Vapor Honing Glass Bead Blasting Media Visual Finishes by Grit
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- Опубліковано 15 сер 2020
- A visual finish representation of three glass bead media types that I've used.
Central Pneumatic 80 grit glass bead media - www.harborfreight.com/50-lb-g...
Ballotini 100 - 170 grit glass bead media - www.grainger.com/product/BALL...
Ballotini 170 - 325 grit glass bead media - www.grainger.com/product/BALL...
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Your channel is fantastic. You have inspired me to make an attempt to build my own vapor blaster.
Hello Thomas, Thank you for commenting and encouragement. I'm glad you found value in this video for your viewing time and encourage you to build it. You'll be rewarded with beautiful parts every time.
Great vid brain grew heaps, just looking into start doing this blasting, thankyou for the confidence to go out and do it :)
I'm so glad you found value in this video for your viewing time. Yeah, it was the same for me when I started looking into it. Unfortunately, the information available was either vague, incomplete or way more complicated than was needed for a bare bones system. You're going to be amazed at the results.
Best of luck with your build :)
Thank you for doing this. Now I don't have to buy 3 bags of media to experiment myself. Awesome.
Hi Nat Funk,
Thank you for commenting. I'm glad you found this video useful. There are 3 types of media that up to this point I've been able to do everything with. 36 grit garnet will remove (powder coat, paint, and rust) and also deburrs, but don't use it on plastics. The garnet will etch the blast cabinet glass so make sure you have a film protecting it.
The 80 grit glass bead and 170-325 US sieve glass bead medias work great for cleaning and polishing if you don't need to remove powder coat, heavy paint, or heavy rust.
Links to all of them are below.
www.grainger.com/product/GRAINGER-APPROVED-Garnet-Blast-Media-402F56
www.grainger.com/product/GRAINGER-APPROVED-Glass-Beads-Blast-Media-35KJ36
www.grainger.com/product/BALLOTINI-Glass-Beads-Blast-Media-2W766
www.grainger.com/product/BALLOTINI-Glass-Beads-Blast-Media-6ZC13
The CENTRAL PNEUMATIC from Harbor Freight below is a good budget option. They say it's glass bead but they are not round. The granules have edges that will scratch up plastic.
www.harborfreight.com/25-lb-glass-bead-80-grit-abrasive-media-61875.html
@@vbared Dear Victor, first of all, thank you kindly for your very informative posts. I am currently trying to figure out which media would be the best for general heavy cleaning and deoxidizing. So far I've been using 220 Mesh aluminum oxide, which does OK so say the least, but it can't cope with heavy paint layers and generally takes ages to remove stuff. I noticed you went as low as 36 grit with garnet, which I imagine to be quite similar to aluminum oxide in terms of hardness and efficiency. Now, would you say that the lower the grit, the more powerful the cleaning action, while sacrifying surface smoothness? Woud you blast aluminum parts like this one (engine cases and such) with such heavy grit and then give it a polish with glass bead? I'm just trying to find something really powerful that wouldn't harm my parts. Thank you for your answer. Great content!
Hello Vit, Please excuse the delay in responding. While I was working with rust removal on cast iron the only grit that got the job done the fastest was the 36 grit garnet. I have a Brembo brake project planned in the next couple of months. The plan is to strip the factory powder coat off. The 36 grit garnet should do the job of knocking it all off. Next would be to switch the media to 80 grit glass bead, then 170-325 US sieve (extra-fine) glass bead for polishing. I wouldn't use 36 grit garnet for anything other than stripping heavy paint, powder coat, rust, or deburring. Stick with glass beads for cleaning and deoxidizing. I would avoid blasting the cylinder walls, cam, and crank journals.
Best of luck!
@@vbared
Hi ynat Funk
I have to agree with Victor. Don’t blast Cams or Crankshaft because you will get media into oil channels and it is almost impossible to clean evereything out so you will end up with media in the oil and the result is a dead motor in a very short time.
Thanks for sharing your results! I'm a home based DIY'er too, this kind of thing helps ALOT what a time saver. I'm in the process of doing some small upgrades to my bare bones blasting setup and documenting the process. I have some testing to do myself and plan on sharing my results. I'll be pointing people in your direction for sure!
Hello Doc Jones, Thank you for commenting. I'm glad you found value for your viewing time in this video. I thought the vapor blasting was the coolest thing ever when I came across Vapor Honing Technology's UA-cam videos. I spent money I didn't need to in the learning phases. I mainly use two types of media garnet and glass bead. Three grits is all you need to get 90% of things done, 36 grit garnet (for stripping), 80 grit glass bead (stage one polish), and 170-325 US sieve glass bead (aka extra fine glass bead media) for the final polish. The 100 grit glass bead can be skipped unless that's the finish you're after.
Best of luck with your build!
Very nice job on your videos,Only watched a couple ,Will watch more ,Thank You !!!
Hi Greg, Thank you for commenting. I'm glad you found some value for your viewing time.
Cheers!
Another Excellent learning video. Thanks Victor.
Thanks again B Isaiah, Early on I had no idea how the different grits would change the looks of the finish. One thing that I learned is that if the part you are working with is large it's best to use a two step grit approach. This way the overall finish is consistent and not blotchy. If you have any questions I'd be happy to share what I've learned to help you save time and money.
Cheers!
@@vbared ... Many thanks. Peace.
Very Useful Information and Excellent Demonstration-Thank You Very Much, Well Done ✅👍
Hello Michael, Thank you for commenting. I was clueless at first and not too much detail available online. The glass bead medias were just called fine and extra-fine glass bead but when you are looking to purchase them there aren't called that. Sometimes they are referred to by grit other times by US sieve. The only two glass beads that I use are 80 grit and 170-325 US sieve (aka extra fine glass bead). I found that you can skip over the grits in between unless you are needing a less shiny look.
Best of luck!
Excellent! 👍
Thank you for commenting Mi G,
Best of luck with your projects!
Superb
Hello help for GOD, Thank you for commenting. I'm glad you found some value in this video for your viewing time. Hit me up if you have any questions.
Best of luck with your projects!
Hi Victor
I have my wet and my dry box for over a year now and I am a rather impatient person so my prefered way ist to start removing castmarks or any kind of blemishes first with a fine file, therafter I dry blast with ultra fine grit crushed media first, which removes rust and other corrosion very fast and leaves a very uniform matte surface. This goes very fast, like the part you have, in less than a minute. Now at last I use ultra fine beads, like you do, in my vapor blaster and afterwards meticulously wash (pref. Warm water) and airdry them (most important with cast iron parts .... flash rusting).
This gives super results in a very short time. Using beads will not remove any aluminium corrosion (whiteish or black stuff) and for that I dry blast first ultra fine aluminium oxide but only at a low to medium pressure since this stuff cuts well. Aluminium oxide (dry) works great on cast iron too and susequent wet bead blasting shines them up quickly.
Greetings Bernhard
Hi Bernhard, thank you for commenting. I prefer a two step process as well for getting the best results. On aluminum parts I start with 80 grit glass from Harbor Freight blasting at 50 psi. They say it's glass bead but under a magnifying glass edges can be seen. My next and final step is the extra fine glass bead from Grainger also at 50 psi. A second cabinet would make things much faster than having to switch media out.
Best of luck with your projects!
Excellent. I have been looking that comparison for some time. Thank you sir !
Hi Michal, Thank you for commenting. When I started on the vapor blasting kick. The glass bead medias were just called fine and extra fine glass bead but when you are looking to purchase them there aren't called that. Sometimes they are referred to by grit other time by US sieve. The only two glass beads that I use are 80 grit and 170-325 US sieve (aka extra fine glass bead). I found that you can skip over the grits in between unless you are needing a less shiny look.
Best of luck!
@@vbared I appreciate you, You give us valuable information. Can't wait for more videos.
@@vbared Why I did not find you 4 months ago. You would save me a bunch of money. Today I go with your solutions !!! Tones of thanks.
@@mim2282 Hello MiM, Thank you for commenting. I'm glad you found value for your viewing time.
Best of luck with your projects!
@@mim2282 I'm currently rebuilding the Brembo calipers of my Evolution 8. Lots of vapor blasting, etching in the Brembo logo and testing different 3D printed tips and new blast gun. Just waiting for a sunny day so I can clear coat them.
Stay tuned it's coming soon.
Good comparison. I might just have to convert my cabinet to be able to vapor blast.
Thanks for commenting Doug, It works extremely well and doesn't clog, no need to degrease parts, doesn't warp thin materials. It's only drawback is you must dry and treat parts that rust quickly.
Subscribed great contents 👍
Hello Matt, Thank you for commenting. I'm glad you were able to extract some value for your viewing time.
Cheers!
No thank you for keeping it simple looking forward to watching the the rest of your videos and future ones ,happy new year and stay safe
Nice informative video Victor. Have you tried vapor blasting automotive pistons? I am doing an engine rebuilt GM small block. Keep the video’s coming really good job on all. John 😀
Hello TheJR914, Thank you for commenting and your kind words. I haven't yet but know if it's made of aluminum it should turn out the same, for sure it will remove any carbon. You just need to be very thorough at rinsing and blowing out internal engine parts to make sure there is no blast media left.
Best of luck with your build!
Hello Victor! my best wishes from Mexico! As other coments had said, thank you for your time and teaching, I´m pretty sure for many of us you have saved some bucks from ourself! Finally I´ve saw a complete and very well done video explaining many doubs I had and that´s why I am bleaming you because I´m more than decided to buy my VHT!!
The only complain is the final result! I would like to see that result on 3 diferent pieces because, at the end, the same piece was buffed/polish (with diferent grits of course) 3 times.
So, my final doubt is, is this like the buffing wheels and compunds? start from hard to soft to obtain the shiny result? then for the carb, start with 100-170 and then finish with 170-325? doing this don´t we take out much material from the piece?
thank you and happy new year!
Hello Balmori, Thank you for commenting and encouragement. As you mentioned it's the same process as using a buffing wheel with different grit pastes and removes the same amount of material but unlike the buffing wheel it gets into every nook and cranny and thin parts won't warp due to heat build up.
What works best for me is to start all vapor blast polishing jobs using 80-grit glass bead then switching to 170-325 US Sieve (aka Extra Fine Glass Bead) media. The video is really just to show the differences in the luster between the different grits. So if someone only wants a less shiny finish they would just need to start with 80-grit glass beads and finish with 100-170 US Sieve.
This two step process creates the most uniform finish. I learned that just trying to polish a whole piece without first starting with the 80-grit creates a blotchy finish.
Check out my video on a valve cover I restored using the two step method - ua-cam.com/video/OvEFrWb1PWI/v-deo.html
I just saw it! thanks for the explanation, the result of that part btw was oustanding!!! Suscribed already!!!@@vbared
@@balmori.hangarage Thank you, friend. I'm glad you found value in the video for your viewing time.
Don't hesitate to ask if any questions come up.
Great vid, can really see the difference! What do you think of that gun? I recently converted my cabinet and was going to buy one but built one instead
Hello Master Of non tv, Thank you for your kind comment.
Like you I decided to build my own slurry gun, leaving out the things I didn't like about the available selections and adding what I felt was important. If you own a 3D printer, I offer the digital download for purchase on my Shopify store (first link below) and a physical kit on Amazon (second link). The performance is outstanding and I've been using mine since mid April 2021.
victor-bared.myshopify.com/products/v3-vapor-blast-gun-nozzles-stl-files-for-diy-3d-printing?ToPasteBoard&
V3 Vapor Blast Gun Kit - amzn.to/3gqJ9nV
Best of luck with your mods!
Hey Victor. Great channel and technical information. I have vintage 1973 motorcycle cases and hubs that have a dark 'dirty' appearance. I used aluminum oxide on one test and it pitted it up. I used the 80 grit HF glass bead and it won't remove the darkness off but does polish it some. I'm using 60 psi and approximately 1 cup of media in 5 gallons of water. I'm using your justhangin gun kit too. Do you have any suggestions in order to get a more polished but clean look? I like the shinier clean looking aluminum. Thanks Ron.
Hi Ron, thank you for commenting and supporting my work. I'm glad you found value in the vapor blast videos for your viewing time. With my pump setup already inside the 5 gallon bucket I've found that 3-3.5 cups of media filling the rest of the bucket to 3/4 with water works great. Aluminum oxide and garnet are super aggressive and as you've found will material fast. I would use the Harbor Freight 80 grit glass bead to decontaminate the part then switch out the media for some 170-325 US Sieve for the final polish. If the 80 grit glass doesn't remove the oxidation then try a heavier glass bead like 36 grit for decontamination, followed by 80 grit, and finish with the 170-325 US Sieve.
Give me a call if want more details 478-227-3301
Excellent job 👍 Can you clean an aluminum intake?
Hi Falcon, thank you for commenting. Yes anything aluminum cleans up and will look brand new again. I would plug up all the ports so only the outside gets exposed to the water and blast media. That way you don't need to worry about any glass beads floating around in your engine.
Cheers!
Nice! What pressure did you use? Some people say lower is better. Around 30psi thoughts?
Hello Chris, I blast aluminum at 50psi with the glass beads anything over 60 psi will risk the glass beads shattering. 30 psi would be good for something that might have a coating you don't want to remove but clean. I've gone down as low as 15psi when cleaning coins.
What all is involved in switching between grits? Do you just swap out buckets or do you have to do a bunch of stuff to the machine too?
(:
Great comparison! What is the vacuum for, remove the mist? Thanks!
Hello Trev, Thank you for commenting and kind words of encouragement. Yes, you're right to remove the mist. It still splashes like crazy but with without the vacuum visibility is non existent.
Great video,
this will surely help who's trying the many setups in the machines. A fundamental factor I've seen is the total pressure at the gun's tip.
Can you disclose how many litres of slurry per minute you used, what nozzle diameter and air pressure have you used?
I'm offering this service in Italy and made a table for nozzle diameters plus air and slurry pressure, this way it stays in front of me.
Best results for me is :
For polishing: 1,8L/Sec slurry, 4Atm air, 90 - 150µm glass beads, 10mm Nozzle
For quick cleaning and stripping: 2.2L/Sec slurry, 8Atm air, 200 - 300µm crushed glass, 8mm Nozzle
Never had any issue with engines, even if completely assembled. I use 3 steps to close and seal the ports
Hi Vapor Blast Italia, Thank you for commenting. I'm using an 8mm nozzle @ 50 PSI 18 CFM for polish and flowing extra fine glass bead media at about 79 liters per minute. If I'm polishing a small part the extra fine media works well for me. On Large parts (to avoid uneven polish) I'll use a two step process of 80 grit glass bead followed by the the extra fine. I'm still learning so it's great that you are sharing what's working well for you. I'm eager to remove powder coating on brake calipers. Do you have any experience with that?
@@vbared yes I've done several brake calipers and wheels both heavily coated, I found that using crushed glass instead of beads helps to speed up the process and specially in saving the beads. This requires a passage with crushed glass, another one with medium fine beads, and if you want them super shiny a third passage with ultra fine beads
You can see on my videos one set of calipers being brought from black to basic aluminium finish. There the crushed glass really worked out
How big of a hassle is it to change media? Also how often do you flush out the system to remove contaminants?
Hi Rob W, thank you for commenting. I made up a video on how I change out the media in my system (link at the bottom). It's really simple and touches on removing contaminants. I run my system with about 3/4 of the bucket full of water to leave room for the rinse water. Once the bucket is totally full after the rinse the pump will be completely submerged. The next time I use it I'll look for oil will float on top of the water. If there is any I'll just place an oil absorbing pad on it. Once it's the oil is removed I'll siphon out water to get back to 3/4 full.
ua-cam.com/video/LXoGc67tuEk/v-deo.html
Cheers!
Hi Victor, any hints and tips for removing media from part when finished? Primarily engine components, heads, intake , water pumps etc.
Very worried about contaminating oil and causing engine failure
Hi Darryl, I haven't blasted any internal engine parts other than value covers that have removable oil baffles. I just hose them off really well, dunk, and agitate the parts in a water-filled bucket. I wouldn't use anything coarser than the extra fine glass bead, similar in grit to toothpaste and shatters over 60 psi, on internal components. I also wouldn't blast polished internals like the cam, crank, and piston rod journals and avoid blasting into threaded holes. Blast media in threaded holes is a real problem as they create a lot of heat when steel bolts are screwed back in and will bind. You'll know if you have media in the threads because you'll hear the gritty crunching noise as your bolts go in. If that happens back out the screw blow out the hole and bolt with compressed air and try again. If it persists then you'll need to run a tap down into the hole and die on the bolt. Blow both of them out again until it threads in easily. Should you need to clean up some cams then tape the polished surfaces with masking tape, blast everything else and flush it really well with water and when dry blow compressed air in any opening to get out anything that may still be on the surface.
Best of luck with your repairs!
@@vbared thank you ever so much Victor, you and your channel are a perfect example of the never ending beauty of UA-cam as an infinite source of knowledge and education. You are a champion!
@@darrylcarter8015 You're very kind, Darryl, thank you. UA-cam has been amazing for me as well. I truly believe that we are all meant to share knowledge from our experiences and collaborate with each other to solve problems.
Let me know if you have other questions, I enjoy helping.
the actual shape of the glass bead is really a bead or it's just the name? I bought some glass beads but they don't look much spherical, looks more like some kinda of crushed glass
Hello Tiago, thank you for commenting. It depends on the brand as to the shape you'll get. The Harbor Freight glass beads aren't round. The BALLOTINI branded ones are. I mostly use a two step method 80 grit glass (shape doesn't matter) then follow up with 170-325 US sieve (round bead for polish) if working with parts that are bigger than 6" cubed. If the parts are smaller then just use the 170-325 US sieve (round bead). See the link below to the exact one I'm using.
www.grainger.com/product/BALLOTINI-Glass-Beads-Blast-Media-6ZC13
I hope to have answered your question clearly.
@@vbared the beads that I got is giving me a finish exactly like the Harbor Freight ones you showed in the video, no shine at all, unfortunately I'm in Brazil so I don't have access to the same brands you guys have there, I'll have to buy from differents suppliers until I find one that works, thanks for the answer
Thank you, what ratio do you mix your media to water?
Hello Casey, thank you for commenting. After placing the pump in the 5 gallon bucket I add 3-3 1/2 cups of media and fill the rest of the bucket up to 3/4 with water.
Best of luck with your projects!
I have to clean cylinder heads, but I don't want to spent time lookimg for media in holes and threads. Is it possible to use only degreaser and air?
Hi Eric, I agree with you on avoiding the risk of having abrasive media floating around in your engine.
Check these guys out:
ua-cam.com/video/VaVGwAJVffY/v-deo.html
They used Simple Green in a hot tank they rigged up, it seemed to work well.
Best of luck
Another thought is for you to use baking soda as the blast media. It's water-soluble so it can just be rinsed out without it leaving anything behind that can damage the engine.
Oileater will work great for that. Heat it as much as 200 degrees f and it works even better. There's a water resistant type of soda media that you can use in vapor blast cabinets. You just have to keep adding it until the water cannot absorb any more media.
What psi is your compressor at? That’s blasting out really fast
Hi Gill, thank you for commenting. The pressure coming out of the compressor is 125 psi into the regulator which I set down as low as 20 psi to a max of 60 psi (depending on what I'm blasting). The EGR valve in the video was blasted a 50 psi. I don't go above 60 psi with the glass beads because they shatter. You can go up to 95 psi with the garnet but you'll need to stop frequently to let the compressor recover. Some of the blasting in this video is sped up to reduce the video length. Most people don't care to sit through 10 to 15 minutes of me blasting a part.
Hopefully I've answered your question clearly.
Cheers!
That's a big concern with cleaning blocks and heads, they clean so well, but the risk of leaving behind abrasive even though rinsing througly and messing up the engine!! my god!
I agree with you, Edison, it would not be good for any abrasive to be floating around in the engine. Instead of using glass bead media I would recommend wet blasting with baking soda for cleaning internal aluminum engine parts.
What’s the lowest gpm pump you should use?
Hello Bryan, Thank you for commenting. My first media pump was from an old GE dishwasher. It was OK for testing the system early on. Once I got everything dialed in I decided to pick up this pump, which I'm still using. The flow is 4300 GPH and can lift up to 28'.
www.ebay.com/itm/353072228123
Way more media flow than the dishwasher pump and can be kept inside the same media bucket. It's the best deal for it's price and performance.
Best of luck with your build!
Hi what pressure do you blast at. Cheers
Hello projectpassion3075, Thank you for commenting. When using glass beads 50 - 55 psi (glass beads shatter into dust at around 65 psi). Garnet can handle as much higher pressures 90+ psi and is what I use for coating or rust removal.
Enjoy your weekend :)
What size nozzle
Hello Bryan, Thank you for commenting. I'm currently using a 9mm opening at the tip and its length 70mm. The extra length keeps the jet stream tighter while blasting. The one drawback to the 9mm tip is that it's more taxing on the air compressor. I find that an 8mm tip works best for everyday blasting and allows the Ingersoll Rand with the SS5 pump that I have to cycle on and off. If you are running a 7.5 hp compressor and putting out 22+ CFM then you can pretty much run whatever size tip.
Best of luck with your projects!
What’s your air pressure?
Hello SSRacing66, Thank you for commenting. I run my 60 gallon 5hp compressor at 50 psi using glass bead media. This gives me the right balance of speed and air consumption. Glass beads will shatter above 65 psi and you'll exhaust the air supply faster unless your running a 7.5 HP compressor with an 80 gallon tank or better.
Best of luck with your projects!
Is it safe to use 100-170 on a carb
Hello Collin, Thank you for commenting. Is the carb for a motorcycle or car?
@@vbared motorcycle
@@collinburton4222 Hi Collin, I would use extra-fine glass beads 170-325 US sieve. It's super fine like baking soda and small enough to not clog up any of the jet passages. Avoid getting any blast media in the threaded holes but if you do just blow it out really well with compressed air and clean out the threads with a tap. The extra-fine glass bead media I use is linked below.
www.grainger.com/product/BALLOTINI-Glass-Beads-Blast-Media-6ZC13
Best of luck with your restorations!
What is your air pressure set at?
Hi Scotty, Thanks you for commenting. On my 18.1 CFM compressor pump I mostly run 50psi which allows my compressor to recover. You can go as high as 60psi if you have more CFMs but anything 65psi and up will shatter glass bead media. Cutting media like garnet and aluminum oxide can be run much higher.