Has anyone had this done before ? I've got an old scooter that I fancy tidying up and the engine cases are grim ! Vapour blasting looks like the best option but do I need to strip the complete engine down to individual parts ?
Depends. If its an Indian Lambretta casting, it will dissolve. If it's Italian you'll be fine. I suspect individual will give you the best results. Paraffin always worked well for me on all scooter engines.
I am restoring an old z900 a4 nut and bolt job and have had my engine cleaned up this way .The results are amazing. There are a number of other methods though . My engine was stripped down for the job. Try hunting around websites that specialize in old bikes i.e. Z1 Owners Club or Kettle Clinic (Suzuki gt 750 oriented) .There are a number of places around the country. Good luck with the tidy up
This bloke's a member of the Guzzi forum and does work for lots of the membership there, so is well used to cleaning old engine cases Aqua Blasting & Vapour Blasting Services | Bike-AquaBlasting.co.uk
Have used it before (if you're talking about the dry ice), think it's difficult to be accurate with it. Definitely keep it away from cables as the insulation will disintegrate..
Sent my engine here and had it coated in this.... Low Friction Coatings - Xylan | Sandwell They require it to be stripped to the casings but they do all the blasting in the price.... I'm currently building a 525 supermoto from the ground up. Before. Not bad.... Now Not cheap... 475 all in.... Apparently they use this stuff to coat things that they bolt to the sides of oil rigs so it should be durable.
Had stuff done on my 525 supermoto build by aquablast..... Really good. Just a few shots.... Everyone likes pics!
Great info ! Thanks for all the replies, I'll get looking at it this week. Hopefully will have some pics to post too once it's all done..
Just to add that Dan at Sandwell did inform me every step of the way through the process on what he was doing (I think I could say for the first time I felt like an extremely valued customer) - he would call me - let me know what stage it was at and what he was doing and how he was doing it. The main reason for the high price was masking. All bearing openings has to be masked -theyre used to doing older engines - the newer engines require more masking ( like mine ). He also races his own sidecar so he's into bikes. For this reason they (the company) are trying to get into this line of business more ( I think because Dan enjoys it ). I only found out about them through a friend who renovates bikes and does it very well. He swears by them, and the coating quality. He's just finished his own Katana conversion which looks better than when it rolled off the production line.
Do it yourself mate.. I did .. Link below for sand blasting and soda blasting.. Diy Sand Blasting...superb! | Ducati Forum Soda Blast... My Way.. | Ducati Forum I hope this might help you and save you a fortune... N@@DS
