Kawasaki Cafe Racer on a Budget part 2

This is the second instalment on my first cafe racer project on a budget.

DIY Sand Blasting

Today was all about testing my DIY sandblasting set up. I watched several YouTube videos to work out if it would be possible to rig my own sandblaster and use it to prepare parts ready for powder coating. Feeling encouraged by what I had seen I started to search for an inexpensive sandblasting kit on eBay, which I could hook up to my air compressor.

At first I thought a suitable kit might cost between £25 and £30 then I found a gun and siphon feed tube for £8.69. The main difference is that the less expensive setup doesn't come with its own container to hold the abrasive material. I bought a plastic bucket from our local DIY store for less than £1 but as it turned out I didn't even need this! The main reason for dropping into the DIY store was to buy a bag of kiln dried sand. A decent face mask was also on my shopping list knowing that inhaling silica is a big NO NO.

Next thing was to find someway to create a 'sandblasting cabinet' and by chance a friend I was talking to earlier today said all you need is a couple tressle stands, a 1 ton bag and a piece of clear polythene. I realised that the only container I needed for the sand was the bag it came in. However, the bucket will come in useful when tipping the sand out of the 1 ton bag to recycle it. So with everything hooked up ready to go I selected two rusted chrome crash bars as test pieces.

I should point out that I will be wearing strong gloves to finish the rest of the sandblasting as the sand "picks" a bit when your hands get in the way.

In this short video you will see the tests pieces turned out ok. So now I've selected some other parts including the frame for my next session with the sandblasting gun. As you will see in the final clip I started to chop the frame and I will be preparing it ready to receive the custom made top rail when it arrives.

Since my last blog post the clip-ons, cone air-filters, handlebar grips and throttle have all been delivered and they all look ok. I have also ordered a universal switch gear for £4.99. It has a horn button, turn signals and on/off light switch and includes 1.5m of cable.