Topic: Glass Bead Blasting

[garretcb750]

Will glass bead blasting make a set of old engine cases look like new polished aluminum or will they still need alot of polishing work... I am starting to build a new engine for my bike. I have a set of good engines cases, a bottom end from an F2 and the top end from an F1. I painted my last engine with dupli color engine enamel and its holding up great.. which might be the better route. I don't want to be under the bike all the time polishing the engine cases after they get corroded from driving in the rain.... So.. I guess what i want to know is what kind of finish will bead blasting give me?

[RRRToolSolutions]

Expect to go from here to there - it leaves them dull, no shine. Just clean the parts with solvent first allow to dry, then blast. Be very methodical when cleaning before assembly. I wash the parts with clean hot soapy water and brushes then lots of high pressure water, and finally let them soak and rinse with clean mineral spirits. The media is hard to remove from the porus aluminum. I always change oil and filters after 100 miles, then 1,000 just to be sure it's cleaned. Gordon

[greenjeans]

Definitely doesn't leave a polished looking surface, but it will look good.
tape everything off, and then tape it again... rubber pads/boots on the bottom of the old card table folding chairs fit in the intakes and exhaust ports pretty snuggly - You can get them at home depot etc.... then tape over them with some good sturdy tape - aluminum tape works well and conforms to shapes easily & best of all, sticks and stays put.
Put 2 layers of that stuff on there.  Wash it a few times before you take the tape etc off.... Dawn dishwashing soap & a brush works pretty well.   Good luck

[dkruitz]

Now, is everyone comparing apples to apples here?   Media blasting can vary quite a bit depending on the media used.  Sand is probably too abrasive for aluminum.  Glass beads are popular along with walnut shells, and I've even heard of soda blasting.  Feedback anyone?  How does one compare to the other?

[750essess]

I prefer walnut shells. Like was said earlier the media gets every wear and walnut shells will break down and get flushed with the oil change, although they can clog oil passages and such. Cleaning is very important.

[Steve F]

I've used glass beads, and have had an engine blasted with PLASTIC media.  The glass beads, as was mentioned before, get into the tiniest of all places, and will clog up threaded holes and the like.  It will also distort aluminum if allowed to contact a small area for too long.  The plastic media is non abrasive, but the clean up is still a pain.  It won't harm aluminum in any way, and cleans extremely well.  After you have something blasted, either with glass beads, sand plastic, soda, etc. I would recomment having the cases professionally cleaned in a dip tank and pressure washed afterwards to clean out all of the tapped holes and oil passages.  Maybe ultrasonic cleaning would work.
Just curious, but you mentioned that you were using case halves from two different engines?  How is this possible unless you plan on having the case main bores re-bored so they match up?
regards,

[nippon]

Whole engine cases, I would only use dry ice blasting.

overview at:
http://www.rsg-technologies.com/dry-ice-blasting-overview.htm

video:
http://www.rsg-technologies.com/images/IS_Automotive.wmv

nippon

[Partsbiker]

I got one better than that,
When I worked on deisel fleet engines, to clean parts I used straight degreaser called super clean, I think its by castrol, and its purple in color. I'd put that into one of those hand pumped pesticide sprayers and just pump away then hose down the part - rocker covers, oil pumps, blocks, heads, transmissions, you name it. After letting it soak for about 10-20 minutes I'd fire up the pressure washer and just wail away on whatever I was cleaning, and the part would always come out looking like factory new. Plus pressure washing wont damage polish. Water wont get stuck anywhere, just blast as much as you can with compressed air and then let the offending item sit in the sun for a while. You must also realize that diesel engines are the nastiest engines on the planet hands down.

[clarkjh]

You must also realize that diesel engines are the nastiest engines on the planet hands down.

You've never seen my lawn mower

James

[Rhonda750F]

My frame was soda blasted prior to powdercoating.  works well and doesnt leave media everywhere.

[Partsbiker]

to clean parts I used straight degreaser called super clean

be VERY careful if you decide to use a degreaser. Alot of degreaser destroys aluminum. Test it out on a small, unnoticable area on your engine.

I've seen quite a few people try and clean up their motor with degreaser and end up with a corroded white pile of crap.

Some degreasers work, just be very very careful.

Thats why I nominated SuperClean, as deisel engines have a love of aluminum parts to keep the weight down - intakes, oil pans, intercoolers, wheels even...etc

[newcomtd]

Castrol Super Clean is an excellent degreaser that is safe to use on most aluminum and alloys.  Just do not leave parts soaking in it for more than a few hours or they may become discolored.  Super Clean is also bio-degradable like Simple Green. 

[Tom Stark]

Glass beads are great.  I have glass beaded thousands of engine parts.  We used to glass bead every cylinder head, cast iron or aluminum, before we got the oven and shot blaster. 
If you want to polish your aluminum, glass bead it, then go over it with a scotch bright wheel on your air die grinder.  That will get the surface ready for the buffing wheel.  It is much easier than you think if you are just going for a good look.  If you want show quality, the easiest, and best way is to write a check, a BIG check!
Tom

[Big Jay]

Instead of blasting, take the cases to a shop that rebuilds automatic transmissions. Have them put them in their parts washer. They will look brand new when you get them back, and there will be no media to have to clean up.

Jay

[Tom Stark]

Instead of blasting, take the cases to a shop that rebuilds automatic transmissions. Have them put them in their parts washer. They will look brand new when you get them back, and there will be no media to have to clean up.

Jay

Not really, they will be cleaned and degreased, but will still have oxidation.  We played with all sorts of methods to clean alluminum, and glass beads was the best.  The shop I worked at built thousands of motors.  In fact, we built so many motors, that we were WD for most of the manufacturers. 
I can't tell you how many different things we tried, and how many thousands of dollars were spent trying to find something that was equal to, or better than glass beads.  There was even a company that advertised some "new" process that would clean aluminum, was non-destructive, and would restore to "near new" condition, etc.  This is ALL that this company did, was clean aluminum.  We sent a Porsche engine case to them.  They did it for us as a "sample" hoping to get our work.  So you have to figure they would do the best they could.  It never really looked good.  It was very clean, but we wound up glass beading it anyway.  It is not at all hard to clean glass beads out of any motor part.  Normal cleaning should get it all.  Run a brush through oil gallies, air through threaded holes, etc.  Very easy, and effective. 
Tom

[MRieck]

Place bolts/screws in threaded holes when blasting. It is a real pain to get all the bead out otherwise. Tape over galley/main bearing feeds also.

[Bodain]

As a cheap do it yourself guy. I do alot of blasting. For general cleanup of aluminum the glass beads work fine. Quite often I'm doing a small item that fits in my media cabinet and I want to totally strip original paint. Glass beads often is not abrasive enough to strip paint. Aluminum Oxide is far more abrasive and does a marvelous job of stripping old paint...

[Bodi]

I've never tried dry ice blasting. I have used glass bead and soda blasting. Soda is really clean (water cleanup dissolves all the soda dust) but glass beads leave a "newer" looking surface. The soda takes off all the crap but doesn't attack the surface at all, so any scratches or tiny dents are still there and look very obvious. Glass beads leave a slightly porous glittery surface that holds a paint or other coating better. The beads are a bit of a pain to get out, and I would not recommend that for an assembled engine. Using a small round brush on all the holes and a pressure washer - liberally - will clean up the parts. Wear a rainsuit (or a bathing suit) and goggles when doing the pressure washing! The odd shapes and crevices in the engine cases always seem to send the wash stream straight back at you. Chasing the threads with a tap is very helpful too.

[The Mayor]

For those that have used glass bead, recommended psi and nozzle size? Getting ready to do some aluminum in the blast cabinet...

[harmonpa]

The nozzle size will depend bigger = more production but also means you need more air and will use more blast media.  Blast pressure will depend on if its siphon or pressure feed.  Siphon feed will need a bit more pressure compared to pressure (probably around 40 psi).  Ideally start low and go slow with pressure you can always strip more but don't want to accidentally create a change in the surface.  The guide below may provide additional helpful tips.

Glass Bead Blasing Guide