[Karl Wescott]

It is common foundry practice today to sandblast or beadblast castings to remove any residual sand that may have adhered to the casting, so as cast could be sandblasted. there is almost always some residual sand attached to the casting that has to be removed, whether by hand scraping, blasting, or vibratory beads. Bead blasting may well be 100% correct for a 1930's Ford sand cast item.


Foundry technique has become more sophisticated over the years. Most aluminum castings used by GM from the mid 1950's through the 1990's to me appear to have used a permanent steel mold which has a much finer, detailed finish than a sand casting or a sand blasted casting.