Ice Blasting anyone done it?

[Zephyr]

It seems that this technique is pretty effective in underside and engine cleaning.
The idea is that the car gets blasted with carbon dioxide in solid form at -75 celsius and the dirt says “wow so much cold I am getting out of here”.
Had a very long trip recently and my not Z car is full of dirt, slime and probably half of the total insects population around Greece and Italy.
Got a quote for a full treatment, 950 € for underside, all mechanical and other parts (engine, shocks, differential, wishbones etc) and exterior paint.
This guy says its ok to do it and totally safe but air temp today here is 38 c and I don't think that giving a thermal shock from 38 to minus 75 to my paint is a good idea.
any input?

 

[Mus Musculus]

No advice to give, but glad you are still hanging around the forum.

 

[t-tony]

I would be thinking similar thoughts too tbh.

Tony.

 

[Zephyr]

View: https://youtu.be/koxxAqfSF6s


looks quite safe in this video…

 

[ktnez99]

This video is interesting…I think at some point I’ll do this to my Z but only the underside, not the paint work.

 

[Esteban]

Got a quote for a full treatment, 950 € for underside, all mechanical and other parts (engine, shocks, differential, wishbones etc) and exterior paint.

This is an abrasive process, therefore not suited to exterior paint.

I have been researching this for the underside of my Z. Videos (like posted above) and before/after photographs are certainly satisfying... like watching someone pressure wash a moldy sidewalk. But I do not see much discussion about the risks of damage, and long-term maintenance.

1) Abrasive and extreme cold temperature. These can potentially damage parts?
2) Beyond the initial "wow" factor, is some type of protective coating needed to protect the components after ice blasting?

 

[Nodzed]

Well that's any corrosion protection lost. Best only use in salt free hot climates.

 

[Zephyr]

To my understanding this is probably a show car treatment and it is just for extreme detailing to well stored and rarely moved vehicles.
I just pressure washed the underbody and with a fraction of the cost the car looks almost new again.

 

[Zephyr]

So… went today for a treatment on my slightly rusted exhaust back box.
what an absolute failure it was.
the ice did absolutely nothing to the rust, and the so called cleaning of debris etc stuck on the metal was somewhat equal to a good scrub and buff with some metal polisher.
the guy looked very frustrated and kept saying that air humidity and heat were not ideal for the process and blah blah blah… I refused to pay and just gave him 20 euros for his effort.
i am going to have it sandblasted and painted.
verdict - at least for this guy I visited, sand blasting is just a fancy way of cleaning dirt instead of using chemicals.
maybe bigger machines and better understanding of their use has results, but this one was a fail.

 

[NeRo]

@Zephyr ~ I watched the latest Sarah-n-tuned, where she ice blasted the black Celica

It seemed a bit hit and miss with the results as you have found out with your experience

 

[Zephyr]

@Zephyr ~ I watched the latest Sarah-n-tuned, where she ice blasted the black Celica

It seemed a bit hit and miss with the results as you have found out with your experience

Hm! I have to check this, found her browsing the internet, seems that I have to subscribe if she is legit.

 

[Zephyr]

So, maybe the fellow with the ice blaster was right? We have 42 celsius over here…
Would like to give him the benefit of the doubt but Sarah seems to be also frustrated…

 

[Pingu]

I saw Tavarich use it on his McLaren P1 (worth a google if you don't know about it). It was quite successful, but his was a garage queen - until it got a little bit wet.

 

[Zephyr]

I will search for him also.
but how can we be sure that they are honest and these videos are not paid ads?
I always feel some disbelief on all these projects…

 

[Esteban]

At this point I am of the opinion that ice blasting is not much different than any other type of blasting except it evaporates afterward leaving less to clean up (but still a lot to clean up, because the debris you remove will end up in every crevice of your workshop).

Also, I'm not sure I want to shock old plastics and rubbers with super-cold temperatures.

 

[t-tony]

I would suggest that this process has its uses, but, to fettle rusty old cars maybe isn’t one of them?

Tony.

 

[Althulas]

Sarah did say in her vid it was more of a detailer and no good for shifting grease. Underneath my ///M I just used a gunk ultra engine degreaser and elbow grease a very messy job but looked good afterwards.

 

[Zephyr]

Btw she just uploaded a video giving a chemical bath to the underside and it justifies her point.
that Supra looks pretty clean.
so, as a versict yes, @Althulas you are correct.
in my case the exhausf had some little surface rust that the guy said will be no problem for the machine, but it was.
anyway I took it off using some 800 grit sandpaper and coated with black heat resistant paint. ten minute job.