Blasting engine covers - Who??

[JimmyR]

Hey Bike Gurus - getting ready to pull my engine to bits to get the casings cleaned of scale and years of crap and neglect. It's all aluminium so some fairly gentle blasting is required. I don't really want a hi gloss finish. A bead blasted finish would be great. Who can I go to for this? Is there anyone around Ossie Park who can do this? I'll go wherever I need to but really I just want a beautiful engine. :-) Well beautifuller than it is right now anyway! Thanks guys!

This is what I need to fix:

[aussiesting]

I have at work a wet sand blaster that will help clean them up if u want .

[Hewie]

I did my own with a mix of soda and low pressure garnet.

If you search I asked the same questions and a coyple of people posted names .. I just cant do it right now.

[JimmyR]

Thanks guys - will search now.

[JimmyR]

Wow - just what I needed to know on that thread Hewie - thanks! Hey Aussie - I might not be able to get the engine completely apart but thanks heaps for the offer - much appreciated.

[Hewie]

No probs champ. As a word of warning.

You must strip the engine entirely if you plan on blasting it. Blasting a sealed engine is going to cause you all shades of issues as the media will penetrate EVERYTHING no matter how well you think its sealed.

It works wonders ... Check my R7 build thread for some pics ... But yeah .... Dont blast a sealed engine ... Cause youre just going to have to pull it down to clean it anyway.

[JimmyR]

Cheers mate! Well I had intended to strip the entire engine down but the bloke who is cleaning the carbs for me (bead blasting and ultrasonic clean) reckons I'd be mad to if I don't have to, and it sounds like he knows what he's talking about! So I know I have to take the rocker covers off, and I can take off the points cover, gear cover and stuff like that to get blasted. Now it's down to lots of wire-brushing and hand cleaning I'm afraid. The lower front of the engine cases are the worst. At least I can take off the oil filter cover to get blasted but then it might just make the rest of the front look worse!

Oh well. I guess that's why god invented wire brushes.

[Hewie]

Ummmmm just be warned that it will get past seals, into bearings ... Everything.

If its garnet youre using it doesnt break down chemically so if even a small amount gets into the engine, it will just turn your oil into liquid sand paper.

I left sections of my engine together, thinking the same as you. I then had to spend 2 days stripping it down completely to remove media from sections that should have been completely sealed.

We needed almost 20 cans of brake cleaner to flush some sections out.

[JimmyR]

Don't worry I believe you! No I'm not going to blast the engine while it's together! I meant I will remove the points cover, gear cover etc and take them to get blasted. The big bits I can't take off I will use the wire brush on. So far the wire brush on the grinder is doing a decent job removing a lot of crap. Before:
Suzi 14*.jpg

After:
engine002 copy.jpg

I just wish I could get a better result of these fins.
engine003 copy.jpg

[Hewie]

Ahh sorry .. I thought you meant you were going to clean out the media with the brushes. My bad.

Good work.