An A350 inner wheel half. 120 minutes with chemical pre-treatment and dry blasting. 58 minutes on a Vapormatt Puma XL.
That result comes from a documented trial with a large European maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) organisation, following Safran SPM 32-09-01 in full. No chemical pre-treatment, and no damage to the anodised layer, confirmed by continuity reading.
Most wheel shops still degrease, dry, mask and then blast as separate stages. On a fixed-price contract, none of them add value.
Wet blasting (also known as vapour blasting) on the Puma XL removes the separate degrease, dry and mask stages. A slurry of hot water, mild detergent and MIL-DTL-85891 plastic media removes oils, grease, brake dust, carbon and multi-layer paint in one pass. The media is carried in water, so it doesn’t embed in the surface. Cracks are cleaned out and left open for eddy current or dye penetrant inspection.
Built for the wheel shop:
- 1,100mm swing-out turntable rated to 250kg
- Optional plastic media kit with slurry concentrator and sump heater for paint stripping
- No airborne dust, no solvents, no harsh chemicals
Send us a wheel and the component maintenance manual (CMM) or process specification you work to. We’ll return documented cycle time, surface condition and substrate results before you commit.
Learn more about aircraft wheel and cleaning and stripping by wet blasting.
