5:46 pm
by NobleHops
I'm having fun now!

Last night I brought a bunch of sample stuff to our local vintage group's gathering, which was great fun. I have been photographing it as I go, and I've got a good selection of stuff to show.

Just for fun, here are a few of my favorites:

Yamaha XT500 cylinder heads

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Yamaha Banshee case half:

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Ducati cylinder head:

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Set of Keihin carbs. Yes you can do carbs, they just need to be ultrasonic cleaned afterwards.

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Not sure what this was, please don't send me anything like this without cleaning it first :-)

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Done, half 'n half :-)

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$10 bucks off your first order if you can tell me which one was blasted :-)

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Yamaha XS650 side cover:

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I'll have more soon, no doubt. Thanks for viewing!

N.

Re: Open for business! Vapor Blasting of Aluminum Parts

Posted: Fri Sep 04, 2015 4:13 pm
by NobleHops
Did a batch of Ducati Pantah parts for a customer yesterday - good solid parts, but had been stored for years and so the oxidization and...stuff on them was pretty thick.

Check this out. Linking big photos, I think they will get very big if you click on them. This took about 5 1/2 hours including splitting the cases and extracting bearings, and so at 2015 rates this was a $250 project, plus shipping.

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This was the total project:

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Pretty cool, eh?

N.

Re: Open for business! Vapor Blasting of Aluminum Parts

Posted: Sat Sep 05, 2015 2:02 am
by Joner
Very cool work Nils.

I was looking at vapour blasting a few months ago, it seems to be the best way to clean up aluminium parts without harming them.
Looks like you have a brilliant set-up, and I know you will do well. 8)

Cheers
Chris J.

Re: Open for business! Vapor Blasting of Aluminum Parts

Posted: Sat Sep 05, 2015 7:31 am
by steve murdoch icoa #5322
Those Pantah parts look great, Nils.
hmmmm....i have a cb350 cafe that is nearing the top of the resto priority list that would benefit from a trip to your booth.

Re: Open for business! Vapor Blasting of Aluminum Parts

Posted: Sat Sep 05, 2015 9:28 am
by NobleHops
Chris - thanks a ton for the good words.

Steve - I will make that engine look fantastic for you when the time comes :-)

N.

Re: Open for business! Vapor Blasting of Aluminum Parts

Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2015 1:57 pm
by Mello
Wow, really impressive. Best of luck Nils, I can see you're having a load of fun :D