Vapor Blasting of Aluminum Parts

Companies or individuals that provide parts/accessories/services for our CBXs.

Post Reply
steve murdoch icoa #5322
ICOA Member
ICOA Member
Posts: 4069
Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2003 9:12 am
Location: St. Catharines, On. Canada
Location: St. Catharines, On. Canada

Re: Vapor Blasting of Aluminum Parts

Post by steve murdoch icoa #5322 »

Spectacular results, Nils.

User avatar
jt
ICOA Member
ICOA Member
Posts: 267
Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2003 9:59 pm
Location: League City, Tx
Location: League City, Texas, USA

Re: Vapor Blasting of Aluminum Parts

Post by jt »

Oh My !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wowzzzzeeerrr :clap: :clap:
JT In Texas

The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever
have to deal with, watches you from
the mirror every mornin'.

Mouse
ICOA Member
ICOA Member
Posts: 569
Joined: Fri Jun 12, 2015 9:56 am
Location: Canmore Alberta Canada
Location: Canmore Alberta Canada

Re: Vapor Blasting of Aluminum Parts

Post by Mouse »

Looks awesome :-)
Canadian Amateur Radio Call sign VE6 VES

User avatar
NobleHops
ICOA Member
ICOA Member
Posts: 3867
Joined: Mon Jan 25, 2010 7:17 am
Location: Tucson, Arizona, USA
Location: Tucson, Arizona, USA

Re: Vapor Blasting of Aluminum Parts

Post by NobleHops »

Thank you lads!
Nils Menten
Tucson, Arizona, USA '80 CBX, sort-of restored :-)

User avatar
NobleHops
ICOA Member
ICOA Member
Posts: 3867
Joined: Mon Jan 25, 2010 7:17 am
Location: Tucson, Arizona, USA
Location: Tucson, Arizona, USA

Re: Vapor Blasting of Aluminum Parts

Post by NobleHops »

And now with no further ado, more vapor blast goodness!

Got an entire Honda CB550 engine in a couple of weeks ago, some disassembly required (which is no problem):

Removing the valves from the head.

Image

Before:

Image

Image

Cases after cleaning, bolted and plugged up, ready for further processing:

Image

Yes, these get masked before processing...

Image

...like so:

Image

Ewwwww

Image

Image

Image


Ahhhh

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image


N.
Nils Menten
Tucson, Arizona, USA '80 CBX, sort-of restored :-)

steve murdoch icoa #5322
ICOA Member
ICOA Member
Posts: 4069
Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2003 9:12 am
Location: St. Catharines, On. Canada
Location: St. Catharines, On. Canada

Re: Vapor Blasting of Aluminum Parts

Post by steve murdoch icoa #5322 »

I can't get over how "finished" the parts look after the blasting. Bolt 'em together and go.

Nils have you got any pics back yet from your customers of reassembled engines or bikes?

User avatar
NobleHops
ICOA Member
ICOA Member
Posts: 3867
Joined: Mon Jan 25, 2010 7:17 am
Location: Tucson, Arizona, USA
Location: Tucson, Arizona, USA

Re: Vapor Blasting of Aluminum Parts

Post by NobleHops »

steve murdoch icoa #5322 wrote:I can't get over how "finished" the parts look after the blasting. Bolt 'em together and go.

Nils have you got any pics back yet from your customers of reassembled engines or bikes?
Yaknow, I don't! I will follow up and ask, for sure some must be on the road by now. Good idea Steve!

N.
Nils Menten
Tucson, Arizona, USA '80 CBX, sort-of restored :-)

User avatar
NobleHops
ICOA Member
ICOA Member
Posts: 3867
Joined: Mon Jan 25, 2010 7:17 am
Location: Tucson, Arizona, USA
Location: Tucson, Arizona, USA

Re: Vapor Blasting of Aluminum Parts

Post by NobleHops »

OK, time for an update - we have been busy on a number of projects, having fun too.

Did a fun project for a customer with holed XR600 cases: He bought a used set of good cases, had them shipped directly to us and we vapor blasted them and sent them along to him. He was pretty psyched.

Image

Image

Image

Helped a local customer with his cafe build - pulled his engine from his bike, soda blasted it, painted it, vapor blasted the valve and sidecovers, put it back in the bike. He was also pretty psyched :-)

Image

Image

Image

Have been dabbling in some automotive work - this is a throttle body and valve cover for a Miata that was dropped into a Sunbeam...

Image

Image

...and an intake for a Sunbeam (I think?)

Image

Image

These folks were (you guessed it!) PRETTY PSYCHED! :-)

Met a very cool cat at a swap meet - an airhead guru. He sent me his transmission case in advance of a tech day he was hosting for a bunch of guys.

Image

Image

Image


I confess I have fallen into deep like with American aluminum, as used by Harley Davidson. We masked these cases to preserve the Glyptal and blasted them on their exterior:

Image

Image

And nobody doesn't love a Honda CBX. By 1979 Honda was using some really nice quality metal and it is very much on display after vapor blasting it spotless:

Image

Image

Image

Image

Shall we have Italian? Tasty Moto Guzzi valve covers are on the menu:

Image

Image

Over on the other side of the shop, we are nearly finished with the restoration of another lovely little Honda CB400F:

Image

...and we recently installed a vibratory polisher, aka a 'tumbling tank'. With this we can restore a smoother, shinier finish to sidecovers and wheel hubs and similar parts after vapor blasting that is much closer to the original finish. There's no charge for this service, at the customer's election.

Image

Vapor blasted:

Image

...and then tumbled:

Image

And THAT is what's been going on lately at RestoCycle :-)
Nils Menten
Tucson, Arizona, USA '80 CBX, sort-of restored :-)

Michael Vidovic
ICOA Member
ICOA Member
Posts: 183
Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2014 7:59 am
Location: Melbourne Victoria Australia
Location: Melbourne Victoria Australia

Re: Vapor Blasting of Aluminum Parts

Post by Michael Vidovic »

Very cool!
...always walk out of the room smarter than you walked in...

User avatar
NobleHops
ICOA Member
ICOA Member
Posts: 3867
Joined: Mon Jan 25, 2010 7:17 am
Location: Tucson, Arizona, USA
Location: Tucson, Arizona, USA

Re: Vapor Blasting of Aluminum Parts

Post by NobleHops »

Michael Vidovic wrote:Very cool!
Thanks Michael!
Nils Menten
Tucson, Arizona, USA '80 CBX, sort-of restored :-)

steve murdoch icoa #5322
ICOA Member
ICOA Member
Posts: 4069
Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2003 9:12 am
Location: St. Catharines, On. Canada
Location: St. Catharines, On. Canada

Re: Vapor Blasting of Aluminum Parts

Post by steve murdoch icoa #5322 »

Nils, it is great to see someone really enjoy their work.
Does the tumbling process smooth the finish so much that a clear or paint would not adhere as well?

barryadam
ICOA Member
ICOA Member
Posts: 283
Joined: Thu Oct 15, 2009 12:33 am
Location: Mission Viejo, California, USA
Location: Mission Viejo, California, USA

Re: Vapor Blasting of Aluminum Parts

Post by barryadam »

The vibrator is really cool. Have you tried other media to get a variety of finishes?

Barry

User avatar
NobleHops
ICOA Member
ICOA Member
Posts: 3867
Joined: Mon Jan 25, 2010 7:17 am
Location: Tucson, Arizona, USA
Location: Tucson, Arizona, USA

Re: Vapor Blasting of Aluminum Parts

Post by NobleHops »

Steve - I would say "I think you are correct" but then again, aluminum is usually chemically etched before painting. I think it would be fine.

Barry, I have different media and chemistry more suitable to steel on hand, haven't had a reason to try it yet. I'm using ceramic spheres and burnishing compound which are optimum for aluminum, there's nothing I'm aware of that's going to create as nice a finish and work as gently.
Nils Menten
Tucson, Arizona, USA '80 CBX, sort-of restored :-)

barryadam
ICOA Member
ICOA Member
Posts: 283
Joined: Thu Oct 15, 2009 12:33 am
Location: Mission Viejo, California, USA
Location: Mission Viejo, California, USA

Re: Vapor Blasting of Aluminum Parts

Post by barryadam »

Walnut shell is usually blasted, but I wonder how it would work in the vibrator on aluminum.
I could have given you about 25 lbs of it. Maybe I'll have to drive to Tucson with the rest of my CBX cases and motor parts!

Barry

User avatar
Jeff Bennetts
Posting God
Posting God
Posts: 2408
Joined: Wed Mar 05, 2003 8:38 am
Location: Ohio, USA
Location: Ohio, USA

Re: Vapor Blasting of Aluminum Parts

Post by Jeff Bennetts »

Hmmmm Nils, I'm getting ready to pull the the valve covers from my 4.6 Mustang, the natural finish of the aluminum covers are getting dull and stained looking. I was thinking of a black wrinkle finish but the finish you are showing off here has me wondering.

Your stuff looks great Nils.

Post Reply

Return to “CBX Parts & Accessory Suppliers, Dealerships, Mechanics, OEM Parts, Speciality CBX Shops”