DIY Home Built Vapor Blasting/ Honing Cabinet , wetblasting

[Patcon]

Just now, duffymahoney said:

There are tons of websites for blasting stuff.  Very little actually has to do with vapor/ water honing or whatever people call it.  I got lucky and the vapor honing guy gave me some secrets.  That's why mine works so well.  Next best thing would be some sort of slurry pre mix machine.  You could go nicer on the pump, but all pumps wear out.  Something that could be rebuilt would be nice.  The reason I picked this pump, is because it's easier to pull apart then my last one.  

 

Yeah, I thought a rebuildable pump would be nice. Also a mechanical agitator in the slurry to keep the beads from settling would be nice too. I may have to build one some day

[duffymahoney]

My system works fine. I just mix the slurry by spraying it. A bigger cabinet would be nice. Since a L6 Head barely fits. 

[duffymahoney]

Well ruined another pump, I need to find something better.  Some small that is high pressure and can take the tiny particles on a shaft.  I believe they are my issue . 

 

I got this Sk intake looking pretty before the pump started to leak:( It looked pretty nice before, so it cleaned easily.  

[Patcon]

What are you using as protectant after getting your aluminum clean?

[wheee!]

That is a crazy looking intake! Almost looks like ITB!

[wheee!]

That is a crazy looking intake! Almost looks like ITB!

[duffymahoney]

18 minutes ago, Patcon said:

What are you using as protectant after getting your aluminum clean?

Nothing. This is just raw.  I guess this lasts longer then just milled or cast.  I don't plan on driving my z in the rain or snow, so I assume it will look good for a long while.  I found out the slurry pump should be a flexible impeller style pump.  

[Patcon]

I have found that raw aluminum doesn't stay pretty very long for me without a coating. i am not near the coast but we have very high humidity. It will be interesting to see how yours holds up.

[siteunseen]

Turns grey down here too.

[240260280]

Vapour blasting peens the surface and slows some oxidation effects.

[duffymahoney]

I luckily don't live in an area that aluminum changes very fast.  Most of my stuff even on my daily driver looks fine and clean.  Winter road chemicals suck though, but the z will never see those.  

[duffymahoney]

Got a new pump. It goes in the cabinet. It’s called a trash pump. It does a much better job of keeping the slurry mixed. It’s  designed to pump up to 50% solids and can pump sand and silt. Works awesome. Only issue is it’s not as powerful. So I turned the air up slightly. Honestly man hands like the less pressure. Before vapor blasting for an hour and my hands would be very sore. M

brass comes out perfect with vapor.