You've got to be happy with that, the part's will look like new again. What sort of pressure was it run at ? You'll need to run it without water if you want to paint any part's after blasting them though, dry grit is the best prep for etch primer then paint.
For some time (perhaps the last 10 years or so?) I have used Wayne Jacobson of Specialised Blasting Services (http://www.wetblasting.net/) for aluminium castings where I want a bare finish. As far as I understand his process, it is a very gentle wet bead blasting, followed by burnishing with bearing balls, which assists with "sealing" the surface of the aluminium (to retard oxidation) and leaves a semi-lustrous finish - oil and grease can be wiped straight off without staining. If you look after the finish, it will last a long time (perhaps even indefinitely) - the first parts which Wayne did for me are still in good condition. However, if you just leave the freshly finished parts outside in all weathers without attention, they will begin oxidising soon enough. Here are some photos of my KR-1 engine casings and related bits a few years ago: Before (they were pretty good to start with, but a little oxidised in places) After During building Wayne's blasting process is so gentle that it takes ages to remove paint. It will therefore be cheaper if you send him parts which have already had the paint removed. His process also won't work if parts are covered in greasy deposits (although I think dry dirt is not such a problem). A lot of parts on my SDR200 (which I am currently rebuilding) were clear-coated from the factory. I removed this coating using paint stripper, sent the parts to Wayne and was very pleased with the result when they came back, as usual. Prior to discovering Wayne's service, I just had parts dry bead blasted, then sprayed clear lacquer over them. I still do this for some parts, but much prefer the finish that Wayne achieves. I am certainly no expert, but beware that all wet blasting processes are not the same. Some use beads and some just use "vapour". Some of the processes don't "seal" the surface of the aluminium, so the nice clean finish will quickly be affected by oil, grease, dirty finger marks and oxidation. I'd be glad to know what knowledge and experience others may have of any of the various wet blasting processes. Regards, James
I honestly can not wait to see this thing in action, I love metal polishers and parts cleaners because of the finish
