Introduction to Vapor Honing: How Vapor Honing Works

Looking to refinish the surface of a metal object? If so, you might be interested in how vapor honing works, a metal refinishing method that’s similar to yet different from sandblasting.

Interested in learning more about how vapor honing works? Then read on. We’re going to provide you with the basics below.

What Is Vapor Honing

Let’s begin by discussing what vapor honing is. Put simply, vapor honing is a refinishing method used to clean dirty metal objects. But it’s a little more complex than that.

Vapor honing is capable of deep cleaning a metal object, helping it to look as good as it did when it was first manufactured. It does this by blasting the object with a mixture of air, water, and detergents, and semi-rough cleaning media.

Vapor honing is a non-abrasive form of cleaning, meaning that it poses no risk to the object that’s being cleaned. Nonetheless, it’s effective for removing both oxidization and corrosion.

And this isn’t just a temporary fix. The vapor honing process works to seal the microscopic openings in aluminum, keeping corrosion and oxidation to a minimum for years to come.

How Vapor Honing Works

Also called wet blasting, vapor honing is a complex process facilitated by something known as a wet blast cabinet. This cabinet consists of a few different components, including an enclosure, a pump, a blast gun, and a mechanism that compresses air.

There are many different types of cabinets available, each of which is used to suit different types of objects. As such, some cabinets are on the small side, and others are on the large side. Some cabinets are better suited for aluminum while others are better suited for copper.

Regardless, the process is as simple as placing the object inside of the cabinet and letting it work its magic. It does this by shooting out water, compressed air, and detergent, all the while using various media to scrub away at the surface of the object being cleaned.

Note, though, that because there’s water present, these media stand no chance of damaging the object. The water ensures that the media pose very little impact, keeping friction to an absolute minimum.

The process usually takes a few hours. However, its length of duration is dependent on the item that’s being cleaned.

Vapor Honing vs Sandblasting

As was noted, there are some similarities between vapor honing and sandblasting. However, overall, they are quite different, with vapor honing being the better cleaning method overall. Let’s discuss the ways in which it’s superior.

Vapor Honing Is Non-abrasive

Perhaps the biggest benefit of vapor honing is that it’s non-abrasive. Because it primarily uses water pressure as opposed to direct friction, it poses very little risk of causing damage to a metal object.

This is not true of sandblasting, which does, indeed, require direct friction. And though it’s not horribly common, sandblasting does cause damage to items on occasion.

Vapor Honing Provides Longer Lasting Results

When you have a metal object refinished, you want its results to last for as long as possible, right? Well, if you do, you’re going to have to turn to vapor honing.

See, when you use vapor honing to clean a metal object, you do nothing to impair its surface. In fact, you do the opposite, making it more structurally sound than ever. As a result, external materials can’t as easily make their way, and deterioration can’t as easily occur.

But sandblasting, on the other hand, causes the surface of a metal object to deteriorate. This opens up small pores in the object, through which all sorts of external detriments can pass. This can lead to new deterioration in just a short amount of time.

Vapor Honing Allows for a More Thorough Clean

Another benefit of vapor honing is that it allows for a more thorough cleaning. Because it makes use of water as opposed to direct friction, it’s able to reach areas on a metal object that sandblasting techniques can’t reach.

For instance, if there are tight ridges in the object, vapor honing techniques will enable you to clean between them. Sandblasting isn’t as precise, however, and will not enable you to clean in those tight quarters.

Vapor Honing Uses No Detrimental Chemicals

Sandblasting can be effective, but it also requires that you subject your object to potentially detrimental chemicals. These chemicals can compromise the integrity of the object’s surface, allowing it to take on further deterioration in the future

But with vapor honing, there are no detrimental chemicals used.

Vapor Honing Creates No Heat

When you sandblast something, you can subject it to tremendous heat. This heat is beneficial in cleaning the object but can also lead to the object becoming warped or misshapen. Obviously, you don’t want this to happen.

This is why you should instead utilize vapor honing. Vapor honing creates no heat whatsoever and therefore poses no risk of causing your metal objects to become misshapen.

Vapor Honing Doesn’t Involve Dust

One of the big problems with sandblasting is that it creates a great deal of dust. This dust isn’t just a problem because it can be breathed in. It’s also a problem because it can become ingrained within the object that’s being cleaned, compromising its structural integrity, and leading to a less thorough wash overall.

Vapor honing doesn’t create any dust whatsoever. As such, it stands no chance of causing damage to the object’s surface. The object’s structural integrity is maintained and it’s allowed to thrive for years to come.

Is DIY Vapor Honing Possible?

Now, you might be wondering: is DIY vapor honing a possibility? The short answer: yes. The longer answer: it requires the right equipment.

If you buy the right equipment, you can most certainly facilitate the vapor honing process on your own. You could even buy a honing cabinet to keep in your warehouse, factory, or shop.

Note, though, that if you don’t have a need to vapor hone items on a regular basis, it’s not the most cost-effective option. This is because vapor honing equipment can cost thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars.

As such, if you only need to vapor hone a few items, it’s best to leave the vapor honing to the professionals. They have all of the equipment necessary, they know how to use it, and they’ll charge you much less than you would have to pay if you decided to vapor hone your items on your own.

Vapor Honing Cabinets

There is no shortage of vapor honing cabinets available on the market today. These run the gamut from small to big, touching every base in between. Some of the best of these cabinets include the following.

Weekend Warrior

Looking for a vapor honing cabinet for your home or garage? If so, the Weekend Warrior would be right up your alley. This cabinet provides a workspace of 33 inches x 30 inches x 28 inches and can be used to facilitate your hobby at home.

It’s made out of heavy-duty aluminum and comes with a lifetime warranty. So, if you’re looking to get into vapor honing for fun, give it some consideration. It’s just the machine to get you started.

Micro Vapor Hone

If you don’t need a large vapor honing cabinet, you should consider going with the Micro Vapor Hone instead. This small cabinet has a workspace of 17 inches x 13 inches x 13 inches, allowing it to accommodate small items of all kinds.

It offers a PSI of 60 to 70 and requires only 2 gallons of water for operation. If you have a small workshop or if you’re looking to get into vapor honing as a hobby, this machine would serve you well. It offers a great deal of bang for its buck and is as functional as any of the bigger cabinets on the market.

Items That Can Benefit from Vapor Honing Technologies

There are all sorts of items that can benefit from vapor honing. As long as the item is made out of aluminum, bronze, brass, or copper, it can be vapor honed. The items that are most commonly vapor honed include:

Automotive Parts

Some of the most commonly vapor honed items are automotive parts. Not only are external components like rims and bumpers vapor honed but internal components like engines and gaskets as well.

Many automotive shops can benefit from having vapor honing cabinets in their garages. But if you’re only looking to clean a few items, you might instead have a vapor honing service clean them for you.

In any case, if you’re looking to restore your automobile, you should consider turning to vapor honing. It will clean your vehicle entirely without being a detriment to its overall structural integrity.

Jewelry

Vapor honing isn’t used to clean diamonds. However, it can be used to clean the castings for those diamonds. For instance, if your wedding band has become oxidized over the years, you could use a vapor honing cabinet to get it back to its prime state.

Jewelry restorers can most certainly benefit from having vapor honing cabinets in their shops. These cabinets would enable them to clean a great number of jewelry pieces in just a short amount of time.

Tools

There are all sorts of metal tools out there, from drill bits to wrenches to screwdrivers and much more. Over time, these tools can take on quite a bit of corrosion and oxidation, leading to their slow destruction.

Fortunately, they can be restored with the help of vapor honing. Whether you need tools cleaned for personal purposes or clean others’ tools on a large scale, vapor honing will accommodate you.

Machine Parts

We use machines in factories, warehouses, labs, and about a million other places. But with time, these machines can start to look fairly run-down. Fortunately, the majority of the parts on these machines can be cleaned with the help of vapor honing processes.

Whether they be external or internal parts, vapor honing will help them. Invest in a vapor honing cabinet of your own or turn to professional vapor honing services.

How to Find Vapor Honing Services

Let’s say you’re interested in utilizing vapor honing services. If so, how would you go about finding them?

Generally speaking, it’s as simple as using Google. Just get onto Google and type “vapor honing services” in the search box. You might also consider using phrases like “wet blasting services” or “vapor blasting services” as well.

These searches should return a number of results. Search through them and find a company that’s near you. Generally speaking, Google should return the websites of companies that are in your area.

Need Vapor Honing Services?

Now that you know how vapor honing works, you might be interested in utilizing vapor honing as a means of refinishing some of your metal objects? If so, and if you need vapor honing services in Lincolnton, NC, we here at Vapor Honing Technologies are the people to see.

We provide vapor honing for all sorts of metal objects, including the ones reviewed above. We’ll have your metal objects looking like new in no time.