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A place where restoration project-type threads can go to avoid falling off the main page in the WIX hangar. Feel free to start threads on Restoration projects and/or warbird maintenance here. Named in memoriam for Gary Austin, a good friend of the site and known as RetroAviation here. He will be sorely missed.
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Best blasting media for aircraft parts ?

Wed Apr 15, 2015 7:20 pm

I'm curious what is considered the best blasting media for aircraft parts ?

Plastic? Soda? Walnut shells? etc ? What media do you use and pressure ?

Re: Best blasting media for aircraft parts ?

Wed Apr 15, 2015 8:00 pm

I really like plastic beading becasue the plastic is softer than any metal and cleans without removing metal.

But it will take the correct air pressure and a dedicated plastic bead machine. WELL worth it if you need to blast something clean.

Like any blaster, the trick is to get the item as clean as possible before you blast since not doing that just contaminates the media faster. Sooner or later the media will need cleaning and changing.

Re: Best blasting media for aircraft parts ?

Wed Apr 15, 2015 8:56 pm

Speeddemon651 wrote:I'm curious what is considered the best blasting media for aircraft parts ?

Plastic? Soda? Walnut shells? etc ? What media do you use and pressure ?


The short answer is "yes"

Soda and walnut are great for removing paint, but won't remove corrosion from aluminum. Walnut has the advantage of being soft, and soda is water soluble so rinsing it way is easy.
Glass bead will remove corrosion and yield a clean surface, but will erode aluminum surfaces without care. (DO NOT write your name, or anything rude with a bead blaster on a panel - it WILL telegraph through the paint. DO NOT ask me how I know this) and stray glass bead in oil passages is a BAD THING.

Pressures will vary according to your machine,the object to be cleaned and operator skill. Easily adjustable pressure is a must, but with low pressure and care it's possible to bead blast steel parts without removing ink stamped part numbers

As noted, clean the grease oil and dirt off as best you can before putting it in a blast cabinet.

Re: Best blasting media for aircraft parts ?

Tue Apr 28, 2015 5:20 am

Hi,
I've been told that if you use the cabinet for both steel and Ally without changing the blasting medium it can cause dissimilar metal corrosion due to previously removed metal being blasted into the part being cleaned. Anybody got any thoughts / experience of this?
Thanks

Re: Best blasting media for aircraft parts ?

Tue Apr 28, 2015 11:20 am

B45 wrote:Hi,
I've been told that if you use the cabinet for both steel and Ally without changing the blasting medium it can cause dissimilar metal corrosion due to previously removed metal being blasted into the part being cleaned. Anybody got any thoughts / experience of this?
Thanks

In a practical sense, I can't imagine this will be a problem if you clean, etch and alodine before painting.

Of course if you are doing salt spray testing on bare metal it might make a difference.

Most warbirds don't operate in an environment that severe though.
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