I have access to a good blast cabnet with adjustible air pressure. Would this be a good way to clean a cooler or Rad? would it hurt any of the parts? anyone else ever do it? I want to clean the Exterior and the Fins.

thanks

 

I wouldn't do it, you could probably get away with cleaning the tanks, but stay away from the fins they're made of very thin copper or brass and the air pressure required to blast would only bend the fins.

 

DITTO. doing the oil cooler should be fine since it's aluminum and the tubes r much thicker. only do the tanks and mounting brackets on the rad if u insist on blasting it. the tubes on the rad r too thin and u'll blast right thru. a rad repair shop will clean them just fine, provided they also repair the aluminum rads too. i used to do rad repair. the solution used to clean the alum ones does a really good job, just make sure they flush it out really good and u let it dry thoroughly inside, use compressed air to get as much water out as possible.

 

#1. material too thin, will warp and cave in

#2. consider those fins destroyed

#3. getting any sand in the oil cooler will destroy you motor and it will be imposible to get the sand out.

Better off just getting a new rad, and cleaning your oil cooler with a solvent.

 

a radiator or cooler is the last thing you want to put in a blaster... it would eat up the metal like popcorn no matter what pressure you put set it at. Just like Jimmy54's first line... METAL TOO THIN!!!!!!!

Unless you want Swiss cheese for a cooler.

 

Have any of you done it before? Or is this just what is thought?

 

one guy posted a pic about a week ago with zig-zag lines in his radiator - just from pressure washing it with water on 'pencil' setting. If a water pressure washer can do that damage, imagine what blasted sand would do.

 

as i said in my other post, i've worked in radiator repair. the only time we sand blasted was to the tanks and brackets on the copper rads when doing a recore.

 

Ok. Sounds like it is a bad ideal. Guess I will just use some degresser to clean the fins and a drimmel to clean it up and repaint the tanks.

I Have a bad core, So I may try it someday, just to see.

thanks to everyone.