Frequently Asked Questions

Vapor honing is also known as vapor blasting, wet blasting or liquid honing.  

Vapor honing is a technique that involves the blasting of abrasive media mixed with pressurized water. When it’s used to refinish a metallic surface, the abrasive eliminates the materials you’re removing and the water washes them away. As the abrasive is cleaning the surface, it is simultaneously smoothening the surface. The result is a near new/reconditioned finish. The process can seal the surface and produces a micro finish that can assist in prevention of staining and oxidation.  Aluminum benefits the most from this process. 

Vapor honing is not a cleaning process. Prior to vapor honing, all parts need to be properly cleaned to remove greasy residue, baked on oil, paint, powder-coat, gaskets, silicone, etc. We recommend that you clean your parts prior to sending to us for vapor honing. However, if you prefer that we perform the cleaning, additional charges will apply. 

In some cases, excessive corrosion or pitting of a part cannot be removed or conditioned by vapor honing. 

Each part job will have varying results. Please contact us for specifics. 

In short, vapor honing can affect factory coatings. The degree to which vapor honing will affect these coatings depends on the current condition of the coating. If there is extensive oxidation on these coatings, vapor honing may not help recondition the surface on these areas.

We prefer to first clean these coated parts and assess whether or not we will actually vapor hone these areas.  Our cleaning can involve use of a heated ultrasonic bath.  In most cases, we will tape/cap off any hardware/areas that have zinc/cad plating to preserve their finish.

In some cases, excessive corrosion or pitting of a part cannot be removed or conditioned by vapor honing. 

Each part job will have varying results. Please contact us for specifics. 

Vapor honing has no adverse effect on the strength of a part. 

In some cases, excessive corrosion or pitting of a part cannot be removed or conditioned by vapor honing.

Parts that have areas of rust may become weaker due to vapor honing.

Each part job will have varying results. Please contact us for specifics. 

Raw CNC aluminum parts have a nice machined finish. While this appeals to some, others may be seeking a more uniformed and subdued finish. Vapor honing will impart a uniform satin finish to CNC aluminum parts, removing most of the machining marks. 

Each part job will have varying results. Please contact us for specifics. 

Our pricing varies on the size, quantity and type of part(s) to be vapor honed. Any disassembly, cleaning or extensive prep work factor into the final quotation. 

Please check our gallery for some work examples. 

Our cabinet can accommodate parts that fit into a 36" x 34" x 30" area.  

We accept parts drop offs or parts shipped to us!  We are flexible!

Prior to shipping or dropping off your parts to get vapor honed, you must contact us for a quote.  Contact us via our website or via email vaporhone@gmail.com. To expedite an online quote, please provide detailed pictures of the parts you wish to get vapor honed.

Once we generate a quote, an invoice will be emailed to you. The invoice is for the labor/vapor honing charges only. All vapor honing invoices must be paid in full prior to work is to be performed.

If your order requires the parts to be shipped back to you, a separate invoice will be sent separately for shipping charges back to you. Shipping charges must be paid within 15 days of receipt of the shipping invoice. 

Prior to shipping any parts to us or dropping them off for service, we highly recommend they are cleaned and any parts not needing vapor hone removed. All parts should be taken down/disassembled. Provide us only with the parts you wish to get vapor honed. Any moving parts, plastic pieces, seals, bearings, gaskets should be removed. If they are left on, damage may occur as our abrasive vapor honing slurry may end up in various crevices. Parts should be cleaned prior to sending to us; any heavy duty cleaning done by us will be charged by our hourly rate. 

When shipping parts to us, please ensure that your parts are adequately packed to prevent damages during shipment and that insurance is included. You are responsible for shipping costs when shipping parts to us. We ARE NOT responsible for any damages incurred during shipment. 

Once parts are received, we will do the following:

• Parts are inspected for damage/defects and photographed.  We will contact you about any damage/defects prior to initiating any work.
• Parts are labeled and logged.
• Light cleaning is included; any heavy duty cleaning charged based on our hourly rate.
• Parts are then vapor honed. 
• After vapor honing, parts are rinsed and dried using pressurized air
• Vapor honed parts are photographed. We will send your photographs upon completion of the work. 
• If parts were shipped to us, we will wrap each part and prepare the shipment. We will send you a shipping invoice, which must be paid within 15 days of receipt. 

We may have an inventory of parts which have already been cleaned and vapor honed.  We will periodically post up what we have available. These parts may be purchased for the listed price (with or without core exchange). The core charge will be refunded to you of you provide a core and the core received is acceptable. 

We are open to new opportunities. If you are a machine shop, repair shop, etc - we can help you out with pricing. Please reach out for account inquiries.