Bead blasting a chuck?

[ianjParticipant @ians]

I have a 10" 4 jaw independant chuck with L00 mount for a Colchester student lathe ( circa 1968). It's not rusted solid just very tight, I have it in a bucket of diesal to free it off.

There is surface rust to it, what are your thoughts on bead blasting it to clean it up (shiny ?)

Regards Ian

[ianjParticipant @ians]

Bead blasting a chuck?

[DustyParticipant @dusty]

Ian

Bead blasting will certainly clean you chuck, it will however leave a matt surface which will rust even as you look at it, well maybe that is a slight exageration, but it will not be shiny and will rust very quickly. The other problem is you will be left with certain amount of the blasting media on and in the chuck, this is in the form of a dust and being abrasive will act just like lapping paste when it meets the oil that you put on to stop the chuck rusting. If you can get it ultrasonically cleaned after blasting that should solve that problem. You pays your money and makes yer choice I am afraid.

Edited By Dusty on 29/02/2012 17:31:00

[Neil GreenawayParticipant @neilgreenaway71611]

Hi There,

How abouy dry ice blasting – leaves no residue as the dry ice goes through sublimation and evaporates to CO2.

An alternative is soda blasting – the soda can be washed off with water and simply disolves and leaves surface clean.

Many thanks,

Neil

[AndyBParticipant @andyb47186]

I would be very wary of blasting a chuck with anything solid. There will be metal removed from the jaw slots which will make your jaws a loose fit!!!

A brass wire brush, nylon kitchen scourers and a bit of elbow grease is all you need. Works for me every time.

Andy

[ianjParticipant @ians]

Thanks for the advice. I know nothing about bead blasting, I did't relise it was so aggressive. I think I will go along with the scotcbrite pad method you suggest which I'v used before with good results.

Ian

[Deltic007Participant @deltic007]

DO NOT BLAST.

You will be dissapointed with the results and subsequent damage/Contamination as explained above.

Just continue with diesel and the scotchbrite or maybe some wet/dry paper obviously being careful not to get any abrasive particles in the moving parts.

Mike

[Phil PParticipant @philp]

Blasting will only remove material if you use an abrasive blast media. If you use the correct type of media you can clean the surface without causing any damage to it.

How do I know this ?……..I have been designing automatic blast machines for the last 23 years.

I do agree that you do need to make sure ALL traces of media and dust are removed afterwards, and Ultrasonic cleaning is the way to go, (I design those too).

I am very lucky in that I have access to all our test machines at work, and have just blasted and utrasonically cleaned almost every component on a motorbike I am restoring.

Phil

[ianjParticipant @ians]

Hi all.
Thanks for the advice.
I think I can forget blasting then. A bit of hard work with scotch-brite will be the best bet.

Ian

[I.M. OUTAHEREParticipant @i-m-outahere]

I clean rusty machine parts the same way i would to pre-pair a steel panel for paint .

1) mechanical clean using wire brushes( hand of power ) ,scourer pads etc and don't push to hard on the wire brush if it a powered unit as you will gall the surface .

2) Degrease using thinners or similar and let it dry .

3) De-oxidize using a rust converter (phosphoric acid type ) this can be purchased at auto parts stores etc – keep the solution fairly weak and wear your PPE !

4) Wipe off with 2 wet rags , one is to take the bulk of the acid off the second to clean off any residue and neutralise it .

5) Immediately rinse with Methylated spirits to pick up the moisture ( it absorbs water ).

You would then allow it to dry and oil it .

The rust converter will kill the rust left in the pits on the surface that mechanical cleaning won't remove and NO IT WILL NOT EAT THE PARENT MATERIAL AS LONG AS IT IS STEEL OR CAST IRON !

If you want a shiny appearance then polish with a scotchbrite wheel (green type similar to a buffing mop) mounted on a bench grinder of power drill.

[TerrydParticipant @terryd72465]

Hi,

You could always try removing the rust electrolytically. It involves no nasty chemicals, just a low voltage power supply, washing soda and patience. Have a look here before deciding on your final action. I have also used dilute hydrochloric acid (builders brick cleaning acid or muriatic acid) which does not attack the parent metal.

Best regards

Terry

Edited By Terryd on 01/03/2012 07:22:26

[haroldParticipant @harold]

Funny you should ask …

I've just been getting a load of blasting done on some Land Rover bits prior to acid-etch and powder coating. My blasting chum told me a few helpful tales about the game; one I hadn't expected was how wonderful a finish you can get with bicab ( 'Soda Blasting'  ) only for it to go all titsy a few months later as the metallic salts swap electrons and blister the paint. So, as always, it pays to seek out good advice.

S'pose you might get away with vapour blasting a fully-deconstructed chuck. Maybe.

 

John

Edited By harold on 01/03/2012 19:28:05

[alan knightParticipant @alanknight67321]

We normally use 0000 wire wool and a corrosion inhibiting, water displacing penetrating oil on the guns that works well.

[ianjParticipant @ians]

Hi All.

See photos for end result. It was easier than I thought it would be. I used scotchbrite pads & oil for most of it, for the more badley rusted sections ( it had been stored on its side on a damp floor) I used the pads soaked in brick cleaner & then pads & oil. I think the end result is well worth a couple of afternoons work .

PS. Its actually a 8" four jaw chuck.

[jason udallParticipant @jasonudall57142]

nice result

[jason udallParticipant @jasonudall57142]

nice result

[MadMikeParticipant @madmike]

Ian you have done a great looking job of cleaning the chuck.

However you say you have used "Brick Cleaner". What have you used precisel? As I recall the majority of proprietary brick cleaners contain 10% to 30% Hydrochloric Acid! This is not only dangerous stuff but is highly corrosive. How have you neutralised the acid after cleaning? You need to check that you do not develop a case of "high speed rusting". HTH.

[ianjParticipant @ians]

HTH.

Yes your dead right, it starts rusting more or less as soon as you rince it under running water. I gave it a good soaking in a solution of baking soda & then washed it using a strong detergent containing bleach.And then a good oiling.

I should have mentioned that I used rubber gloves & eyeshields & did the intial cleaning out side because of the fumes

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