I am in the process of prepping my cylinder head for bead blasting, never done this before, any tips would be greatly appreciated.
1. What is the best material to use to mask the machined surfaces.
2. Should I mask off completely the internal areas? ( I am assuming at least the area for the rocker spindles)
3. Can the valve seat be blasted or should it be masked.
4. Should I have the valves blasted as well? (They are brand new Black Diamonds) Read somewhere that the blasing process is supposed to help eliminate surface cracking, is it really needed on new valves.
thanks
You can bead blast all over, unless you hold the gun on any one part for an excessive amount of time it won't remove any metal. Leave the guides in & might be a good idea to put the rocker shafts in with the rockers on. This will protect the bores & blast the rockers at the same time, though lightly blasting said bores will do no harm.
You can blast the seats & intake & exhaust bores, combustion chamber & gasket face.
Only problem is the machined face on the outside between the rocker shafts. If you use masking tape, it is one hell of a job to remove afterwards.
I use size 13 glass, which is about average.
T95 said:
If you don't mind I have a couple of questions on this topic.
In particular I would like to know what grit/ size glass bead is recommended. The 60/80 & the 80/100 seem to be available.
Is this medium also safe to use on cleaning up the cases? I assume it will damage any surface needing to be polished.
What is typically used to mask areas that you don't want to blast?
Do not use glass bead at all! The sharp glass opens up the aluminium surface and leaves residue into the open blasted pore which could ruin your bore and piston rings! No need to say it is also not advisable to use for other aluminium engine parts.
Instead use a ceramic bead that will clean and shot peen the surface (fine will give you a grey surface the more coarse you go it gets more silver coloured) Ceramic bead is more expensive but last longer.
nortonspeed said:
T95 said:
If you don't mind I have a couple of questions on this topic.
In particular I would like to know what grit/ size glass bead is recommended. The 60/80 & the 80/100 seem to be available.
Is this medium also safe to use on cleaning up the cases? I assume it will damage any surface needing to be polished.
What is typically used to mask areas that you don't want to blast?
Do not use glass bead at all! The sharp glass opens up the aluminium surface and leaves residue into the open blasted pore which could ruin your bore and piston rings!
Instead use a ceramic bead that will clean and shot peen the surface (fine will give you a grey surface the more coarse you go it gets more silver coloured) Ceramic bead is more expensive but last longer.
Edit:
jhajjar,
Sorry for the hijack, I thought I had did PM to this response. I hope you find the info valuable.
Thanks for the advice! I picked up a small cabinet thinking I would do some of the clean up myself. I found the choices in media confusing at best, the materials are not so easy to source and if shipping is required it easily doubles the coast. I had thought glass was preferred over other media due to the lack of residue left behind. So if the residue is a problem in the heads I am sure the same applies for the interior of the cases? Can you please define fine in either a grit or screen size?
Gary
IMHO anyone who bead blasts aluminum cases and heads or buy a bead blasted head off ebay deserves what they get....
My friend had Ron's Cycle (leominster Mass) do a BIG bux rebuild. It sat for many years...then when he finally installed the motor...he ran it for about 200 mile and then felt a need to swap the cam. When we split the cases, in the bore we found a HUGE mess.... scored bores etc. The damage was from grit .....an absolute shame. What an expensive lesson!!!
The evidence of blasting was unmistakable.
dynodave said:
IMHO anyone who bead blasts aluminum cases and heads or buy a bead blasted head off ebay deserves what they get....
My friend had Ron's Cycle (leominster Mass) do a BIG bux rebuild. It sat for many years...then when he finally installed the motor...he ran it for about 200 mile and then felt a need to swap the cam. When we split the cases, in the bore we found a HUGE mess.... scored bores etc. The damage was from grit .....an absolute shame. What an expensive lesson!!!
The evidence of blasting was unmistakable.
OK? I am that guy who thought media blasting was the preferred way to clean up the cases and possibly the exterior of the heads and jugs. Those that sell the products claim that glass beads were not prone to embedding themselves into the material like some of the other media. It makes perfect sense that if residual media is left behind damage will occur. I guess the million dollar question is how did the media get into the motor, was it embedded and later free up or were deposits left behind? I can see if you don't use the process you eliminate that type of contamination.
So if one is looking to clean up the cases, head and jugs and media is not the way to go, what is?
T95 said:
swooshdave said:
No one has mentioned vapor blasting].
Really nice results! Interesting process, just water, glass beads & detergent. Once again claims that glass beads are a safe medium with no residue left behind. Apparently everything is flushed clean with a little fresh water and carb cleaner down the journals.
Bikesalot looks like they are priced fairly, even when shipping is required.
So any first hand experiences out there?
Met the guy at the bike show a couple weeks ago. You watched my video, right? No first hand experience yet. But I will.
Don Terrill’s Speed-Talk
Home of Racing's Best and Brightest
Tenroads contains other products and information you need, so please check it out.
Skip to content
Bead blasting heads and valves
Post
by engineer » Sun Jan 21, 10:30 pm
Will any damage occur to stainless steel valves by glass beading? I know that the stems need to be protected. How about blasting cast iron heads to clean them. Is this acceptable or not? Are walnut shells a better alternative?
Please excuse my silly questions. Thanks for the help.
Alan
Post
by PackardV8 » Sun Jan 21, 10:39 pm
Hi, Alan,
Glass beading is for aluminum and easily damaged parts. Iron heads and stainless steel valves (with the stems protected by rubber tubing) can be run through a commercial steel shot blaster. A Wheelabrator cleans the heck out of them without damage. Heads will need to be tumbled for a long time to insure the shot drops out of the passages.
thnx, jv.
Jack Vines
Studebaker-Packard V8 Limited
Obsolete Engineering
Post
by Keith Morganstein » Sun Jan 21, 11:00 pm
It's o.k. to clean the valve heads with glass bead.
You have to be careful with cylinder heads. Cover any oil passages and other areas you don't want the bead. Be very sure that ALL the glass bead is out. That stuff loves to stay in inside castings or in the spiral grooves that some guides have.
Automotive Machining, cylinder head rebuilding, engine building. Can't seem to quit
Post
by bill jones » Sun Jan 21, 11:30 pm
For more Blasting Glass Beadsinformation, please contact us. We will provide professional answers.
-One real problem with bead blasting is all the oil holes, the cam journals, and the cam follower bores on modern multi-valve per cylinder aluminum heads.
-There's a lot of difference between blasting them and doing common older style American style cast iron cylinder heads.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-For example: on a single Subaru head (two cylinders) there are 8 oil holes in the cam follower bores, and 5 or 6 holes in the 6 cam journals---plus one oil hole on the head gasket surface and one oil hole on the outside of the head---that could be at the front or at the rear of the head
-the plugs at the ends of the two main oil passages are in there so tight that it takes serious heat to loosen those plugs for cleaning purposes.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Personally I don't like the idea at all of any sort of blasting on these types of heads---particularly using a wheelabrator with steel shot.
-I don't feel it's right to blast the surfaces of the cam follower bores and the cam journals at all.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Even when porting these heads I feel it's important to have those surfaces and oil holes all plugged off so the porting grit doesn't infiltrate the oil passages or impinge on those machined surfaces.
-I machine up teflon plugs to seal off the oil holes of the cam journals and the cam follower bores for all of these various multi-valve heads---and I plug off the oil hole at the deck surface and at the end of the head.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-One other area that could be troublesome with residual blasting media would be the air injector passages of some modern heads.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-The question is about castiron heads and I really don't see any problems with glass beading most of the cast iron heads that I have seen---and I don't see any problem with doing the heads of the stainless valves.
-If those cast iron heads have air injector passages then that will require special attention.
Last edited by bill jones on Mon Jan 22, 12:26 am, edited 1 time in total.
Post
by flyin ryan » Sun Jan 21, 11:39 pm
bill jones wrote:-One real problem with bead blasting is all the oil holes, the cam journals, and the cam follower bores on modern multi-valve per cylinder aluminum heads.
-There's a lot of difference between blasting them and doing common older style American style cast iron cylinder heads.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-For example: on a single Subaru head (two cylinders) there are 8 oil holes in the cam follower bores, and 5 or 6 holes in the 6 cam journals---plus one oil hole on the head gasket surface and one oil hole on the outside of the head---that could be at the front or at the rear of the head
-the plugs at the ends of the two main oil passages are in there so tight that it takes serious heat to loosen those plugs for cleaning purposes.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Personally I don't like the idea at all of any sort of blasting on these types of heads---particularly using a wheelabrator with steel shot.
-I don't feel it's right to blast the surfaces of the cam follower bores and the cam journals at all.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Even when porting these heads I feel it's important to have those surfaces and oil holes all plugged off so the porting grit doesn't infiltrate the oil passages or impinge on those machined surfaces.
-I machine up teflon plugs to seal off the oil holes of the cam journals and the cam follower bores for all of these various multi-valve heads---and I plug off the oil hole at the deck surface and at the end of the head.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-One other area that could be troublesome with residual blasting media would be the air injector passages of some modern heads.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-The question is about castiron heads and I really don't see any problems with glass beading any the cast iron heads that I have seen---and I don't see any problem with doing the heads of the stainless valve.
-If those cast iron heads have air injector passages then that will require special attention.
that's what i like about you Bill, thorough. don't hold back, give us the details. your awesome, Bill. always appreciate your reply's.
There are no limit's to mans' ingenuity, just as mans' ingenuity will never conquer the forces & behavior of this planet....Smokey Y.
Post
by needforspeed66gt » Mon Jan 22, 12:12 am
I am in total agreement with Bill, but I bead most heads that come through the shop that have removable core plugs, toyota heads have ball bearing plugs and I will not bead those. Only the chambers and ports have bead directed at them, never at the lifter bores or cam journals on OHC heads. I always use fresh bead on every head. The heads need to be completely clean with absolutely no wetness to them or you will get into trouble. All oil holes are blocked, and when done they are blown out with carb clean and air to make sure bead didn't accidentally get in there.
Be very careful of 882 chevy heads, they have an area above the egr crossover that gets plugged with carbon and all your bead will end up there and potentially fall out into a fresh motor.
I am very anal about clean parts and have never had a contaminated motor.
Post
by #84Dave » Mon Jan 22, 12:17 am
Or think about soda (sodium bicarbonate) blasting? Particularly for the head. ARMEX, a division of Arm & Hammer, produces the stuff down to 60-grit. That I know of. The last I purchased about 6 monthe ago, it was right at $30 (without shipping) for a 50# bag. Would likely take more soda than beads to clean up a head, but at least you'd know that when the head was washed down with water afterward, there would be no residual blast media.
Dave
Post
by PackardV8 » Mon Jan 22, 3:16 pm
Greetings, All,
How did we get from a question about iron heads and stainless valves to the do-and-don'ts about Subaru and Toyota aluminum heads?
thnx, jv.
Jack Vines
Studebaker-Packard V8 Limited
Obsolete Engineering
Post
by bill jones » Mon Jan 22, 3:36 pm
-that is 100% my fault--just wanted to make sure that people don't inadvertantly think that what's good for cast iron is also good for the modern heads.
Post
by katman » Mon Jan 22, 8:07 pm
Are you interested in learning more about 80 Grit Glass Bead? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!
I used to wrench for a motorcycle road racer and we used to glass bead the steels in the trany to break the glaze. Then I found out that it warped the steels. I know heads are a lot thicker that the steels but what about the valves? Could glass beading the valves warp them?
Another problem with glass beading is it tends to peen the surface. Not a good thing if you want to ceramic coat the item. It needs the ruff open pours to stick.
Glass beads, also, can half-way imbed themselves in the softer metals (aluminum) and won't wash out. Then they vibrate out into the running engine.
Kevin A Thornton
KAT Automotive
For Speed Equipment, Nitrous Express
For AMSOIL products
http://www.lubedealer.com/kat
For Herbs from the Amazon
http://www..amazonherb.net