Soda blasting

Turblue · Mar 30, 2023

Anyone have experience with soda blasting aluminum parts? I want to build a small soda blaster for aluminum parts..like clutch parts.

I was thinking a small bench blasting cabinet with a pressurized tank/feed unit.

NoBrakes! · Mar 30, 2023

a friend has a wet unit and strips jet boat hulls with it, doesn't warp the thin metal

Turblue · Mar 30, 2023

Yeah I looked into a vapour blasting but looks like a bit more effin around.

Chrisco · Mar 30, 2023

We use glass beads in our blast cabinet for clutches.

Turblue · Mar 30, 2023

Chrisco said:
We use glass beads in our blast cabinet for clutches.

Oh sweet. That does a great job. Glass bead less abrasive for sure. Have you tried soda ever?

Chrisco · Mar 30, 2023

Turblue said:
Oh sweet. That does a great job. Glass bead less abrasive for sure. Have you tried soda ever?

No with my machine glass bead was the number one recommended product to use for aluminum.

Turblue · Mar 30, 2023

Maybe I’ll try that first. I modified my blasting cabinet media feed to match the higher end ones. Is there a particular type of glass bead that works better? Thanks for the info.

Chrisco · Mar 30, 2023

Turblue said:
Maybe I’ll try that first. I modified my blasting cabinet media feed to match the higher end ones. Is there a particular type of glass bead that works better? Thanks for the info.

Glass Bead Blast Media 100-170 Grit 50 lbs.

rknight111 · Mar 30, 2023

I have a sand blast cabinet for sale, never used. Ill take pics this weekend and post.

ducati · Mar 31, 2023

Dry ice blasting seems to be another solution for sensitive materials. Pricey to get into from what I understand.

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NoBrakes! · Mar 31, 2023

a couple years back a friend of mine had his vintage motorcycle engine cases Vapor blasted in Ontario… they could do everything, even the bearing fits and the parts looked new after, not blasted, like it was just cast by Honda. Bright aluminum!

Turblue · Apr 1, 2023

So been looking into converting my blasting cabinet to a Vapor blaster. It actually looks fairly straightforward. The mods I’ve done has me almost there. Just need to ad the sump pump. May give it a whirl.