Vapor blasting ist verboten??

[surfguitar58]

I’ve seen all the videos about the great aluminum finish you get from vapor blasting, so I went searching for a vapor blast service provider in my area to strip the old paint and polish my new (to me) gearbox and bell housing and was surprised there were none. I eventually called a place out of state called Aqua Blast and they told me no reputable place does this anymore because the glass beads on the water are an environmental hazard.

So, my question: is there an alternative to vapor blasting that will give me a similar finish? Does anyone have any experience with soda blasting? I suspect I lack the patience to hand polish every nook and cranny of the gearbox with a cotton swab, so yes, I am looking for shortcuts.

Tom

[gideon]

Environmental hazard?  Were they thinking about open blasting, not in a cabinet?  I don’t see that there is any hazard if the slurry is contained.

[gideon]

You could try

http://noreasterblastworx.com

Or

http://www.arnoldsdesign.com

I haven’t used either of these and can’t vouch for them, but they both advertise vapour blasting as a service.

[BobW]

I think vapor blasting can use a variety of abrasive media, not only glass beads. I recently watched someone clean the aluminum valve covers from a Porsche 911 with walnut-shell media in a cabinet, dry. That setup did a nice job. I asked the shop owner about using it on my gearbox casing and he said that would be his recommendation.

[surfguitar58]

You could try

http://noreasterblastworx.com

Or

http://www.arnoldsdesign.com

I haven’t used either of these and can’t vouch for them, but they both advertise vapour blasting as a service.

Thanks Gideon, not sure why neither of these came up in my search. Noreasterblastworx looks promising, and has a cabinet big enough for a gearbox if I separate the bell housing.

Thanks all for the advice.

t

[cwtech]

Many years back, I was advised against glass-beading my transaxle unless the innards were stripped and blasting the case only.  ....That made sense then, and now.

There is a process where dry-ice pellets are used as the blasting medium.    ....The dry-ice turns into CO2 and the only clean-up is the material removed.
....It is used in restaurants because it is non-toxic and food-safe.  ....I have also heard of it being used to remove undercoat from vehicles.

[gideon]

I suppose that dry ice blasting is more expensive than vapour blasting.  With vapour blasting the glass beads can be re-used many times, but each dry ice pellet can only be used once.  Still, it might be an interesting option if you can use it clean an engine or transaxle without having to disassemble them.

[Gmg31]

My local hydro blast service filters the waste product. He refuses the water and disposes of the waste product and beads responsibly