M30 vapour honing

[kkro]

This post is a spin-off from my E3 refurbishment tread, but I thought it would be relevant also for E9 owners.

Yesterday I picked up the aluminum parts of my M30 from vapour honing. I think this is a great way of cleaning old corroded metal.

I paid around 300USD for cleaning these parts. It would have been fun to know how much it would have cost in the US? If anyone knows, please comment.

Some pictures. Before and after.

Does anyone have experience in how durable this finish will be over the years?

 

[Stan]

beautiful

 

[deQuincey]

is it a treatment or a finish as you say, or a way to clean corroded metal ?
if it is the second i do not see hiw this will stop further oxidation
but for 300 euro a simple cleaning is a bit expensive, imho

 

[tferrer]

This is a decent explanation. One of the key advantages (I've been told) is the slight shot peening effect it has, closing some of the natural porosity of metals like aluminum...

AMW - Vapor Honing

Q: What is vapor honing? Vapor honing is semi abrasive, wet media blasting. Q: What parts can be vapor honed? Vapor honing can be used on almost any surfac...

atlantamotorcycleworks.com

 

[Markos]

I like the finish. I have used it before and will use it again.It comes with a lot of industry hype. It is glass beads and water. You still have residuals that you may not see. You must clean your parts well. I wouldn’t believe that it had any peening effect unless I saw the results under a microscope.

 

[stphers]

I had a set of carbs done thru this process cost me 200 Can to get it done I could not have cleaned them as well by any means and at shop labor rates, 200 is not a bad deal You can see them in one of my earlier posts I think that 300 is right in the ball park to get this all done I used Gibsons oil on them after it was done to seal and protect the metal Just saw my customer last week after doing them about a year ago, they still look great. There is also a solution called CCF50 that works really well as well
I have an Alfa block that I am about to drop off to get done as well. Would not hesitate in the least to get more done especially heads, only other way to get them this clean is to media blast them and it does not come out with the same clean shiny look. The other nice thing is that there is no residue left over I also do 911's and can't wait until I get one of those cases vapor honed , I think that it will look like a piece of art once done. my 1 1/2 cents worth

 

[stphers]

Also, the fellow that does the vapor honing here cleans them afterwards with an ultrasonic cleaner

 

[Markos]

Also, the fellow that does the vapor honing here cleans them afterwards with an ultrasonic cleaner

That explains the no residue. I did my gas grille grates and washed them thoroughly with water. I didn’t want any intestinal bleeding after the first round of steaks.

 

[Rek]

That is a nice finish, but the cost was not cheap. I thought vapour honing would be more like this.

 

[Wladek]

That is a nice finish, but the cost was not cheap. I thought vapour honing would be more like this.

That is dry ice blasting


Vapor blasting = Vapor honing - so it's just a mix of abrasive & water. Finish is great, very smooth, probably the best finish in blasting methods of soft metals.
Vapor blasting for aluminium use glass beads; mixture is pretty safe due water make safety barrier & due glass beads surface is shiny; glass beads close aluminium pores, water is powerless for this.
Pretty time consuming that's why it's not cheap.

 

[Honolulu]

Post #6 Stphers I think the coating you refer to is ACF50, an anti-corrosion treatment. Apparently it's used mostly in the UK for light aircraft and motorcycles.

I would expect that vapor honing would completely strip the substrate of any protective coating, and it would need to be re-protected unless kept in a pristine environment, which my CS does certainly not provide. ACF50 might just be the hot ticket in that situation.

Although I've seen some few things about it, don't know of anyone using the treatment in the 3.0CS world.

 

[tferrer]

Vapor Honing firm in Pac NW. Lots of great before and after pics.

https://ravenstonevaporhoning.com/

 

[stphers]

I use the ACF50 as well, it is very good too It seals the aluminum quite well and will keep it clean for about a year or so, has to be reapplied but so does the Gibbs oil They use ACF50 on stuff that is going to sit around for the winter months I use both, no real reason to use one or the other, I like to try out new solutions to see what they are like. The fellow that does the Vapor honing recommends the ACF50

 

[Markos]

Vapor Honing firm in Pac NW. Lots of great before and after pics.

https://ravenstonevaporhoning.com/

That’s who did my stuff. Super nice guy. Very small but effective operation. I will be back.

 

[Lotuss7]

When I rebuilt my Alfa Twin Cam head many years the old school guys recommended not to media blast as it was their experience it was near impossible to fully remove all media which would they believed would then find its way into the engine internals. Not good.

External??? Different story.

 

[HB Chris]

With any media you need to have it ultrasonically cleaned, I did this with a 2800 oil pan.

 

[Lotuss7]

With any media you need to have it ultrasonically cleaned, I did this with a 2800 oil pan.

Chris

Ultrasonic was just a twist on jet talk when I did the Alpha!! The technology did not exist.

Good to know...but would still be wary where more hidden channels, oil passages, etc. are concerned.

 

[Markos]

is it a treatment or a finish as you say, or a way to clean corroded metal ?
if it is the second i do not see hiw this will stop further oxidation
but for 300 euro a simple cleaning is a bit expensive, imho

There may be some merit to the claims of helping seal the surface. I had my calipers vapor honed about a year ago. Imagine your typical dark brown flakey calipers. I think they exposed some
of the original zinc and they haven’t really flashed after sitting in my unheated garage. They will get stripped again, cleaned, and the full rebuild treatment.

 

[stphers]

Hey Markos, those looked like they were zinc plated, pads and all

 

[Markos]

Hey Markos, those looked like they were zinc plated, pads and all

Ha! No plating from me. They were too rusty to deal with the pins so I left the pads in. Some of that yellow is likely very light oxidation.