Has anybody sand blasted their own aluminium valve covers and intakes? what grit and what medium do you use? Thanks
I used crushed glass, worked fine. Wash with mineral spirits after. Don't rub it with paper or cloth. They will leave fuzz on the thing. Mike
Glass BEADS will actually close up the pores of the aluminum, and make it less likely to absorb dirt, while it cleans it.
Another option is to take it to a transmission shop and let them soak in the cleaner they use for Aluminum Tranny's, then see if it needs to be done. I 2nd the glass beading.
I usually powdercoat the stuff, most sealers and clear finishes don't last very well. I'm going to try some clear powder on some aluminum stuff to see how it works
Danny (warbozz) on the HAMB has a media shaker for stuff like this. Look him up he does good work. IT takes about 6 to 8 hours in the machine depending on the finish desired.
Before After using glass beads from the air compressor store. Didn't know they were sized. I don't use it for polished Vcovers. It'll make it harder to repolish them. I have used it to remove paint from the fins but I tape up the sides to protect the finish. It workes great for stripping painted steel Vcovers though.
Friend insisted on sandblasting his Porsche 912 engine cases, after the third engine failure/rebuild he was still getting sand out. My 02/100, sand is nothing but small rocks. (Dumb Questions are cheaper than Dumb Mistakes)
I had an intake and valve covers smoothed then clear powder coated, one intake worked great, next one peeled and made a hell of a mess
Remember to use only clean media (glass beads, aluminum oxide, etc.) If you reuse anything you have used to blast rust off you will blast rust into the part you are trying to clean and end up with rusty aluminum.
Harvey Mushman, Had some powder coated rims, we burnt the powdered black off, then powder coated them red came out great. Cruiser49
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