Aluminium casting - making a smooth surface rough by blasting.

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I've had better results texturing the smooth parts first and then you can blend it in by blasting. The old "Wolf Grindette" is the ideal tool at model sizes though small areas can be done with a handheld dot punch just tapping it onto the surface. If it's a big engine then a needle gun would be better.

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Did you mean the Wolf Grinderette (sic) 4" angle grinder?

Wouldn't any small angle grinder do the same job?

My old Grinderette is still going (on its second set of brushes).

Bill

With blasting you would need to go over first with an abrasive grit such as Aluminium Oxide or Steel Grit, this will rough up the surface and make it all look the same depending on how you concentrate on each area.

This will leave the surface with lots of minute peaks and troughs which will collect dirt and look awful after a while, so the trick is to go over it all with a non abrasive such as Glass Bead or Steel Shot, this will close up all the peaks and troughs and leave you with a uniform surface finish.

Phil

PS..... I design automatic blast machines for my day job.

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Sorry Ega, bit of brain fade on my part though I did used to have their little grinder. It was the green engraving tool that I meant action is axial like a tattoo gun

Ramon has one too, you can see what it doe sin the last few images of this post

Edited By JasonB on 13/02/2022 12:28:00

Jason:

Thanks for clearing that up and for the fascinating link. I wonder whether an air-operated needle scaler would do the same job - possibly not small enough for model work.

I try to combat brain fade with the odd mnemonic; Wolf used to advertise their grinder pictured alongside a file and the slogan "Forget it - Grinderette it!

.

Ah ! … the trusty old Burgess

Presumably the modern versions, from the likes of Lidl & Aldi, would do the job too.

MichaelG.

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 13/02/2022 14:43:35

yes I did mention a needle gun for big jobs.

I don't know why I thought mine was by Wolf, it is indeed a Burgess