Topic: Bead Blasting vs Soda Blasting vs Steam Cleaning

[Dr. Frankenstein]

I'm probably opening up a can of worms here, but I'm looking for opinions on cleaning carbs with glass beads vs wet soda vs steam cleaning...I recently completely rebuilt my '72 CB500 Four engine and bead-blasted the cases and carb bodies and they came out looking great. I THOROUGHLY rinsed and cleaned out all the extra-fine bead media from every hole I could find - tapped the screw holes, rinsed each part thoroughly, ran the carbs through the ultrasonic, blew them out with air, RE-rinsed them with carb cleaner, thoroughly rinsed out all the oil passages in the case (I even ran a cloth down the main one that traverses the case), went through all the nooks and crannies with Q-tips and was very meticulous in making sure everything was cleaned and rinsed out when I put it all back together.

Now, bear in mind that some people will run around pulling their hair and screaming "OH MY GOD NO! JUST A SINGLE BEAD LEFT BEHIND WILL *DESTROY*!! YOUR ENGINE!!", while others say that bead blasting is fine as long as you get everything cleaned out (which I have-even those tiny little holes in the carb throat), and others say that soda blasting is the way to go, but you sacrifice in appearance what you gain in cleaning, and steam cleaning is particularly effective when cleaning carbs...personally, since I have a vapor blaster, I think I'm leaning towards the wet soda idea for carbs, but in 25 years of wrenching, reading and riding I have never seen or heard of anybody's engine getting 'destroyed' by bead blasting...not to say it hasn't happened, but I have never seen on any of the forums I'm on - including this one - somebody doomsaying about how they bead blasted their carbs and engine and then catastrophic failure occurred "and here's a picture"; all I can find is general statements saying bead blasting is not good for carbs, while others say it's fine. Personally, I tend to agree unless you thoroughly clean them afterwards, but again: I was meticulous in my after-blasting cleaning efforts.

Maybe it's up to personal choice - it IS "your" bike after all - but after all this time, effort and cash invested, I want the best for my bike, (don't we all??), so to make a long story short, What Do YOU Think??

And here's a little 'bike pron' of how she currently looks - the only thing on the engine that's painted is the case, everything else - the side covers, head, jugs and breather are bare (blasted) aluminum. I'm still trying to figure out the wiring.

   

[BenelliSEI]

I use to  only rely on my ultra sonic cleaner for carbs. They always come out clean, but still showed some mild staining. For my Sandcast Project I wanted a nicer finish. Had the carb bodies, tops and bowls vapour blasted and then put them through the ultra sonic (fresh distilled water and a small amount of Simple Green) and blew them out. Looked fantastic and worked perfectly.

I have been looking at a steam cleaner. Interested to see what others say.

[Dr. Frankenstein]

Yeah, those are Nice! So no problems with blast residue....?

[Honda Hansel]

Ok my two bits
Glass blasting DRY is not the way to go (My opinion)
The glass will embed into the Aluminum and its not easy to remove when its embedded

Vapor blasting with Glass (is what I do)
The glass has no way of getting embedded in to the aluminum due to the water will keep it from cutting the surface of the aluminum and soft material , There for the surface is only being cleaned and nothing removed, verses dry glass blasting removes material from the surface

Would you blast your finger with dry glass blasting.I for sure would not do that
Would I do that with a vapor blaster with #5 Glass .Yes I would

wet Vapor blasting is easy to clean with water and soap if needed 
My vapor blaster is filled with #5 Glass and it works well on all surfaces and Air is set to 40 PSI

Carburetor bodies has a coating on them and keeps them shiny when clean
Dry blasting with Glass removes the coating,The bodies will look bad after a couple month and you will regret the out come after a while

Yes John Im with you on The ultra sonic cleaner
I use Simple green HD industrial in my ultra sonic tank (limited time for the parts to be in there )Will remove the coating if left in for to long 


Honda Hansel
     

[spotty]

Re the engine getting destroyed - many years ago i was following the build of a CBX1000 motor in an English magazine, improperly cleaned after blasting and yes it destroyed the motor, grit got into various areas of the crank and camshaft surfaces. They took it apart, reground etc any damaged areas, put it back together and it happened again.
now obviously this is dumb on a grand scale but it can happen

[CycleRanger]

Personally I wouldn't bead blast carbs. Aside from possible residue bead blasting can remove the thin cad plating from the outside of the carbs that was put there to prevent the zinc alloy from corroding.

[BenelliSEI]

Anybody using a steam cleaner?

[Kelly E]

We use Elma Tec Clean A4. It gets mixed with distilled water and leaves the carbs nice and clean without staining, darkening or removing any coating. We done 20 or so sets of carbs and are still on the first jug.

[newday777]

Anybody using a steam cleaner?

Not yet but have been watching for one to come my way....

[Tracksnblades1]

I wouldn’t use either. Both are abrasive and leave imbedded material.
Destroying the original appearance of your carburetors..

I use Tyme carburetor cleaner..
It’s a little pricey but usually works well..
It works well on old Quardrajets, Carters, Holleys, etc too without
altering the original finish. Read the directions and quickly rinse
after the soak in cold clean water. Then quickly blow all the passages
nooks, crannies, and crevices dry..

[seanbarney41]

Here is my 2 cents....stop risking catastrophic damage to mechanical parts just for the sake of cosmetics.  These blasted finishs of course  look great, but are not what the surface looked like from the factory.  Parts need to be clean mainly on the inside so the machine can run properly.  Factory finishes can be restored with the proper amount of work and cleaners, chemicals and coating.  Stop trying to find a cheat code with blasters and just do the work.  Some carb bodies have been stained  to the point that they are never gonna look as new.  Blasting them into oblivion will do nothing to make your machine run better.

[Stev-o]

+1...vapor blasting is the only method in my opinion...



Mikunis off my Kawasaki.

[Don R]

  I don't have a cabinet and was soda blasting out in the driveway. It killed the grass nearby and our new vinyl siding attracts the soda dust like a powder coat system. I haven't tried it on carbs yet. My wife voted no but the votes have not been tabulated yet.

[Honda Hansel]

Anybody using a steam cleaner?

I use a steam cleaner all the time and its working
Add a bit of simple green and go to town
That's how I clean all the hard to get to places lime cooling fin's and heavy oil and grease

Honda Hansel