Home media blastering

[linuxrob]

Not had a lot of time this summer to work on the Z as been out riding and doing other summery things but have got some things sorted out.

Among the things I would like to do for myself is media blasting parts. Have recently been given a small not working compressor which I fixed so looking to make good use of it.

Have read a lot about Soda blasting and like the idea for engine internals as the media is soluble in water. I have always had a fear that not all the other blast media will be flushed / blown out and come back to haunt me.

The compressor is a 25ltr capacity one so prob the smallest you can get but is will do 112psi. Together with a regulator and water/partial trap I bought from ebay a hand held gravity fed blast gun and 10kg of Sodium bicarbonate.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Adjustment-Handheld-Flow-Air-Speed-Gun-Sand-Blaster-Sandblaster-Sandblasting-UK/312697525622?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

Waited for a still day and set it all up down the bottom of the garden in a big cardboard box and sheets. I tested it out on an old set of 400/4 carbs that have sat about since 1982

 

 

After about a minute i could see not just a cleaner surface but a small cloud of dust drifting away. mmmm.

 

 

Used the rest of the hopper full and in 4 minutes had a good finish

 

 

I could tell that the box and sheet method was not going to be any good.

A small bench top blasting cabinet can be had for under £100 but I do not have the space in the shed to permanently have one setup and lifting it up and down would be difficult to say the least.

I spotted a home made cabinet on ebay made from an old oil drum and it was in York. Got it for £18,90.

Have fitted a LED spot light into it and used the larger of the 2 holes for this and the pipe from my workshop Dyson/Vax. The near vac-um the cleaner produces keeps the dust down and also act to suck the perspex window in place without screws. Did some more work on the carbs and even reused some of the soda by hovering it up and decanting back into the hopper.

Overall a great success

 

Even had a go at an old plug with paint on it

Before

After

 

Tested the Z500 rocker cover and it fits through the hole so will give this a go after a dose of paint stripper. The head will go in with the exhaust studs removed, barrels fit easy.

The only down side is that you have to shake the hopper ever now and again to get the media spraying again, the compressor does keep up well.

I may mod the cleaner pipe to extract from the left as the dust does swirl round the window a bit or do the blasting left handed.

Small glass bead media will also work with this set up for a more aggressive cut on parts like my calipers etc. Will update as I go

Rob B

[Mr Fro]

Very interesting!

I'm looking forward to seeing how you get on...

[megawatt]

Excellent post Rob. Well done

[dern]

That's a really useful post, thanks. I started looking in to those gravity fed guns and the kinds of media that can be used. Already have a largish compressor so this will definitely be useful. Just need to work out whether I can be bothered with a cabinet or run a 'total loss system'... that is make a load of mess

[linuxrob]

Thanks all for the responses.

The gravity fed gun is great, bit bulky in this small space but it takes less cubic feet of air to shoot the media out compared to a syphon hose. Same is true of gravity fed paint guns. Also you really need a water trap.

I did think of one of those popup tents for blasting and painting in but with the amount of air flow it would just billow everywhere and still cover the place in dust. A total loss system is OK if you have a field handy but would get expensive. You are not supposed to be able to recycle soda but found it still worked a few times round. With this system have I can recover almost 90% of the media. An old kitchen flour sieve is good too to get the the big bits of paint out.

I have some good paint stripper from the car suppliers that will remove 60-70% of Mr Kawasaki's coating of the engine parts. I use my Dremil and scotchbrite wheels to get most of the remaining stuff off so the soda takes the last difficult to reach bits and also gives the surface a good rough key for the etch primer. The finish I want is just like a smooth casting and this gives a perfect look for me to start repainting.

Now if only I home build an ultrasonic cleaner... and no Ichiban motor links please.

Rob B

[dern]

Removing rust using electrolysis is a good fun project and very effective if you haven't tried it before.

https://www.instructables.com/id/Electrolytic-Rust-Removal-aka-Magic/

[linuxrob]

I have indeed, used carbon rods instead of scrap steel, does not make such a yuck soup.

See elsewhere on here with my zinc plating with vinegar and epson salts. Need to update this

https://www.themotorbikeforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=87&t=68482&hilit=zinc+plating

Cheers