Soda Blasting Question

[casperc]

Anybody have any experience or knowledge with/of soda blasting?

[Aslet]

I got a soda blaster from Eastwood Garage to do mainly wheels. The compressor I have works, but it is so weak I couldn't do much. It is a 3.5HP 5gal compressor. I have been thinking about getting a two stage 6HP 80gal compressor to do painting with, and I think that would help the soda blaster a lot. There are also different grits of the soda media. Typically Porsche uses from real good and hard paints, so the larger grit may work better. On the cookie cutter wheel I tried to blast on, the clear came off decently, but the black paint was hard to remove. So the large grit and real compressor, I'm sure it would be easy.

What would you want to use it for?

[casperc]

Originally Posted by Aslet

I

What would you want to use it for?

Anything you would use glass or grit media on, sheetmetal, suspension parts, wheels, engine case etc.

[Aslet]

Just know that it is a gentler form of blasting. This makes if good for aluminum or around glass/trim. It may not be as affective on very dirty parts. Also for anything with rust, you can get a rust soda that has aluminum oxide in it. This will get off rust (or so it says), but will also be harsher (so may limit the use on soft metals).

My basic opinion is that if you want to get a blaster and have a compressor that is powerful enough to really runit, it is a very useful item. If you get the Eastwood Garage soda blaster, it also comes with the regular media blaster valve. So you could hypothetically switch between the valves and use it for both types of blasting...

[962porsche]

yes alot of experience why ???

[casperc]

Originally Posted by 962porsche

yes alot of experience why ???

Can you share your experiences, good or bad, do you recommend it as a tool?

[962porsche]

its all about what your trying to achieve ! soda blasting is the best thing when it comes to composite materails like fiborglass and carbonfibor also some aluminium parts . if your looking to blast rust off for get it ! you will need to use another media like plastic ,sand or black beauty . if i know what you need to blast and what shape its in i could help more .

[casperc]

How about removing carbon from pistons and combustion chambers?

Removing paint and old Bondo from a motorcycle gas tank?

Removing Paint from alloy wheels?

[962porsche]

carb cleaner or lacquer thinner . i just remove the pistons turn them up side down and put it in a can with a little wash thinner (cheap home depot lacquer thinner ) in it . in no time at all the carbor will fall right off . take some aluminum polish buff the tops of the pistons and reinstall . plastic media blasting works best for alloy wheels and removing paint and body filler from metals . soda will remove the paint from the tank but not the body filler . when it comes to alloy wheels plastic media will leave little to no blasting pits that will sand off ez with a 220 0r 320 grit cut paper for refinishing or keep stepping down the grits of paper untill you get to 800 or 1000 and then you can buff them with a soft mettal polish kit . i get most of my blasting abrasives from AFI in wallingford

[casperc]

Thanks for the tips, and good luck on your book, I'll buy one too, and a CD or DVD with video demos would be a good accessory to the book.

Clarence

[kenikh]

Originally Posted by casperc

How about removing carbon from pistons and combustion chambers? Works fine

Removing paint and old Bondo from a motorcycle gas tank? Like shooting BBs at an aircraft carrier - not gonna happen

Removing Paint from alloy wheels? See above, times 10 (if it is decent paint, that is. It will take off Krylon)

I love mine - it is good for some things, not others.