Bead blasting vs Vapor blasting

[@damiandelapp5490]

I’d have to say hands down on vapor blasting, a porous surface is a dirty surface more prone to oxidation

[@MatthewBerginGarage]

I actually use crushed walnut shells at medium pressure for cleaning aluminum. It removes the corrosion but doesn't remove any material. I find the aluminum parts look almost new after the blasting. Give it a try you will like the result.

[@ArnoldsDesign]

Do the shells have any embedded abrasives?

[@cranstjs]

What if there is a clear coat on a motorcycle wheel say. Does that have to be stripped first? Or can it just be blasted and it will clean it off to surface?

[@itsalldoable]

Hi Arnold, Thanks for sharing this with us. Very interesting, however, I watched another of your videos on dry bead blasting and you appeared to be getting the same results in terms of how shiny the finish was after blasting. I would think that it would all depend on the size of bead used as to the surface you achieve which is what you were saying in the other video. It would be very interesting to see a side by side comparison of two components , one vapour blasted and the other with dry blasting. Using the same mesh size bead for both. I hope you consider this as I am still not sure what the true advantage of vapour over dry is. The only benefit of vapour is, as I can see, that it washes away the dirt when cleaning a part up but this isn't an advantage when polishing. Also, I don't think vapour (wet) blasting would be a great choice for steel components as you would need to dry them properly , ideally in an oven, as soon as they come out of the cabinet. Sorry to be a pain, being an engineer I like to get to the route of every issue/problem. BTW, I have gone down the dry blast route as I didn't want to introduce additional moisture into my humidity controlled workshop. Kind regards Paul (from KZbin channel "48 Spokes", restoration and powder coating) UK

[@ArnoldsDesign]

Thanks for your comments. As you said, vapor blasting cleans the surface, where as dry bead blasting tends to drive the dirt further into the surfae. I've found that dry bead blasted aluminum finishes tarnish faster in a humid enviornment. Steel is ok in a wet cabinet when a rust inhibitor is used or a very dilute inhibited alkaline detergent is added. It is enough to keep the parts from rusting while they're being dried. Air drying is good. A wet cabinet needs a vacuum mist extraction, same as a dry blaster, to keep shop moisture down, and prevent the operator from inhaling any rust inhibitors. Drying parts in the room of course will spray some water around. It's nice to have a designated small area for that.

[@nanoblasting]

I always learn from your channel about one year, thank you Arnold 🙏

[@baldrickscunningplan6154]

Please be aware that bead blasting or vapour blasting promotes corrosion. The parts do not stay like this for very long unless you laquer them after cleaning.

[@ArnoldsDesign]

+Beetlejuice 01 Any corrosion that occurs is the result of parts being extremely clean and oil free after blasting, and doesn't directly result from surface changes during blasting. Sand blasting is another story. Vapor blasting peens the surface of aluminum, which helps it deter corrosion. Aluminum forms a transparent protective oxide skin very quickly after blasting, and it builds up over time. The longer the time, the greater the protection. I have had no problems with corrosion in moderate environments, like road riding. For customers with machines that will be exposed to harsh condition, then yes, I suggest they clear coat with something like Everbrite. It won't yellow over time like lacquer does.

[@larrywoolford8978]

Arnold's Design o

[@pedrosilvaslva2625]

Dont wash your car promotes corrosion

[@Cobra427Veight]

I have done years of bead blasting , and it's the dusty beads that make the dullness , for the best job blast the part as normal , then remove the old beads and replace with new clean glass beads for the finish ,and you then get that nice shiny beaded surface. Cheers.nice job though.

[@ArnoldsDesign]

Sounds right to me. Vapor blasting automatically removes the dust and gets rid of it, along with other contaminants, leaving only sound clean beads behind. If you want to do dry blasting only, you will find that if you use fine to medium crushed glass for your initial blast to remove oxides, the crushed glass cleans the surface much faster than beads, but you still have your new dust free/clean beads to get a final finish. It will be different than a vapor blasted finish, but still decent. Of course, variations in air pressure, nozzle sizes, bead sizes, etc, alter the final finish to whatever we wish, which I'm sure you're aware of, but let's keep that under our hats, shall we?

[@Topnikko]

@@ArnoldsDesign I'm doing a restoration on vintage motocross bike and the cases are magnesium. There is some corrosion. I want the nicest finish possible and to remove all remnants of corrosion in preparation for the finish coat. Which blasting do you recommend?

[@colin-qp4zr]

Thanks. By very dirty I meant dry, baked on dirt that you get round the fins of air cooled engines, should you always bead blast them before trying to get a nice finish with the vapour blaster?

[@ArnoldsDesign]

I do, but it is just a personal preference. It depends on how good your vapor cabinet filter is. I use the bead blaster also to remove oxides if I use a mix of beads and harder abrasives

[@devinhalaburda7522]

I have recently been looking into vapor blasting then saw the price and began to look at some of your glass bead blasting videos. The finish in those videos looks really close to vapor blasting. Could glass beed provide almost the same result as vapor blasting?

[@ArnoldsDesign]

Bead blasting gives a nice looking finish, but it still looks different than a vapor blasted finish. It's hard to explain, but the vapor blasting has a softer look to it.. Also with bead blasting, there's nothing to remove dirt and glass from the beads, so it gets pushed into the aluminum surface after a while. If it's not critical, bead blasting will work.

[@ArnoldsDesign]

Plus bead blasted aluminum finished tend to tarnish over in the span of a year for reasons I can't figure out. Vapor blasted finishes last for years.

[@linc341]

Hey Mate just wondering if you could tell me what grade of glass bead you would do a dry blast with prior to Vapor blasting?

[@orsoncart9441]

But does vapor blasting seal the surface like bead blasting does. Get any oil on a bead blasted surface and it just wipes of with a bit of petrol and leaves no mark what so ever. that is the thing about bead blasting,it seals the aluminum surface.

[@ArnoldsDesign]

Not only does it seal, but it cleans the surface as it seals, whereas dry bead blasting pounds dirt into the surfaces as it seals it. Finish vapor blasting is nothing more that wet bead blasting.

[@chrishanley9741]

Great video. Inn on the process of purchasing a vapour blasting unit. Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks

[@motorcyclerefurbishment8162]

That bead blasting looks plenty enough for me....

[@bittainment5995]

Hello Sir. I got the car cylinder head with intake and exhaust valves fitted on it. I want to clean with glass bead. Can i do the vapor honing process without the removing of intake and exhaust valves, sprints. Or i have to remove the intake and exhaust valves first before vapor honing.

[@ArnoldsDesign]

I wouldn't. Abrasives or beads will end up lodged down inside the guides, and any other small place.

[@bittainment5995]

@@ArnoldsDesign Thank you sir. It means i have to disassemble every part which i have to blast. How do i blast small engine parts. Do i seal or masking with polyvinyl tape the gasket area before blasting. When should i use sodium bicarbonate on blasting an engine parts. Normally i use fine mesh glass beads.

[@ArnoldsDesign]

@@bittainment5995You can blast the gasket surfaces without taping. Soda is good for cleaning but won't strip aluminum oxide. You need hard fine abrasive for that, or glass bead under high pressure which crushes the beads. Glass beads are expensive, so I use crushed glass abrasive in the first place, which is cheaper

[@baggie00001]

What is the output of your compressor on your vapour blaster. What size glass bead did you use?

[@baggie00001]

I have a Wolfe 100 litre 24 cfm compressor. I use Fine and super fine glass bead. I use the super fine on Alloy parts. Takes a bit longer but doesn't leave any profile on the surface. Fine glass bead is used for steel or cast parts. I first tried Kiln dried sand but it leaves a layer of silica on the metal surface which you have to wire brush off.

[@ArnoldsDesign]

M Baggie Are you located in UK?

[@baggie00001]

Brad Arnold Yes. West Midlands UK.

[@puntagordy]

I have 1978 Suzuki GS 750 that I wish to blast the motor which is oxidized. I will remove the tank, tape off the frame, pipes, etc. I purchased a 26 gallon air compessor with enough PSI and a top feed gun. I have a 50 lb. bag of Clean Bite medium glass abrasive and a 25 lb. box of fine grit walnut shell. I also purchased Eastwood 2K Aerospray high temp gloss clear to help prevent this issue from reoccuring. Do you have any tips for me? I have owned this bike since 1987. She runs great. I have dragged it from Connecticut to Florida, Maine, Mass. and now back in Florida.

[@ArnoldsDesign]

Sounds like you have quality equipment, but you will need to refill your top loader many times which gets seriously old. I have one of those too, that I use for small touch-up things outside. I don't want to sound preachy plus you might already know this, but just in case you haven't, this is my most important tip. That is, always wear a quality N100 respirator when using this or any other abrasive in an open cycle or uncollected system. Don't use one of the useless flimsy paper masks from the hardware store. Get a decent one from Mcmaster Carr. Here is one that I like: www.mcmaster.com/#5450t28/=15buc61 $10.23 each, made by 3M. Form the metal tab around your nose, so that the seal doesn't leak. Incidentally, facial hair will interfere with the seal. The respirator with replaceable cartridges aren't expensive either. A big job like a 4 cylinder without a respirator will have your lungs thinking you just smoked an entire carton of cigarettes at once, and might even put you in the hospital. Let me now how you like clean bite. Crushed glass is the best and cleanest abrasive I've used. It breaks down a little quicker than aluminum oxide, but is much cleaner than it or silicon carbide, and leaves a brighter finish. I have videos of me making crushed glass at my shop, and it is what I use for everything. Hopefully clean bite is accurately screened so you don't get a lot of coarse stuff in with your medium grade. That is an issue with the cheaper brands of crushed glass I found, is they don't segregate the sizes enough. It's not a big problem with rough castings, but when you start doing fine articles, like carburetor bodies, delicate pieces, and tight tolerance surfaces, you have to be really careful. Crushed glass will give you a totally matte finish, much like sand blasting, which you probably already knew. If you can blast at 80psi constantly, that will work, 100psi even better. If you're not planning to use glass beads afterward, I don't think I would blast the interiors surfaces, because of possible glass embedding, which could migrate back into your oil at a later time. I blast interiors at my shop, but only if they're to be vapor blasted afterward, which removes and cleans any foreign matter and peens the surface. I don't think the walnut will do much to improve the finish, or give it a sheen, if that is what you are looking for. It might knock off some high areas, but I guess you could give it a shot. Walnuts are more for primary cleaning, or tumbling of soft metals, but even then, you have to introduce abrasive into the tumbler to get any type of "cut" or shine. The shells are just an abrasive carrier, or to knock off dirt and debris. I use them here for tumbling brass now and then. If you are looking for any kind of sheen at all, I would at least bead blast once you finish with the crushed glass. It won't be the same as vapor blasting, but it will look good. If you get beads, get quality ones. I will check out the Eastwood 2k Aerospray. Let me know how you like it. I've been recommending Everbrite Coatings and ACF-50 to customers, but this sounds like it has possibilities, too. If you have any more questions, feel free to contact me at [e-mail].

[@colin-qp4zr]

Hi, do you think that parts like engine cases that have a lot of paint or are very dirty should always be lightly bead blasted before trying to vapour blast them?

[@ArnoldsDesign]

I would in my opinion. It helps keep my vapor blasting cabinet from getting cruddy. If needed, I also pre clean cases before bead blasting.

[@denturemaster]

I have an inventory of over 30 bikes and growing, most all of which need major restoration. Lots of corrosion as well as old paint that needs removing. I'm researching blasting cabinets large enough for the entire motors to be vapor blasted. Any suggestions on brands. Thanks

[@ArnoldsDesign]

I think every vapor blasting company makes a cabinet large enough to accommodate what you need. I don't have a specific brand suggestion though, because I designed and built my own equipment.

[@onlybetx]

What needs to be done as far as prep for Vapor blasting? I need to do a cylinder and head. Do I need to seal off the cylinder walls?

[@ArnoldsDesign]

Sealing off walls isn't necessary. Customers can prep a part on their end by having it at least reasonably clean when it arrives at my shop. If I have to remove oil or grease, or hot tank it, I need to charge more for cleaning.

[@ArnoldsDesign]

Sealing off walls isn't necessary. Customers can prep a part on their end by having it at least reasonably clean when it arrives at my shop. If I have to remove oil or grease, or hot tank it, I need to charge more for cleaning.

[@pauldinatale4338]

i have a triumph motorcycle gas tank that the chrome emblems need to be redone as the chriome is perfect but the white paint that is the background for the name triumph has yellowed and flaked off in spots. what do you reconmend in removing the paint as to ready it for repainting.

[@ArnoldsDesign]

If the emblems are chrome plated metal, I would use a methylene chloride based paint stripper such as ZipStrip. It will blister the paint up in minutes and not hurt the chrome. If they're chrome plated plastic, you should probably avoid paint stripper, in case their are any voids in the chrome that will allow the stripper to seep into, and melt the plastic. You might be able to boil them in a medium strong solution of sodium metasilicate based dishwasher detergent. That will strip paint too, and shouldn't hurt plastic. I would be careful though, to check on it frequently, if the detergent has sodium hydroxide in it. It will eat some metals after a while, like aluminum. I would test the solution on a piece of chrome plated scrap first. I use Blue Seal hot tanking solution, which is safe on aluminum. If you're planning to do a lot of parts cleaning on aluminum, that is also an option, though it's sort of expensive. Some people also claim that dot 3 brake fluid left on paint will remove it, too. I don't know what it might do to plastic or chrome.

[@pauldinatale4338]

Thanks Arnold as my emblems are chrome plated metal. I will try zip strip And let you know how I made out. I will also take before and after photos with my phone camera.

[@ArnoldsDesign]

That will work. A old toothbrush will help remove the blistered paint.

[@ahole5407]

That looks like it was crushed glass or very coarse beads on rough casting. For the best results, polish out and flatten the castings get it all flat smooth and uniform just like you are going to polish it. Then dry fine or med bead depending of the shine you want at the end. This will give texture to the now smooth surface. Then get it with the low pressure extra fine vapor. Go slow and blend everything in The results are amazing but the work time and labor ( even in just the blasting) is too much for 99.999% of shops. They just throw it in and run it fast with worn out and contaminated coarse media. They only take their time and use fresh media on their own stuff of their buddies and then try and blame it on the "quality of metal" in your parts.

[@RichBurn]

what size media are you using in vapor blast? I have a spadone vaqua blast unit and with ballontini impact beads it is not that shiny. larger bead? different media?

[@ArnoldsDesign]

There are many variables at play. There's really no way I can address them here.

[@superbert35]

What would you use to remove some marks and scratches on a knife blade? I want to beadblast this old butterfly knife i have.thanks.

[@ArnoldsDesign]

I would sand the scratches out starting at 320 or 400 grit and work up to 600 grit. After that, bead blast it. Use new beads and lower pressure for the best finish.

[@superbert35]

+Arnold's Design thanks bud

[@legiongeth851]

I would bead blast it first then remove the scratches with sandpaper.

[@johnh1001]

I,m out of the aircraft industry , I see your work it,s very good ! This is the same process that,s used in turbine blade manufacturing , both dry glass bead blasting and cold water glass bead blasting .

[@ArnoldsDesign]

Thanks

[@colin-qp4zr]

do you find that heads and barrels off an air cooled four cylinder are probably the hardest things to do?

[@ArnoldsDesign]

Yes, by far. It sounds like you speak from first hand experience. They take me a disproportionately longer time than any other part I get.

[@colin-qp4zr]

what pre treatment can you do on the crankcases to make the vapour blasting a bit quicker? are there any chemicals that work well?

[@ArnoldsDesign]

Other than glass or abrasive blasting, I know of no other treatment. I'm still looking, though.

[@ArnoldsDesign]

***** I've thought about using newer media to clean, maybe in a tumbler, but haven't tried it. I have a mid size Crest ultrasonic cleaner now that is pretty effective. The flash rust is a challenge. There are lots of chemicals to stop it, but finding one that is somewhat safe is a huge hurdle. Every chemical you use gets misted during use, and is hard to avoid inhalation, even with vacuum fume removal. When you dig a little deeper into the ones that are "safe", you find out they are really not. A lot or inhibitors and cutting fluids use triethanolamine (TEA), which in itself isn't really bad, but industrial grade has about 15% contamination with diethanolamine (DEA), which is something you really don't want to play with. It is a cancer risk. I have spent countless hours reading about green alternatives, but you really have to dig deep into scientific journals to review the studies. I would certainly be open to new ideas.

[@ArnoldsDesign]

***** Vapor blasters are expensive. Too expensive. I just ordered a little table top vibratory tumbler, and am going to look into larger scale tumbling as a service in the future. I run a hepa filter on my dry cabinet. It catches stuff down to .3 micron. Some of my customers like dry blasting and then painting or powder coating. Nothing wrong with that. The fine white powder you mentioned might have been cerium oxide. Very fine stuff.

[@ArnoldsDesign]

***** I have a shop vac with a hepa filter. It works well, but clogs fast. I will look into the Sonic scrubber. That sounds interesting, and anything that decreases cleaning time would be great.

[@ArnoldsDesign]

***** I have a paasche abrasive airbrush. I used it when I used to do detailed glass etching. They are handy.

[@MrPILLS1957]

Very informative, thank you.

[@ArnoldsDesign]

Thanks!

[@ejgrae1989]

what size glass media do you use ? would 400 microns be ok?

[@ArnoldsDesign]

400 leaves a good finish. It's important to use low pressure and have a good dust collection system. It's not good for cleaning oxides and stains from aluminum, though. It will just pound the discoloration in deeper.

[@frankstein1230]

I noticed you have digital plans for equipment on the web site. I'm sure you thought to have a blueprint to build a vapor blasting cabinet. Since I have 30 bikes in my lineup, I have a need for a cabinet in my shop. Consider offering a digital plan for a 60 x 48 cabinet powered by a 3/4 pump 3 phase motor. I would buy a plan. James

[@ArnoldsDesign]

Yes, plans are something I'm working on, but I'm curious, why 60x48? Are you planning to blast frames too? I was thinking 40 x 40. I can handle a 4 cylinder bike engine with that easily. My design uses a 3/4hp pump, but single phase.

[@murraydaniels7401]

You have used a 3/4 hp motor but where did you get the pump from and what make is it please.

[@nanoblasting]

👍

[@wallaceadriandalessio2650]

and I still do not know what vapor blasting it.

[@ArnoldsDesign]

I have a lot of videos showing the process.

[@walkertongdee]

uhi ts a vs vid and he only shows on WTF

[@clayholliman3724]

yea and those 78 GS 750 bikes would fucing SCREAMMMM ok sorry lol

[@karlhagen7991]

Bullshit!

[@ArnoldsDesign]

Yeah?