A ducati from the bottom of the sea

[Canuck750]

A friend dropped off his Ducati 250 wide case engine cases he wanted cleaned in my vapour blast cabinet. this engine looks like it was at the bottom of the sea for a long time, apparently sat outside uncovered for decades.

These parts were first cleaned in an industrial steam cleaning cabinet to get the grease off.



The pitting is very deep in places but the bearing faces look ok as does the mating surfaces, it took a long time to clean the corrosion off



Vapour blasting can not fix the pitting but it does a fair job of making the castings presentable





If you have some real rough alloy castings it may be worth giving vapour blasting a try

[Markcarovilli]

That is impressive- good to have friends.....

Mark

[cliffrod]

Looks really great. 

Not sure how to phrase the question, but how much faster is the media/slurry/?? exhausted when doing a job like this?  Is it used up faster, fouled by the removed debris, ?  Does the media recycle or is everything in a vapor blasting cabinet single use?

I'm thinking about the difference between fresh glass bead in a dry cabinet and how it changes while cleaning up trashy parts.  We would blow the crap off with older used media, then do the final cleaning with nice fresh abrasive.  Never done any vapor blasting. 

[oldbike54]

 Yes , impressive 

 Dusty

[moto-uno]

  Gotta say the results are truly amazing  , Peter

[Cam3512]

Capital Punishment to those who leave desirable bikes outside!

[Canuck750]

Looks really great. 

Not sure how to phrase the question, but how much faster is the media/slurry/?? exhausted when doing a job like this?  Is it used up faster, fouled by the removed debris, ?  Does the media recycle or is everything in a vapor blasting cabinet single use?

I'm thinking about the difference between fresh glass bead in a dry cabinet and how it changes while cleaning up trashy parts.  We would blow the crap off with older used media, then do the final cleaning with nice fresh abrasive.  Never done any vapor blasting.

I use #7 glass bead in the cabinet, I dumped the old water / glass bead last night so I started off fresh today. The glass bead in a vapour blast cabinet lasts much, much longer than in a dry process. The vapour cleaning process is much faster than the dry process in a conventional dry blast cabinet.

To clean the two case haves, wheel hubs, brake plates and case cover in the final picture took me a couple hours. The wheel parts were in better shape than the cases and side cover.

I would never recommend using a dry blast cabinet with glass bead on any engine component, the glass bead will fracture and embed in the alloy only to release when the engine gets hot and oil flushes the beads loose, the only exception is the process Charlie uses - High Volume Low Pressure blast.

Vapor blast uses high air pressure, 60 psi constant pressure and water to suspend the bead and create a scrubbing process that will not fracture the glass bead or embed remnants into soft aluminum. The cabinet recirculates the water but I have an open loop system with fresh rinse water, when the water level reaches the overflow run off pipe in the cabinet the waste water drains out of the cabinet, in the summer I run a 50 foot hose to the lane and the waste water drains down to the sewer. In the winter the water drains into a large holding thank that I drain to the building sewer after the glass bead settles to the bottom of the tank, below my drain valve.

You can tell if a piece has been conventionally bead blasted (dry) by holding the part up to sunlight, a dry blasted piece will show a glisten tell tale of the fractured glass bed reflecting in the sunlight.

Dry blasting is ok for pieces that do not come into contact with lubricants, such as transmissions and engine internals.

[cliffrod]

Thank you. 

Once I started soda blasting about 20 yrs ago, I haven't dry blasted any internal parts with glass bead.   I'm not a fan of the texture dry glass bead produces in general, especially how it wrecks original alloy surfaced.   Nearly all I glass bead now are rebuilt carbide chisels and assorted rusty tools.  Anything alloy or critical goes Ultrasonic and/or soda blasting

[hauto]

What is the make and model of you VB system. How many CFM is your compressor pushing. Results look good.

[Canuck750]

What is the make and model of you VB system. How many CFM is your compressor pushing. Results look good.

I have had the cabinet for a couple years now - Vapor Honing Technologies - model is the "Weekend Warrior" , I use the compressor recommended by the cabinet manufacturer - Ingersoll Rand 5 hp, two stage, 229V single phase, it will supply a constant 90 psi.

Vapor Honing Technologies has many You Tube videos demonstrating their machines and explaining the process, set-up, equipment needed etc.

http://vaporhoningtechnologies.com/weekend-warrior/

The Weekend Warrior was selling for $2K USD a couple years ago. It is the best tool I have ever bought and worth every penny.

[LowRyter]

 

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Thank you. 

Once I started soda blasting about 20 yrs ago, I haven't dry blasted any internal parts with glass bead.   I'm not a fan of the texture dry glass bead produces in general, especially how it wrecks original alloy surfaced.   Nearly all I glass bead now are rebuilt carbide chisels and assorted rusty tools.  Anything alloy or critical goes Ultrasonic and/or soda blasting

The texture and appearance of the parts I have HVLP bead blasted are virtually identical to vapor blasted parts. If one bead blasts at 60-90 psi, the results will be vastly different.

[Dave Swanson]

Vapor blast cabinet envy!      

[Muzz]

Any chance you will get the whole bike to work on Jim?

[Canuck750]

Any chance you will get the whole bike to work on Jim?

No, my friend has just rebuilt a 1966 250 Monza and is diving in deep on his next build.

[Muzz]

No, my friend has just rebuilt a 1966 250 Monza and is diving in deep on his next build.

Sad.  I would like to see you doing one of those.