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Reviewed by Glenn Roberts. Download the review of the vapour blasting process here.

Anyone who has tried to restore corroded engine blocks, heads, jugs or side cases to factory like-new condition knows the time and effort involved to clean and polish “barn find” engine components that exhibit the ravages of time and mother nature.

While I’ve always found it very satisfying seeing the end results of cleaning and polishing corroded parts – making a silk purse from a sow’s ear, if you will – it can be a time-consuming, dirty job. Add to that a complicated engine casting with multiple hard-to-access recesses or cooling fins, and the polishing job can be overwhelming, if not impossible, not to mention the inconsistent results in the finish. This is where Rocket Performance’s vapour-blasting services alleviates a lot of frustration, and is truly a time saver.

Rocket Performance’s vapour blasting is a non-destructive process that uses a mixture of compressed air, water and fine glass beads to create a slurry that cleans the surface of non-ferrous castings. The process will not heat, warp or distort the metal in any way and results in a semigloss closed-pore finish that resists oil, part in its original cast condition. This cleaning method prepares the piece to be left as is, or ready for paint or powder coat, die testing, welding or rebuilding of the engine.

The vapour-blasting process began for Rocket Performance when owner Brian Holmes was restoring his 1973 Norton and was looking for a non-destructive method to clean engine casings. He sensed a business opportunity after seeing ads in British motorcycle magazines, but he discovered through further research that there wasn’t anyone in Canada able to offer vapour blasting.

Rocket Performance, located in Whitby, Ontario, can handle objects up to approximately 50 x 50 x 75 cm (20 x 20 x 30 in.). The compressed air and water is mixed with fine glass beads that spin, thereby removing corrosion, staining and even permanent marker on that desperately needed swap-meet part you’ve so frantically tried to clean. The whole process is environmentally friendly, as the company’s system extensively recycles, filters and separates the water and slurry mixture to be reused many times over.

The system does require that the parts be free of oil and grease, as this can’t mix with the slurry. Rocket Performance will clean the parts of oil and grease, but the customer can save a few bucks by cleaning the parts themselves before sending in their engine cases.

Brian estimates that a complete disassembled motorcycle engine can be vapour blasted in about three to four hours, and at $70 per hour, in my opinion that is $210 to $280 very well spent.

For more info or to see videos of the process, go to rocketperformance.ca or call Brian at 416-419-3161.

Download the review of the vapour blasting process here.