blasting media questions
 

I have some die cast aluminum, die cast zink, and wood furniture parts that I need to clean. The metal is carburetor and manifold parts and the wood is the pigeon holes in an antique secretary desk. The common denominator is that they all have little nooks and crannies that I can't get to to clean by any other method I can think of. I hit the wood with some glass beads that I had around at 50 psi and it was a little too aggressive. I've looked at corn cobs, pumice, and walnut shells, but I can't get definitive information on which would be best. Any suggestions from the brain trust?

I think you're just going to have to experiment to find your happy place between aggressive and clean. I just blasted an aluminum intake for a friend of mine with #80 garnet @ about 60PSI

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1448119369.jpg

Blasting wood actually is a technique which is frequently used to cause an aging and worn appearance. I think for wood you are going to have to go old school - chemical strippers, stiff brush, etc.

80 grit garnet is pretty harsh for aluminum. At low PSI (60) you are probably OK but at 80-90 which is where I usually run it can be damaging to aluminum. I usually use Garnet for cast iron and Glass beads 100 grit for aluminum. I guess it depends on the finish you want. I have never tried blasting wood but I would think a very soft media like walnut shells and lower air pressure.

I've always heard that blasting aluminum can create an electically charged atmosphere that can ignite if a spark is produced. Some pretty bad explosions as the result.

I've done that. I used aluminum oxide to give character to some trophy bases I made.
I was hoping someone has some experience that could help me avoid spending $50 each to get some walnut shells and corn cobs to experiment with, but I may have to try them and see what happens.

Had some Danish furniture refinished a couple of years ago. They used walnut shells on teak.

Baking soda