Dry Ice Blasting to remove paint and grit

Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2018 2:34 pm

Has anyone tried dry ice blasting pieces to remove paint etc? Supposedly the only mess left is the paint and grit that comes off... the dry ice vaporizes. Be nice to know if someone has used this method and what the pro's and con's were.

If it works well... will sure beat cleaning up after soda blasting.

Thanks
Vince

Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2018 4:01 pm

Works great. Doesn't remove any metal,,,none!

Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2018 11:28 pm

Thanks

was there anything you didnt like about using a dry ice blaster?

Posted: Wed Apr 18, 2018 7:56 am

Have done several engines with dry ice and it works great!It doesn`t damage rubber components or wiring. If I had to remove paint from other parts I would prefer blasting them,but dry ice is very safe for an engine.

Posted: Wed Apr 18, 2018 2:48 pm

That is what I was hoping to hear. Thanks. Gonna try try it on a few minor pieces... then a motor.

Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2018 10:41 am

Take in mind that it,s not a blaster.So it cleans perfectly but for removing paint from steel parts sandblasting or glassblasting is prefereble.
That makes it very interesting for doing engines and to clean aluminium.
Wim

Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2018 12:03 pm

If you are looking to paint after, you need to also consider the texture left by the dry ice blasting, and if it gives enough of a bite for the paint to adhere to. When I vapor blast cases and covers, I'll use super fine glass bead mesh on the engine and case "internals" for that restored finish, but on the outside where all gets painted, I'll follow up with a 120 grit white aluminum oxide to give enough texture for the paint. Otherwise you'll find the paint chips or peels off over time.

Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2018 12:59 pm

Thanks Darren!

Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2018 12:13 am

Yeah, we dealt with Nations Rent in Bangor. Done a demo in their yard. My company backed out before anything constructive happened. It effective,but slower than grit blasting. Our concern at the time was keeping some neighbors happy. We contracted the job out to a traditional blaster,,,back in the woods,,,,oops.

Twinstar Joined: Oct 26, 2016 Posts: 55 Location: Sweden

petrat wrote:

If you are looking to paint after, you need to also consider the texture left by the dry ice blasting, and if it gives enough of a bite for the paint to adhere to. When I vapor blast cases and covers, I'll use super fine glass bead mesh on the engine and case "internals" for that restored finish, but on the outside where all gets painted, I'll follow up with a 120 grit white aluminum oxide to give enough texture for the paint. Otherwise you'll find the paint chips or peels off over time.

Good to know how it's done properly!

I guess the aluminum oxide blasting means the engine needs to be disassembled and cleaned? If one wanted to blast an engine in prep for paint, without disassembling the engine or needing to worry about finding blasting media in the oil pan, is dry ice the best option - even though the surface may not be optimal for paint - or are there other alternatives?

Posted: Mon Apr 23, 2018 2:00 pm

LightsOut wrote:

petrat wrote:

If you are looking to paint after, you need to also consider the texture left by the dry ice blasting, and if it gives enough of a bite for the paint to adhere to. When I vapor blast cases and covers, I'll use super fine glass bead mesh on the engine and case "internals" for that restored finish, but on the outside where all gets painted, I'll follow up with a 120 grit white aluminum oxide to give enough texture for the paint. Otherwise you'll find the paint chips or peels off over time.

Good to know how it's done properly!

I guess the aluminum oxide blasting means the engine needs to be disassembled and cleaned? If one wanted to blast an engine in prep for paint, without disassembling the engine or needing to worry about finding blasting media in the oil pan, is dry ice the best option - even though the surface may not be optimal for paint - or are there other alternatives?

Yes, disassembled. First disassemble, then degrease, then vapor blast with super fine mesh glass bead inside, then vapor blast with 120 grit "white" aluminum oxide on the surfaces to be painted. Followed by a rigorous wash, rinse, blow, wash, rinse, blow, wash, rinse, blow cycle to make sure all traces of grit is removed from EVERYWHERE.

I've never seen the texture left by dry ice so I can't comment if it's suitable. Soda blasting is great, but not so great for neighbors or your manicured lawns or gardens (it will ruin your grass because it offsets the pH levels).

If I am to be brutally honest here, if your engine is in dire need of paint, it likely has enough miles on it that it warrants being stripped down and doing it the right way, and replacing some known parts that are known to fail in these along the way. Dissembling and reassembling these engines is not a huge task, and I think everyone should do it at least once just to familiarize themselves with the inside and learn what makes them tick. I thoroughly enjoy building them.

This is a 985cc that I'm assembling for a customer at the moment for a restomod build. All pieces were prepared as per above and then baked to cure in an oven.

Twinstar Joined: Oct 26, 2016 Posts: 55 Location: Sweden

Thanks petrat! The attention to detail and overall level of your builds are definitely an inspiration. I wouldn't say mine is in dire need of paint, but it's still 35 years old so there's definitely room for improvement.

Engine has about 5200km (3200miles) on it, runs well and compression around 145. It's in that state where it doesn't need to be torn down, but could definitely benefit from it before problems arise... I'm just afraid that if I do tear it down (which would be a first, but I'll try anything once Very Happy

) I won't be able to help myself from upgrading (985cc etc), "while I have it open" and end up with 2-3k$ engine rebuild.

Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2018 11:31 am

Amazing Darren... Thanks for sharing.