924Board.org

ras924 · Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2018 1:51 am Post subject: Vapor Blasting...WOW!!!

Hey guys, just thought I would post some pictures of my N/A head after vapor blasting. I had it done by a guy here in Minnesota. His name is Clay and his place is Hydramoto Vapor Blasting. He's on Facebook...I highly recommend him!

image hosting 15mb

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1980 924 N/A - White
1978 924 N/A - Yellow Rally Car

924RACR · Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2018 10:39 pm Post subject:

Wow, that's gorgeous!!!
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Vaughan Scott
Webmeister
'79 924 #77 SCCA H Prod racecar
'82 931 Plat. Silver
#25 Hidari Firefly P2 sports prototype

ideola · Joined: 01 Oct 2004 Posts: 15548 Location: Spring Lake MI

Very nice! How much did they charge for the head?
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erstwhile owner of just about every 924 variant ever made

Carrera RSR · Joined: 08 Jan 2010 Posts: 2309 Location: Somerset, UK

Been vapour blasting for some years now. Far nicer finish compared to harsh media such as dry sand, glass etc. Leaves a smoother finish and less susceptible to dirty finger prints and dirt clinging to it.

Just make sure it is all really well rinsed, rinsed again and finally a really really good rinse for good measure. You do not want any remnants of glass bead slurry ending up in the motor.

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1980 931 - forged pistons, Piper cam, K27/26 3257 6.10 hybrid turbo, 951 FMIC, custom intake, Mittelmotor dizzy & cam pulley, H&S exhaust, GAZ Gold, Fuch'ed, Quaife
Now www.924board.org/viewtopic.php?t=34690
Then www.924board.org/viewtopic.php?t=31252

ideola · Joined: 01 Oct 2004 Posts: 15548 Location: Spring Lake MI

Steve, did you do anything afterward to protect the alu? I've heard (unsubstantiated) rumors that the cast alloy came with an anti-corrosion treatment from the factory. It seems any kind of blasting would remove any coating that might have been there. How have the parts stood up to weather and conditions in the engine bay?
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erstwhile owner of just about every 924 variant ever made

morghen · Joined: 21 Jan 2005 Posts: 8879 Location: Romania

Carrera RSR · Joined: 08 Jan 2010 Posts: 2309 Location: Somerset, UK

924RACR · Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2018 9:49 pm Post subject:

Wow. That is a gorgeous picture. Need to save that to my archive for the to-do list, for the intercooler install... can't wait to make and install that intake...
_________________
Vaughan Scott
Webmeister
'79 924 #77 SCCA H Prod racecar
'82 931 Plat. Silver
#25 Hidari Firefly P2 sports prototype

Fifty50Plus · Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2018 1:02 am Post subject:

I'm really interested in the vapor blast concept but not sure I totally understand the media. Is is a combo of glass bead, heat and chemicals blasted onto the part? If glass bead is involved I'm not sure I want to use it on 356 engine cases that have a lot of little internal passages. If no glass beads, I WANT!
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1979 924 NA race car
1982 924 NA race car - Sold
1982 924 Turbo almost a PoS
1981 924 Turbo a real PoS, new engine
1982 924 Turbo nice body, blown engine
1972 911 E race car - going to Vintage
Various 944s to become IT-S race car

ideola · Joined: 01 Oct 2004 Posts: 15548 Location: Spring Lake MI

924RACR · Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2018 3:04 am Post subject:

Maybe dry ice blasting would be better for the air-cooled stuff?
_________________
Vaughan Scott
Webmeister
'79 924 #77 SCCA H Prod racecar
'82 931 Plat. Silver
#25 Hidari Firefly P2 sports prototype

Cedric · Joined: 27 Aug 2004 Posts: 2608 Location: Sweden

I used dry ice blasting on a lot of engine parts, and gear box, results are great with no media residues. The gearbox got at clear coat to keep it easy to clean.
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1980 924 Turbo
www.instagram.com/garagecedric/

Eric P · Joined: 21 Jun 2017 Posts: 175 Location: NY, USA

I have a Vapormate cabinet in my shop. We mainly use it for motorcycle parts but I've used it on some car bits too. we mix a rust preventative into the slurry. Vapor blasted steel parts flash rust very quickly and the rust preventative seems to help.

When finished, wash all the parts thoroughly. For some reason people seem to think that vapor blasting is ok on engine internals. If you wouldn't glass bead it, don't vapor blast it. Vapor blasting closes the metal pores unlike dry blasting, but you're still using an abrasive that gets stuck in everything. Grit still gets in all those tiny passages. You don't want glass beads working loose and getting in your oil.

Here's a fun experiment: the next time someone says they can vapor blast engine internals, hand them an old bearing and ask them to blast it for you. Trust me, it'll be crunchy when they hand it back.

Once the parts are washed, I usually use WD40 to protect the metal and get rid of any left over water.

You can get some really nice results with vapor blasting. I'm amazed that it isn't very common in the US. It seems much more common in europe for some reason.

Edit: it's probably worth noting that we don't paint or otherwise finish anything that comes out of our vapor blaster. Typically we use the dry cabinet as it produces a better surface for paint adhesion and it doesn't involve chemicals which could cause issues with paint bonding. Besides, why would you go through all that work just to paint the part?
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1980 924 NA, US model
1987 924S, US model

Fifty50Plus · Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2018 5:39 am Post subject:

Thanks all for the feedback. I've got a glass bead cabinet and a soda blast cabinet and am looking for the ultimate treatment for old 356 Porsche engine cases. I'll search for a dry ice application to see how it works.
_________________
1979 924 NA race car
1982 924 NA race car - Sold
1982 924 Turbo almost a PoS
1981 924 Turbo a real PoS, new engine
1982 924 Turbo nice body, blown engine
1972 911 E race car - going to Vintage
Various 944s to become IT-S race car

ras924 · Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2018 10:19 am Post subject:

I was charged $100.00 for the head. I did have him stay away from the cam saddles just to be safe, but yeah, it looks amazing!!!

In regards to any casting coating, I have been in manufacturing for over 30 years and IF there was anything put on it, it would probably have been a chromate conversion (MIL-DTL-5541), but that is heat sensitive and would burn off so I am guessing there was nothing on it from Porsche.
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1980 924 N/A - White
1978 924 N/A - Yellow Rally Car