Soda Blasting the top-end

Since I plan to paint (per stock) the top-end I needed to clean it for paint and my neighbor, Travis T., kindly offered to do it for me for free.

The first step Travis did was to soak the head in warm soapy Dawn water for a day or two. It was a bit grimy as you can see.

The muck was caked on.

Then he hit it with a copper wire brush to free the dirt off. Soda blasted it and to prevent rust submerged it back in water. When I came to pick it up he hit it with compressed air to dry it off.

This is the piece he is happiest with. It came out great. He recommended that I clean the inside of the holes (not the barrel) and consider having a light sandblasting so the paint has something to grip on to.

Travis owns the world's tiniest sand blaster and that is what he used to clean my top-end.

Thank you Travis!

The bottom-end will be vapor blasted.