Soda blasting intake manifold

[Ian928]

Today I found time to test my new soda blaster. The Stag intake was really bad, I have tried cleaning it with brake cleaner but it did next to nothing.

To be honest I am a bit disappointed, I had hoped that the method would be faster, and that the end result would be better. Either there is something not working as it should with my equipment, or aluminium stuff people are cleaning on Youtube is easier... I will try the Carburettor next, maybe it will be easier?

It is clear that the compressor I used is WAY to small, I had to blast for a few seconds, then wait for the pressure to build up again. I did it in a small blasting cabinet, first I used a dedicated Soda blasting gun, later i Switched to the recirculating sandblasting gun that came with the sandblasting cabinet and that seemed to work equally as well without the need for refilling all the time.

As you can see from the picture the intake did not look good. The Soda managed to remove most of the discoloratins, but the black spots it could not touch. Also the thermostat housing had ben ground once in the past and also had what I believe is rust staining from the coolant.

After blasting I put the intake into hot water to dissolve soda. I then dried it and gave it a wipe-over with Sharkhide, a product for bare metal. Hopefully that will protect from dirt getting into the porous surface.

[marshman]

Looks nice. Trouble is the aluminium can be slightly porous and the hot oil and other stuff can soak in making it virtually impossible to get totally clean.

Soda blasting is quite a gentle process. The more gentle a process is the slower it will be. For cleaning soft aluminium parts like the inlet manifold or carburetor bodies I use a small blasting cabinet with small glass beads. They clean nicely and quickly but do not leave a pitted surface like a sharp grit would. More gentle than abrasive grit but more aggressive than soda which I think is too gentle for the jobs you are doing. Be sure to give the manifold a good clean inside (airways and water ways) before refitting.

The air consumption is high so if you intend doing a lot you need a decent sized compressor with a largish reservoir and good free air delivery. The one I use has a 50 litre tank and 4.7 cu ft / min Free Air Delivery. NOTE: Free Air Delivery is not the same as Displacement. Most manufacturers quote displacement, mine is quoted at 14.7 cu ft /min displacement but air tools are rated in consumption, which should ideally be less than the free air delivery of the compressor otherwise you end up in your situation of having to keep stopping to let the reservoir fill up.

The other problem with blasting can be moisture getting into the medium if it is left open to the air for any time and also moisture in the compressed air. A moisture trap in the airline will help but it is not perfect. The situation can be worse if you have a small compressor that is working hard.

Roger

[Ian928]

Today I did the carburettor, my Stag has a Autolite 2100 Carburettor installed in USA at some point. Anyway, this worked very much better. I was able to clean this cast easier and faster. This is after about 15min of cleaning. I could have done a more thorough job but it is not easy because the soda fills the cabinbet and makes you work in blind.

[dasadrew]

Your feedback on soda blasting is interesting as I'd been considering it also. I completely concur with Roger's comments on the compressor. I've got a fairly good size one which is fine for spray painting, but it sure loses air fast when connected to the "sand" blasting cabinet, needing frequent pauses and also cooling off periods which can be very frustrating. The media blasting company which did my bodyshell were also happy to point out that "sand" blasting (in inverted commas because it's not sand, but left over by-product of metal casting) opens the pores whereas bead blasting closes them. There guideline is to grit blast rusty iron or metal bits and bead blast alloy bits. If you bead blast rusty TCA's for example, they will lokk great but the rust is then enclosed by the glass bead blasting.

In practice I found that, for rough-ish alloy castings like the inlet manifold, a slight mix of the two media did the trick. Found this out as I was too lazy to get all the grit particles out of the cabinet before filling it with glass beads! The glass beads would, in theory, make a fantastic job of the carbs, but you'd have to be very brave and know every single micro bore in the carb to avoid blocking them with the glass bead media! Hence my interest in soda blasting. Items like the thermostat housing come up a treat with glass beads!

Drew

[Kithmo]

Have you tried carb cleaner, it's different stuff to brake cleaner. IIRC carb cleaner is Xylene based (like cellulose thinners) whereas brake cleaner is like carbon tetrachloride (dry cleaners stuff). Cellulose thinners is great for removing the gummy or dried lacquer that forms on the surfaces of the carburetor from heated petrol.

[marshman]

but you'd have to be very brave and know every single micro bore in the carb to avoid blocking them with the glass bead media! Hence my interest in soda blasting.
Drew

Absolutely right Drew. If you blast using any medium to be honest you will need to totally strip down the carb. It gets everywhere quite literally. I have cleaned carbs using beads then stripped them down and been amazed at how much ends up in places where you can't even see how it has got in - one example is on old Ford 1V carb the beads get both sides of the accelerator pump diaphragm in quite large quantities.

Beads are a lot faster than soda though, to do the carb shown by Ian would take less than 5 minutes.

Kithmo, I agree carb cleaner is great stuff. But on old parts it gets them clean and serviceable but not "looking like new" clean like blasting does.

Roger

[jbuckl]

Ian, are you able to say where you got the 'shark hide' please?
I heard it was good for 5 years, but couldnt find anyone to supply into the u.k.
Appreciate you're not form the uk.

[Ian928]

Ian, are you able to say where you got the 'shark hide' please?
I heard it was good for 5 years, but couldnt find anyone to supply into the u.k.
Appreciate you're not form the uk.

I bought it from a Norwegian company called Gasolin. I looked for it now in their webshop but can not find it. Maybe they have stopped producinig it altogether?

They do list a product that should be similar albeit in a spray can. It is produced by Eastwood, maybe you can get this in UK? https://gasolin.no/index.php?main_pa...ducts_id=11704

I used Sharkhide on the polished alloys on my Stag a few years ago and they have not oxidized after that.

[TR5convalescent]

I bought it from a Norwegian company called Gasolin. I looked for it now in their webshop but can not find it. Maybe they have stopped producinig it altogether?

They do list a product that should be similar albeit in a spray can. It is produced by Eastwood, maybe you can get this in UK? https://gasolin.no/index.php?main_pa...ducts_id=11704

I used Sharkhide on the polished alloys on my Stag a few years ago and they have not oxidized after that.

Here is a link to Eastwood’s sharkhide:

https://www.eastwood.com/sharkhide-aluminum-protectant-quart.html

Looks pricey, but i like the idea of only polishing my ally bits and wheels every few years!

David

[richardthestag]

it all depends on what finish you are looking for

sand tears stuff apart and is ruthless to a surface finish, BUT cheap and readily available for chassis or suspension components. it is not without it's hazzards though!! Silicosis for one

Bead is more friendly to your lungs, but more expensive. in a cabinet it is recyclable. I sieve it every now and then and lob it back in with a half bucket of fresh bead.

I have found bead to be very good for inlet manifold and cast brake calipers. cleans rust back effortlessly.

Soda I have used to good effect to shift paint from a delicate surface, not sure I would use it for anything else though.

If you want a mirror finish I would use bead blaster to get the worst of the stuff off and then revert to polishing wheels and stuff.

If you want a clean serviceable finish I would use bead blaster to get the worst of it off, and then paint with VHT ally paint avoiding internals and gasket faces

A dusting of lacquer over the top can give it a shine. It is quite resilient to surface temp on a normally running engine.

If you want bare alloy then I would be inclined to coat it with something unless you live in a very dry climate else it will start to oxidise again quite quickly

Equipment, I have a huge blast cabinet but only ever have about a kilo of blast media in it, too much and you will impact the suction to the gun. small amounts of media mean that I can also periodically drain it into a bucket, sieve the rusty lumps and stuff out and lob it back in again.

I have a 3Hp compressor with a 50litre tank, this setup can keep me blasting for about 5 mins before I pause to let the compressor catch up, and my ears take a rest. I can blast for around 45 seconds before the compressor pump kicks in.

I bought a dirt cheap (£5) bagless vacuum cleaner from ebay, I cut a hole in one of the plugs on the side of the blast cabinet and run the vacuum while I am blasting. This keeps the view clearish. My cabinet also has a bright LED light inside it.

The vacuum needs emptying after about an hour of blasting, the media in it is super fine but I lob it back into the cabinet. The filters and sponges in the vacuum cleaner also get a going over with the air gun. keeps the heat and strain down on the vacuum cleaner.

[richardthestag]

thought I would lob some piccies up of before and after to show the difference that can be made

warning - some of this stuff is NOT stag related

RV8 Inlet manifold with Strombergs for my 72 Range Rover project
20160416_154304.jpg

manifold was bead blasted and painted. the carbs were done in an ultrasonic tank
20160608_195431.jpg

brake pipe union from the front axle of a range rover, exposed to 45 years of elements
20171102_185439.jpg

one bead blast later
20171102_190210.jpg

range rover hubs, before and after bead blasting
20171105_153046.jpg

[richardthestag]

Lastly and as an alternative for smaller components, these are Pauls carbs that were refurbed using only an ultrasonic cleaner

20180126_104340.jpg

[dasadrew]

Lastly and as an alternative for smaller components, these are Pauls carbs that were refurbed using only an ultrasonic cleaner

... and a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon?

[richardthestag]

... and a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon?

thinking juice as Paul Goldstar called it