Vapor Blasting of Aluminum Parts

NobleHops · Post by **NobleHops** » Tue Oct 20, 2015 11:38 am

Somebody was inquiring about engine cases - I just did blast a complete Z1 engine, including the cylinders, heads, valve cover, sump cover, side covers and pistons. The machinist was frankly delighted, said it makes his work a pleasure. Pretty fun before and afters as usual.

Pretty fun, eh?

Mello · Post by **Mello** » Tue Oct 20, 2015 2:40 pm

Wow!

NobleHops · Post by **NobleHops** » Tue Oct 20, 2015 3:51 pm

Mello wrote:Wow!

Thank you Mello!

NobleHops · Post by **NobleHops** » Mon Oct 26, 2015 9:24 pm

Did a neat project last week - Cool old O and T rearsets for the 1100F.

Pictures, themselves, yadda.

FIN

Michael Vidovic · Post by **Michael Vidovic** » Tue Oct 27, 2015 2:29 am

Love your work! Actually makes me want to get in there and do it"

NobleHops · Post by **NobleHops** » Tue Oct 27, 2015 10:05 am

Michael Vidovic wrote:Love your work! Actually makes me want to get in there and do it"

You are about the 20th person to say that

.

Much like painting though, the actual vapor blasting is the fun, relatively fast, clean and easy part. The prep work, a little less so

.

N.

steve murdoch icoa #5322 · Tue Oct 27, 2015 12:05 pm

Nils, the transformation of the rearsets is amazing.
Do you continue with the same pressure and media on the footpeg rubbers or did you have to remove them and spruce them up with a cleaner?

NobleHops · Post by **NobleHops** » Tue Oct 27, 2015 7:34 pm

steve murdoch icoa #5322 wrote:Nils, the transformation of the rearsets is amazing.
Do you continue with the same pressure and media on the footpeg rubbers or did you have to remove them and spruce them up with a cleaner?

Machined aluminum might be the most fun - it's generally higher quality metal and the finishes are usually really nice. Cast aluminum can vary quite a lot, on the same part much less the same motorcycle. I am starting to understand Honda's fondness for painting their castings, having denuded a bunch of them

. And they got a LOT better at casting metal in the 70s and 80s as they went.

Re the footpegs, you can vary the results/finish a lot simply with angle, distance, and pressure on the fly, and so that's what I did. That's pretty much straight out of the blaster, and they looked like new.

Thanks man!

Rick Pope · Post by **Rick Pope** » Tue Oct 27, 2015 7:57 pm

The transformation is stunning.

NobleHops · Post by **NobleHops** » Wed Oct 28, 2015 5:10 pm

Rick Pope wrote:The transformation is stunning.

Thank you very much Rick!

NobleHops · Post by **NobleHops** » Mon Nov 23, 2015 6:11 am

Apologies if you see this more than once. You guys will enjoy this.

I had two fun projects go through in the last week: A set of 1100F cases that I stripped the paint from (exterior) and vapor blasted, and some of a Honda CB750 SOHC engine too. My 1100F customer was thinking he'd repaint the cases, saw them natural and now he is like "Hmmm". We may see a nice 1100F running around with a set of aluminum cases soon.

Here's the SOHC4 engine:

cbxtreeme · Post by **cbxtreeme** » Fri Nov 27, 2015 9:08 am

Beautiful...!!!!

I've seen this done in the UK for several years now, and had wondered why I hadn't seen it in the USA.
I took an easier route and have a soda blaster, which cleans incredibly, but does not give the as cast look of Vapor blasting....
Time to do some research on stepping up my restoration methods....

Does it take off anodizing?

hondaman160mph · Post by **hondaman160mph** » Fri Nov 27, 2015 9:18 am

Nils, does that finish oxidize over time like raw unpolished aluminum?

NobleHops · Post by **NobleHops** » Fri Nov 27, 2015 11:37 pm

Sooner or later it would take off anodizing, but it's not suitable for that purpose - that's better done chemically.

And it will indeed oxidize over time - like all aluminum exposed to oxygen, and the finish will darken as it does. My 400f forks looked fantastic two year later, that's my only first hand experience.

For long term preservation my personal opinion is that clearcoat is still the best of a bunch of fair options.

N.

NobleHops · Post by **NobleHops** » Tue Dec 08, 2015 8:47 am

Check out these twin-pot Honda calipers, minus paint. I like it!