Project: Aratech

[GIJoeBob]

This will be a journal tracking what I hope to be a unique scooter when I am done with it.

The starter bike is a 1984 Honda Aero 80 that is not in the best of condition-





I took the thing down to the bare frame. I am in the middle of sandblasting the frame and cleaning the engine. Pics of that soon.

I started with de-carbonizing the muffler.

Load up the drum with the muffler and firewood-


Rig the leaf blower to add some air-


It was pretty hot-



After cooling off and sand blasting-


After painting-

[workdog]

Sounds like a fun project! Keep us posted.

[GIJoeBob]

Shots of the cleaned up engine and other bits-





I have read that the intake bolt pattern for the 1984 Aero 80 is the same as the 1992 - 2001 Honda Dio so I may end up on using a setup made for one of those scoots as the stock carb setup is a weak point on the Aero 80.

I also plan on replacing the stock piston with one from a Honda CR80 for a bit more compression.

Here is the frame about halfway through sandblasting-

[dem0nk1d]

what kind of sand blaster are you using? I'm thinking of building my own cabinet for sandblasting.

[GIJoeBob]

what kind of sand blaster are you using? I'm thinking of building my own cabinet for sandblasting.

This is the gun I have-
http://www.tractorsupply.com/tools/sand ... se-3434614

and this is the material I use-
http://www.tractorsupply.com/tools/sand ... ve-3987714

I sandblast outside on a big tarp. When I run out of sand I just gather it up in the tarp and dump it back in the bucket and keep going. I use my father-in-law's compressor. I am happy with the results but sandblasting is tedious work.

We are planning on making a booth from plastic sheeting and PVC pipe so we don't lose as much sand.

[mookie]

how well does it perform?
i too am interested in an inexpensive blaster.

[dem0nk1d]

i have the same gun. my first project was to use it to strip down the old paint off a firewall on one of my old cars. I didn't know at the time you have to use special materiel, like you have linked above this post. I used "playground sand" from homedepot and it did a * job. I just dumped the bag into a 5 gal of the play ground sand and went to town. =)

Cheap too.... 1.50 for a 25lb bag.

[GIJoeBob]

how well does it perform?
i too am interested in an inexpensive blaster.

It works great. The issue is having a compressor with enough umph to run it for any appreciable amount of time.

[Bugaboo]

Don't use sand. I just started researching sandblasting and have heard from a few different sources that it's pretty bad for you. http://www.boostcruising.com/forums/lof ... 40842.html

THE USE OF SILICA SAND FOR SANDBLASTING HAS BEEN OUTLAWED FOR MANY YEARS DUE TO THE MAJOR HEALTH RISKS (SILICA) IT WILL DO THE JOB BUT YOUR KILLING YOURSELF AND ALL THOSE WHO ARE IN THE DUST PATH, THE EPA CAN ALSO ISSUE HEAVY FINES AND HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO MESS YOU UP BIG TIME.

[GIJoeBob]

Speaking of paint stripping, the oil tank had oozed quite a bit it seems and the leaking oil combined with dust and dirt created an incredibly tough layer of crud on the underside of the frame and the outside of the transmission housing. I had to use two applications of aircraft paint stripper to get the stuff off.

[dem0nk1d]

Look into SODA Blasting. This is pretty safe, and works great with engine parts

[GIJoeBob]

Look into SODA Blasting. This is pretty safe, and works great with engine parts

Does it work with the guns we have? Is it more or less aggressive than the garnet I currently use?

[dem0nk1d]

i'm not sure i just heard it's the newest thing. people use it on engine blocks and what not. if the baking soda gets into the oil galleries, it's fine and will not damage the engine if you don't get it out. because it's baking soda, and water soluble.