Soda? Bead?

[9dreizig]

Was thinking of having my car media blasted but in looking at prices I am now thinking of buying a system and doing it myself
So which way to go? Media or soda? Is either less messy?

[sundevil64]

Have you considered renting the equipment? If you search the internet, I'm sure there is someone in your area. I know there are some within a couple of hours of me.

[962porsche]

neither is less messy . when it comes to the blasting abrasive that you want to use . that denends on the reason you need to remove the finish . as for having some one do it or doing the job your self . if you have some one do the job for you then all you have to do is drop off the car . you will have no labor that you will have to do . if you do the job your self then you lookng at hours of preping , blasting then all the clean up . then were will you do the blasting ? in your garage ? in your drive way ? blasting a car makes a mess it will cover every thing with blasting abrasive in your garage and if you do it out side in the drive way . it will still get every were ! but media is plastic so water will not wash it away like it will with soda . at my shop i have one of those car tent things . we do the blasting in there . we built a plywood floor then covered it with plastic . the thing about doing some thing like that is cost . it add into the things you have to buy to do the job and your labor time to set it all up . after all is said and doen what are you saving ? to have some one blast a car is only 2k or so . which is a drop in a bucket of the cost when it comes to refinishing a car .

[rw7810]

Just get a Makita variable speed polisher and some 80 grit disks.. not hard, yes a little messy, but cheap and quick

[yel911]

Todd,
Like I mentioned before, the guy in Deering NH, used plastic media on my car, no heat to warp panels. Use duct tape on things you don't want blasted. Most shops recycle the media material, so they vaccum the car out completely. If you pay someone, it will be the best way to go, keep in mind, your time, prep, the mess you'll make etc. like 962 porsche said. More time to shoot coyotes!!!!
Let me know when your ready to do bodywork etc.!!!!

[Bearston]

Soda blasting seems to be the least damaging of all media blasting. A look on YouTube gives plenty of examples. Said that Soda dosen't scratch glass, dosen't eat rubber, dosen't warp panels and for the most part, clean. When blasting outdoors and after cleaning up, the excess soda melts away with the rains. Price of media is about the same or less, with seemingly better results than plastic or walnut media, all other media is too aggressive and can easily damage and warp panels. If you have a convenient outdoor area for blasting, you could rent a unit or hire a guy with a truck mounted unit and split the duties, if you like getting your hands dirty.

[962porsche]

there are many reasons why at my shop we will not soda blast metal bodied cars . the cost of the soda media is about 20 more than other types of blasting media .
if you plastic media blast a metal bodied car it does not warp panels any more than soda blasting will . if you fall asleep holding the blaster in one spot for a long time then yes you can warp some thing .
for the most part soda will not harm things like chrome ,glass and so on . but heres the thing about that . if your stripping a cars down to bare metal don't you want to remove all that crap any way ???? now if you are do you want to spend all the time doing so with the car now sitting in bare metal ? or do you think your going to etch prime it with all the parts still on the car . if you go that rute then you will have to go back and resand and reprime were all the parts were left on the car . and that would be a total waste of time and money .
the thing with soda blasting is it's not going to remove any rust on the steel bodied car . so you will then have to change out the media to another type to remove the rust .
there is a time and place for all types of blasting media . the thing with soda blasting is to many people think thats the best way to go on there metal bodied car . that thinking is totaly wrong ! only if you want to remove the finish from a car is it the media you use . but again you don't know what is under the finish on a metal / steel bodied car 99 times out of a 100 you will find rust areas you did not see because it was covered by the finish on the car .
3 weeks ago a customer had the nose of his car soda blasted because there were 1000's of stone chips . when he told me his friend will blast it for him at a good price . i was like what ever ? have him do it then . when i got the car yep great job all finish is off the car now what would you like me to do with the 1000's of little rust spots that the soda could not remove ?
we then had to do just what i told him needed to be done and thats we will remove the panels and blast them with plastic media . so even with the great deal his friend gave him it was a waste of money .
there is a time and place for all blasting mideas but 99% of the time soda is not the best media for a steel / metal bodied car .
i should also add that if you think there is less clean up from soda blasting think again ! my soda blaster uses water along with the soda media . it will take a years worth of rain storms to wash the soda away .

[merbesfield]

As 962 has said, sand is the way to go if you want to remove rust. As he has also said, each type media has a time and place. If just removing paint, use a strip pad on disc sander. It should also be mentioned that sand will get everwhere, inside and out, no matter how well you "think" you have sealed the car. I say sub it out, it is one of the crappyest jobs you will ever do. If you DIYS, rent the proper compressor and blaster. My rental store charges about $250.00 a day for the package. Don't expect a small shop compressor to work, it will not. Better yet, some blasters will blast and prime for you, the best option. You can also have your car powder coated. Good luck.

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by merbesfield

You can also have your car powder coated. Good luck.

I have an $89 Harbor Freight powder coat kit and a toaster oven.................

I could do the gas cap.

[merbesfield]

Originally Posted by Bob Kontak

I have an $89 Harbor Freight powder coat kit and a toaster oven.................

I could do the gas cap.

That's a good one.