Re: Abrasive Blasting

[Mumbles]

With no access to soda blasting around here I use beads on everything. Real beads, not the crushed glass.

I used to mask off everything I didn’t want touched by the beads but that seems to be unnecessary as the beads don’t damage anything and I don’t shoot any machined surfaces or the cylinders themselves. I’ve turned ABS plumbing pipe down to fit in the cylinders as sleeves for protection though on some of the smaller OMC motors and any overspray on the cylinder walls will be removed when they are honed.

All traces of oil have to be removed before blasting as the dust will stick to these areas. A good scrub in hot soapy water and a good blow with high pressure air will remove any residue.

The soda sounds like a good and friendly media to use but probably leaves a smooth finish, like walnut does. Beads leave a little bit of tooth on the metal which helps any filler or primer bond really good.