Throttle bodies - vapour blasting

[Jonny TR6]

Whilst doing some “stuff” I’ve whipped off the throttle bodies and decided to get them vapour blasted. Question is whether any part of them needs protecting ? Do I need to remove the butterflies and spindles ? I have brass bushes installed, I assume they’ll be safe given the non aggressive nature of vapour blasting ?

Whilst under there, I’m also considering wrapping the first couple of inches of the stainless manifold pipes to reduce the heat soak into the throttle bodies. Any thoughts on this ? I know it’ll make popping the nuts back on a little tricky with the extra thickness, but happy to work around that.

Cheers

Jonny

[A Brit in Bama]

I don't have a TR6 equipped with PI - mine has Weber DCOEs - but, I am a fan of the vapour blasting process, and have had multiple items blasted.  In all cases, the place to which I sent my parts advised me to totally disassemble and remove all parts/jets/bearings etc. before shipping them off for treatment.

The process, while less aggressive than other forms of media blasting, does nevertheless use abrasive media, which I understand can get lodged in nooks and crannies, especially jets and bearings.  My advice is to call a few shops that offer the service and see what they say.

Here are a few items I had blasted 3 years ago, and the finish is exactly the same today:  A fuel pump, thermostat cover and the Weber inlet manifold.

[Jonny TR6]

Many thanks - really struggled to find a vapour blaster near me, but have gone down the ultrasonic route. Details to follow once I collect the throttle bodies.

If I decide the finish needs restoring to factory, I’ll use AluBrite and then 303 Aerospace Protectant, which is just a fancy name for an aluminium protector, but stops the finish getting that white powdery coating we all know so well.