Has anyone tried sodium bicarbonate blasting on ali crankcases, am told its gentle, but what's the finish like, andrew.h.

email (option): warbikes@gmail.com

Hi Andrew..SB is a fine finishing product and produces a surface finish similar to that of glass bead. It doesn't affect metals dimensionally and can even be used on bearings as it is water soluble and can be easily removed on completion of the work.
Problems for the home user are that it is not recycleable and is therefore only used once. Also specialist blasting equipment is required...not like my old blasting cabinet!. From the health and safety point of view the dust (like most dust) is hazardous and a full extraction and filter system is usually employed...Ian

email (option): julie@wright52.plus.com

While Ian is certainly right... I actually soda blast with a standard cabinet. It does work just fine. The real issue is deciding when the soda is all used up and pulverized. It is really the ticket for aluminum. Ive tried it on near everything. It is really nice on cases. You do definitely need a filter. The dust becomes so fine it will find its way out of your cabinet and cloud around your head. You also cant see a thing in the cabinet if you dont have an extractor. What I use is a shop vacuum. I draw the air from the cabinet through the vacuum and then out a hose into a bucket of water. Not as fancy as proper soda blasting kit.

email (option): micran1234@yahoo.com

Ian and Michel, as have got the BC now, Will give it a go in my blast cabinet,The reason I fancy using BC is the very fact its water soluble My cabinet has a fan extraction through a cyclone then straight out to air.Yes I know but I do live in the middle of fields ! ! The bucket idea sounds good, will give it a go this weekend,And let you know how I get on, andrew

email (option): warbikes@gmail.com