Blasting an aluminium intake

[olds307 and 403]

I have crushed glass and 40:60 aluminum oxide. I might carefully try the crushed glass on the thermostat and aluminum throttle return cable.

 

[olds307 and 403]

I plan on spraying high temp clear after blasting it.

 

[WanaBa442]

I picked up an SP2P a while back, and although it was in great shape I decided to clean it up.
I used sodium bicarbonate as it is not as harsh as black beauty or other media.
Did a great job with very little additional prep before I painted it.
Was cheap at like $14.00 for a 50lb bag at the ag feed store (CO-OP).
Too much in one spot will kill the grass though. Not just dead, graveyard dead... as in a nuked brown spot that took 2 years to grow back.

 

[O. D. Showtime]

Christian....I have a cousin and his son in auto restoration....they have a vapour blaster...not sure if that's something you might want to think about....

A couple of intakes they did for Queen City Performance

 

[L92 OLDS]

I plan on spraying high temp clear after blasting it.

I tried that years ago and it still turned yellow from the heat. I use VHT aluminum header paint.

 

[olds307 and 403]

I happen to have some of that around, I will go that route.

 

[Streetbu]

Neither. Have it powdercoated in a metallic aluminum color. Won't fade, discolor, etc. Cleans up with soap and water. If it's that's clean, most places will do it for less than $100. Place did mine for $50.

 

[bracketchev1221]

We put intakes in the glass bead cabinet all the time and they came out clean.

 

[fleming442]

Clearing a blast hasn't worked for me. It ends up being a dull gunmetal. I say paint it to match everything else. A silver aluminum intake is the same as raised white letter tires....

 

[565bbchevy]

I use an abrasive that gives it close to the factory look with slight sparkle instead of a dull finish and then just lightly "fog" the intake with clear for protection .