Media blasting carburetor or parts; yes or no

[pistolpete]

When we rebuild a set of carburetors, our first obligation is not to damage the parts our customers entrust us with.
We see carb sets come in that their external appearances range from not to bad to abused.
Our job is to make the set perform not look new.
Our ultrasonic machines contain agents in the aqueous solution that clean and will not attack the substrate materials.

Bluntly stated; conventional media blasting is very small particles that slam into Your parts at very high velocity. Even soda or walnut blasting employs the same principle but is less abrasive to the surface. Irrespective of how one feels about these processes, we at PPS will not take it on our own to do this. It's just not a good business practice.

I would be open to comments or additional ideas on this so please join in the post.

Thanx
Pistol and Moose

[Whiskerfish]

We had to blast helicopters at one overhaul facility I worked at. It would take days and days of full time 3-4 man crews to do the "tape up" to try and protect the sensitive areas and no matter how hard we tried we could not keep that stuff out.

[Neil]

When working on parts, the only thing that gets blasted is me.

[pistolpete]

When working on parts, the only thing that gets blasted is me.

[pistolpete]

At PPS most carburetors are cleaned in a separate, two step process.
The first step is to degrease them with a Randakks approved, noninvasive liquid.
Then ultrasonically using a non corrosive media, also Randakks approved.

For comparison the picture shows the # four and the # three carbs from the same rack. As you can see they are GL1000.

[zman]

Is there an alternative to blast that would brighten up the aluminum without blasting? If your already dipping them in a solution a second dip in another to add a gleam to them would really be impressive to a customer.
I vote no for blastic just for the extra labor to do it (too many nooks and cranny`s), and extra cleanup.
Gotta be a solution to brighten up, That would set your rebuilds apart, not that you need it but adds an edge to your service.

[wog]

There's an article in the latest VJMC magazine about vapor honing.


About $3000 for the smallest unit, would take a lot of carbs to pay for it.

[pistolpete]

There's an article in the latest VJMC magazine about vapor honing.


About $3000 for the smallest unit, would take a lot of carbs to pay for it.

This would be my only method for a brighting up remedy.

Pistol

If there are others that could add to the list, please let us know.

[zman]

Have you experimented with air conditioner coil cleaners? something like CalClean..Its for the aluminum coils on air conditioners, sprays on,foams up let it sit and rinse.
For professional use only..So.

[zman]

here`s a link.
http://www.nucalgon.com/products/coil-c ... calclean-1

[pistolpete]

here`s a link.
http://www.nucalgon.com/products/coil-c ... calclean-1

Zman,

Have you used this product?

[zman]

here`s a link.
http://www.nucalgon.com/products/coil-c ... calclean-1

Zman,

Have you used this product?

I did just before I posted, used it on a spare GL carb and it seemed to brighten it up but the carb was real clean to begin with, maybe I just cleaned the storage dirt, I have an older mikuni hiding someplace I`ll look for it and try on it.
One thing important , it didn't dull or change color, just looked better.

[zman]

Here`s the Mikuni, It really is excellent at emulsifying grease, was using it to clean my engine and found it better then any degreaser I had used, I don't think it works miracles but here it is. First is before, it was already dull in the places that appear dull but didnt seem to dull the shiny areas..
I cleaned both sides but didn't go crazy, let it sit for 30 seconds, gave it a tooth brush scrub and rinsed.

[pistolpete]

Here is a pic of the NOS OEM carb that I have.
Its surface was very nice but fairly dull. Please help me out here as I am unsure of the reasoning for making the surface bright when it never was from Honda.

However if a customer wishes the finish to be brighter we can do that for him/her upon request.

Pistol

[zman]

Just like a penny they were brighter when new, The carbs on my wing look pretty dull but I am more for function then flash, I have seen some new carbs with that bright almost like a rainbow effect..They are eye catching..seemingly unimportant details can effect the overall appearance but not performance.