How to make alloy parts look new? Degreaser or cleaner recommendations.

[TERRA Operative]

I gotta get one of those things, the problem is I have no shed to put it in..... Gotta find a place with a decent shed.

[timbosaurus]

Shed not all that great an idea

The cheapies have no dust extraction, just a paper filter which means after 2 mins it has clogged up and blows blast dust out the seals. Prolly gives u silicosis and will kill u in a matter of days, but more importantly your tools and everything else in ur shed get covered in real fine grit. Better off doing it outside and letting it all blow over into ur neighbours house

[o_man_ra23]

Hmm... sounds like a task for when there is a good southerly blowing...

[_gear2]

I gotta get one of those things, the problem is I have no shed to put it in..... Gotta find a place with a decent shed.

If your short on space you can get one of the fold up cabinets - http://www.stanblast.com/ (My mate got one think he paid about $500... though its a bit exy considering you can build your own ghetto spec one for next to nothing).

Timbo do you find the sand pits the metal at all? Ive been using walnut shells though ive been told glass beads are quicker but can pit the metal.

[andrew_mx83]

i was gonna build my own sandblasting cabinet (i like making things) but when you can buy a ready to go one for around $250, it wasnt worth buying all the steel and the rest of the shit.

i bought this instead -best size/value ratio i could find. i can fit a 16" rim through the door, havent got any larger ones to try.
http://www.belictools.com.au/website...roducts_id=257

[TERRA Operative]

I'm going to try the ghetto soda blaster this weekend that I linked to earlier. It's only a few $$$ and if it works, then awesome.

I'll post my results.

[timbosaurus]

Timbo do you find the sand pits the metal at all? Ive been using walnut shells though ive been told glass beads are quicker but can pit the metal.

nah, I use it on rough alloy (like manifolds etc) where I'm try to make it look orignal/new... not smooth and polished. The surface is left clean but with a matt finish.

If it was chasing perfectly smooth, then I'd sand/polish it.

These are some pics of the recent stuff... bear in mind that I've had my grubby mitts all over them since, and it's dark in the shed at the moment.













This is not pitting, the cast was actually like that.







You can see the difference between wire brushing and bead blasting here... I'd taped up the front of this throttle body to stop getting too much inside, which mean it didn't get blasted... so I tried to use a wire brush, but you can still see a difference.

[timbosaurus]

And the finale...
Before:

After:



Before:

After:

[o_man_ra23]

I envy your DOHC valve cover.

[mscphillips]

soda blast then clear coat. works a treat

[TERRA Operative]

Well, I tried the home made soda blaster and it made absolutely no difference. It only cost a few dollars in parts, so no great loss.

I might just get it sandblasted and powder coated silver.

[mscphillips]

I use our local powdercoater/blaster, he has $30,000 dollars worth of soda blasting gear. that would be why it does such a good job.

powder coating looks just as good.