DIY vapor blaster plans. arnoldsdesign.c... Convert a sand blast cabinet into a vapor hone. I'm here once again vapor blasting some older parts, make them look nice again.
After watching your earlier video I made one. I built this hydro blaster from a HF sand blast cabinet and a cheap sump pump. Spent some extra time sealing it up. Its uses a plastic storage tub to catch the slurry. you use a different tub for each size media, siphon off the water and let it dry out to store. To change the media, drop the pump in a clean bucket of water rinse out the cabinet swap out the tub.takes 2-3 minutes. Also does normal dry media blasting also, The modification of the media pick up allows you to vary the amount of dry media from a pencil lead steam to a full tube. The brass pipe is threaded, unscrew the bolt and changes the vacuum at the bottom. Will work with a couple cups of sand or a single box of baking soda. I am using 40 micron glass spheres as a media, works well www.abcgt.com/new-forum/forum/main-forum/356-restoration-projects/446-tools-products-for-restorations?view=stream
I’m in the process of building my own vapor blaster for similar reasons as you mentioned in earlier comments. Are you using two machines in this video? One for sand using it to strip and deep clean parts and the other with glass bead to finish / polish the parts or are you changing out the media and blast nozzle on the same machine? Would love to get some more info on what you’re using. I’m gonna use an old pool pump for my slurry pump as it was almost free and it’ll give me enough gpm I’m thinking, might even be overkill. Figure it would get me started and I could change things up as I go.
Yes, those are two different machines. One uses crushed glass, and the other glass beads, though I can't really say sizes and pressures. You can try with a pool pump, and see how well it holds up. The all wear out after a while.
Arnold's Design very cool. I’ve seen some people just go to the glass bead and it looks to do a great job cleaning and finishing. Why not just do that?
I was referring to skipping your initial step of crushed glass vapor blasting and going straight to bead vapor blasting. That’s what all the vaporhoningtechnologies videos show.
i told a local vapor blaster here in the USA and he said he wouldn't do it. He vapor blasted a motor he knew he would be tearing down anyway to see if media would penetrate. When he opened up the motor there was media inside, it had pushed past shift shaft seals and kick starter seals. Do you lower the PSI when doing this. I think he mentioned he was at 90 PSI which sounded high too me.
Arnold hello your water was very brown looking :-) :-) lol and I think you need a new windshield wiper for tractor all I could see was someone with white gloves trying to get you to stop the tractor :-) :-) :-) nice work need blasting is tuff on stuff why not use crushed walnut shells :-) :-) just a question
I think the brown water look is just the lighting maybe, or maybe just the first couple seconds because of the iron pump housing, since the water sits there for a while sometimes. It is actually well filtered throughout the process. Yeah, that poor old wiper is worn, but it just keeps goin. It's like 9 years old I think. Walnut shells are good for dry blast cleaning, and I know for tumbling shells. I don't know how they'd fair in water. To get the finish in the vid, I used glass beads. I'm glad you liked the video.
I didn't realize you had a channel until tonight. You did my XR650L engine a few years ago. I'm still blown away at how great it turned out and how much easier it is to clean up to this day. Thanks!
Thanks. The slurry pump is operating properly. There are other factors that can sometimes increase processing time, but also allow my finishes to be as high as they are. You might not see these finishes with other shops or machines, but I can't speak for everyone. I've recently reduced my cycle times, though. I can't share the factors and variables of course, due to competition peeps.
Thanks. You could convert, but it's a steep learning curve from scratch. The devil is in the details though. If you're starting from scratch and on a budget, probably the easiest way to get into it is to find a used vapor blasting unit.
I've used angle grinders, dremels, bench grinders, wire brushes, sandpaper, Scotchbrite, etc. for restoring parts. They are fine if all areas are easily accessible, but there are almost always places where you can't work in. The utter uniformity of the finish over the entire part makes me so jealous. Having a system like this would be the holy grail for me.
Hi, great work! What was that gray media? I thought glass beads are the best to work with while vapor blasting to get satin/polished finish on aluminium...
I do this with my pressure washer and have tried many of media. I don’t have a cabinet, so I have too go outside and clamp my small parts. I use pieces of an old inner tube on the clamp so I don’t scratch any soft aluminum parts. Then just rotate the parts in the clamps. The parts come out great and is not that time consuming to move parts around in clamps.
If kept indoors, many years. I have parts sitting here for ten years that look the same. If it's for off road use, stored outside in humid conditions, or near the coast, I recommend some type of clear coat, or oil film over it, like acf-50.
Hi all, just a comment about what I do for cleaning the glass : I don't have any wiper and I don't use water, instead I installed an air nozzle inside the cabin and I use it to clean the glass from time to time, just the area in front of my eyes. It works very well, I can use it also to dry up the part inside the cabin while its still inside to get the "final" finish and correct it if needed. And also doing this saves water. I use the water nozzle only to clean the door before opening it. Have a look at my website : www.aquapolish.fr/welcome/ Cheers Claude
compressed air is extremely expensive !! even the best compressors waste 95 % of there electrical input in the form of heat, i use a extremely fast wiper (so fast that you dont notice it) and pulsed water
@@ArnoldsDesign I've heard other state that too, though is it really true as this fella is blasting entire engines. ua-cam.com/video/qQIIxsFJqmQ/v-deo.html
Great work! Can't believe I am taking a break from vapourblasting..... to watch more vapourblasting! My wiper system is 3 years old and was never good from new- I tried air blasts, clean water washing, different blades, spring tensions- the wiper always seems to just ride over the beads like yours. Biggest frustration I have.
I know exactly what you're talking about. I've done all those adjustments too. My solution was to run a continuous stream of water down the middle, which gives the wiper the ability to clean the glass with every swipe. The water stream is slightly annoying, but not nearly as much as over riding beads.
Hi again, it would be great if you would show us how you got those sandblasting boxes converted to vapor blasting. What pump, nozzle and other components we have to buy to get going. I would give you all my parts but I live in Germany and that alone makes it difficult but with the current political situation it makes it practically impossible to take those parts over without being hit by some outrages reimport fees. Thanks in advance.
I've noticed a lot of these guys dont like to share there secrets. I get it though. I'm building a cabinet now. I guess you/ we learn on your own trial and error.
Thank you. Yes, I built both machines. They're similar designs. I would rather have bought one too, but I wasn't sure whether the vapor blasting business would take off, so instead of investing a lot of money in commercial units, I built mine to save money.
That was going to be my question, Did you have a commercial machine to study and reverse engineer, or did you "figure it out" for yourself. The second approach is very satisfying when it is successful. Over this past weekend, I bought the HF blast cabinet, and ordered a pump. I am going to begin to figure it out. Years ago, I passed up a Vapor Hone cabinet at the scrap yard......UGH! Nice looking parts!!
Ive just been running 170-325 #13 glass bead. Been working wonders. Just curious what other folks have been running. Geezus, y'all act like its hard to mix abrasives to get different finishes.
Arnold - The company I work for sand/bead blasts alot of corroded cast iron/ grey iron/ ductile iron and steel parts. Would a vapour honing machine not only clean the parts better, but also FASTER? Can we save time blasting if we buy a vapour honing machine or stick with bead/sand?
After watching your earlier video I made one. I built this hydro blaster from a HF sand blast cabinet and a cheap sump pump. Spent some extra time sealing it up. Its uses a plastic storage tub to catch the slurry. you use a different tub for each size media, siphon off the water and let it dry out to store. To change the media, drop the pump in a clean bucket of water rinse out the cabinet swap out the tub.takes 2-3 minutes. Also does normal dry media blasting also, The modification of the media pick up allows you to vary the amount of dry media from a pencil lead steam to a full tube. The brass pipe is threaded, unscrew the bolt and changes the vacuum at the bottom. Will work with a couple cups of sand or a single box of baking soda. I am using 40 micron glass spheres as a media, works well
www.abcgt.com/new-forum/forum/main-forum/356-restoration-projects/446-tools-products-for-restorations?view=stream
Solo sirve para partes aluminio por qué en acero normal lo oxida al menos que se le ponga inhibidor de corrosion
WOW!! They turned out like new
I don't know why but this is fun to watch. Excellent results. Nice Work!
I’m in the process of building my own vapor blaster for similar reasons as you mentioned in earlier comments. Are you using two machines in this video? One for sand using it to strip and deep clean parts and the other with glass bead to finish / polish the parts or are you changing out the media and blast nozzle on the same machine? Would love to get some more info on what you’re using. I’m gonna use an old pool pump for my slurry pump as it was almost free and it’ll give me enough gpm I’m thinking, might even be overkill. Figure it would get me started and I could change things up as I go.
Yes, those are two different machines. One uses crushed glass, and the other glass beads, though I can't really say sizes and pressures. You can try with a pool pump, and see how well it holds up. The all wear out after a while.
Arnold's Design very cool. I’ve seen some people just go to the glass bead and it looks to do a great job cleaning and finishing. Why not just do that?
Thanks. Blead blasting looks good, but the finishes have a different look than with vapor blasting. Vapor blasting have other advantages as well.
I was referring to skipping your initial step of crushed glass vapor blasting and going straight to bead vapor blasting. That’s what all the vaporhoningtechnologies videos show.
How much do you charge to blast parts? Do you do my time or per part?
I usually quote by the job. You can contact me at b.arnold@arnoldsdesign.com for a quote.
i told a local vapor blaster here in the USA and he said he wouldn't do it. He vapor blasted a motor he knew he would be tearing down anyway to see if media would penetrate. When he opened up the motor there was media inside, it had pushed past shift shaft seals and kick starter seals. Do you lower the PSI when doing this. I think he mentioned he was at 90 PSI which sounded high too me.
Arnold hello your water was very brown looking :-) :-) lol and I think you need a new windshield wiper for tractor all I could see was someone with white gloves trying to get you to stop the tractor :-) :-) :-) nice work need blasting is tuff on stuff why not use crushed walnut shells :-) :-) just a question
I think the brown water look is just the lighting maybe, or maybe just the first couple seconds because of the iron pump housing, since the water sits there for a while sometimes. It is actually well filtered throughout the process. Yeah, that poor old wiper is worn, but it just keeps goin. It's like 9 years old I think. Walnut shells are good for dry blast cleaning, and I know for tumbling shells. I don't know how they'd fair in water. To get the finish in the vid, I used glass beads. I'm glad you liked the video.
You rock man..glad to see you're still alive & kicking !!!
Thanks! Same here!
I didn't realize you had a channel until tonight. You did my XR650L engine a few years ago. I'm still blown away at how great it turned out and how much easier it is to clean up to this day. Thanks!
Thank you for saying so! I remember your engine. I have photos of it I took after I finished it.
Never heard of vapor blasting whst do you use water and what ??? Parts come out like new.also what state you in
I use glass beads. I'm in north central PA.
the slurry pump you use is kinda weak imho, you prob. spent a lot of time doing these parts , nice endresult though!!
Thanks. The slurry pump is operating properly. There are other factors that can sometimes increase processing time, but also allow my finishes to be as high as they are. You might not see these finishes with other shops or machines, but I can't speak for everyone. I've recently reduced my cycle times, though. I can't share the factors and variables of course, due to competition peeps.
How to convert a dry blasting cabinet into a vapor blaster.
Nice Work.. !
I know this is the easy way out... Would converting a HF box work.. ?
Thanks. You could convert, but it's a steep learning curve from scratch. The devil is in the details though. If you're starting from scratch and on a budget, probably the easiest way to get into it is to find a used vapor blasting unit.
That's wicked! Keep on Rock-n man!
Thanks!
I've used angle grinders, dremels, bench grinders, wire brushes, sandpaper, Scotchbrite, etc. for restoring parts. They are fine if all areas are easily accessible, but there are almost always places where you can't work in. The utter uniformity of the finish over the entire part makes me so jealous. Having a system like this would be the holy grail for me.
Hi, great work! What was that gray media? I thought glass beads are the best to work with while vapor blasting to get satin/polished finish on aluminium...
Love the wiper blade!
do you not have a bracket inside the cabinet that holds the gun for you? then you can hold the piece with two hands
I don't. Does that work well? Some of the angles would be difficult I'd think.
I do this with my pressure washer and have tried many of media. I don’t have a cabinet, so I have too go outside and clamp my small parts. I use pieces of an old inner tube on the clamp so I don’t scratch any soft aluminum parts. Then just rotate the parts in the clamps. The parts come out great and is not that time consuming to move parts around in clamps.
does it safe to clean block and head engines using glass beads with Wet blasting? thanks!
What grid seize you using? I'm from Canada.
How long will those parts last With that finish
If kept indoors, many years. I have parts sitting here for ten years that look the same. If it's for off road use, stored outside in humid conditions, or near the coast, I recommend some type of clear coat, or oil film over it, like acf-50.
A great finish, love that job arnold. What kind of a abrasive that u use it? And mesh suze. Thanks
Thanks. I use glass bead for the final finish. I can't say the exact size and pressures I use of course, because of competitors.
Ok that's fear enough. Anyway my I have your email address? Coz, i need to ask something.
Hi all, just a comment about what I do for cleaning the glass : I don't have any wiper and I don't use water, instead I installed an air nozzle inside the cabin and I use it to clean the glass from time to time, just the area in front of my eyes. It works very well, I can use it also to dry up the part inside the cabin while its still inside to get the "final" finish and correct it if needed. And also doing this saves water. I use the water nozzle only to clean the door before opening it.
Have a look at my website : www.aquapolish.fr/welcome/
Cheers
Claude
compressed air is extremely expensive !! even the best compressors waste 95 % of there electrical input in the form of heat, i use a extremely fast wiper (so fast that you dont notice it) and pulsed water
Hi Arnold nice finish on your work. What type of media do you use?
Glass bead
@@ArnoldsDesign Do you blast entire motorcycle engines that are fully intact?
@@MrRockstar1968 I don't recommended blasting an intact engine. Water and abrasive always find a way into the smallest spaces, even when plugged.
@@ArnoldsDesign I've heard other state that too, though is it really true as this fella is blasting entire engines. ua-cam.com/video/qQIIxsFJqmQ/v-deo.html
What media do you use for wet blasing?
In deutsch...''nassstrahlen''
What is the size of your nozzle? What abrasive did you use on this?
Great work! Can't believe I am taking a break from vapourblasting..... to watch more vapourblasting! My wiper system is 3 years old and was never good from new- I tried air blasts, clean water washing, different blades, spring tensions- the wiper always seems to just ride over the beads like yours. Biggest frustration I have.
I know exactly what you're talking about. I've done all those adjustments too. My solution was to run a continuous stream of water down the middle, which gives the wiper the ability to clean the glass with every swipe. The water stream is slightly annoying, but not nearly as much as over riding beads.
Hi again, it would be great if you would show us how you got those sandblasting boxes converted to vapor blasting. What pump, nozzle and other components we have to buy to get going. I would give you all my parts but I live in Germany and that alone makes it difficult but with the current political situation it makes it practically impossible to take those parts over without being hit by some outrages reimport fees.
Thanks in advance.
I've noticed a lot of these guys dont like to share there secrets. I get it though. I'm building a cabinet now. I guess you/ we learn on your own trial and error.
These results blow me away
What size of media did you use please where to get it
What media did you use for the first time?
good day sir im starting a vapor blasting service here in our local place in phil. any advice on how to price a job like that thanks for the reply.
As high as possible or you won't be in business for long.
can you tell us what equipment you're using? I'd like to own a vapor blasting machine
I built my own. It can be done, but requires a large amount of trial and error.
Wait, the vapor blasting machine too? 0:32? Thats impressive to build it yourself. I would rather buy one.
Thank you. Yes, I built both machines. They're similar designs. I would rather have bought one too, but I wasn't sure whether the vapor blasting business would take off, so instead of investing a lot of money in commercial units, I built mine to save money.
ok
That was going to be my question, Did you have a commercial machine to study and reverse engineer, or did you "figure it out" for yourself. The second approach is very satisfying when it is successful. Over this past weekend, I bought the HF blast cabinet, and ordered a pump. I am going to begin to figure it out. Years ago, I passed up a Vapor Hone cabinet at the scrap yard......UGH! Nice looking parts!!
Use what water in the last
Great work
Top
I try order but cant
If this is Peter, I replied to your email. Thank you.
@@ArnoldsDesign thanks
Nice job that's awesome
Thanks Mt Man :)
What media did you use and was it two different types?
I use fine abrasive for removing oxidation, and glass beads for finishing.
@@ArnoldsDesign what type of glass,how fine?
Whats your secret mix?
Blood, sweat, and tears.
If he told you, it wouldn't really be secret. Though, I've heard unicorn droppings make great abrasive.
Ive just been running 170-325 #13 glass bead. Been working wonders. Just curious what other folks have been running. Geezus, y'all act like its hard to mix abrasives to get different finishes.
@@ArnoldsDesign Nice.. lol
Polish?
German and English mostly.
No, not Polish. I was just thinking how much better they would look if you polished them to a shine. Great work, though. Fascinating technique/tools!
Thanks. Some customers like a satin look, so they go with this method.
CandyGramForMongo
HI - Larious. A miscommunication b/t Mongo ay? Does your dog bite? It's not my dog.
Great video buddy. Buying my own vapour blasting machine next week. Any tips would be appreciated 😊
Thanks. Regarding tips, I could write a book. It's beyond the scope of youtube comment section.
Arnold's Design any tips would be greatly appreciated
Do you have to like clear coat anything that is Aluminum or use a rust preventative if your vapor hone/blast steel (like after completing)?
You have to re-plate steel or paint it. Aluminum is good to go, but can be sprayed with acf-50 or clear coat if you want.
Do you do this on your motorcycle parts? Where can I buy a starter vapor blast unit?
Arnold - The company I work for sand/bead blasts alot of corroded cast iron/ grey iron/ ductile iron and steel parts.
Would a vapour honing machine not only clean the parts better, but also FASTER? Can we save time blasting if we buy a vapour honing machine or stick with bead/sand?
Where can i get like your machine vapour?
I built my own. I have plans available if you need, though the links to parts I list are from American sources like Amazon and Mcmaster.com.