Soda Blast a Horse?

[wfopete 15]

I did a search for the this subject here but did not see many post. Have any of you had experience using baking soda as a blasting media? If so, what kind of success have you had? I have had very limited time with it. It worked well on delicate parts like carburetor bodies and ID tags and doesn

[Sarge 3,463]

I've looked into using soda, and haven't been all that impressed. So far, most of the parts I've blasted in the cabinet using glass bead results in some difficulty due to the oem paint being pretty tough. Rusted/corroded parts come clean quick, but if someone has painted over it , especially heavy you'll need something fairly aggressive. Most large parts I've been using Black Beauty and keeping some distance as well as keeping pressure down a bit (90psi). At 150psi you'll definitely start pitting parts and possibly even brittilizing sheet metals . Either way, be prepared to spend some cash to properly blast and clean large parts, small stuff is easy.

Sarge

[KyBlue 655]

I love soda blasting... its Far Superior to Sand blasting in EVERY Way.... its better for your health, and mother earth too. Not to mention all the parts that your blasting... it leaves them ready to prime, no sanding unlike regular sand blasting. You do not have the risk of warping your parts... I could keep going on and on, but its a great system/product, but dont try regular baking soda...its not the same thing...

[wfopete 15]

Scott,

What type and where do you source your media from?

Do use a unit designed for "soda"?

I'm thinking about getting a soda unit but have little background on what "works" best.

[KyBlue 655]

Well, we have one of the larger 100# blasters at the shop. Since we already had one, we just used the eastwood Conversion kit. As to the Soda Bicarb media... We ordered it from eastwood, by the pallet. We use it to blast whole cars thou.

Eastwood does sell smaller bags, and if you blast in a enclosed area like some of the members do, with the plastic strung up, you can recollect your soda and use it again.

[wfopete 15]

Good information, as I plan on using Eastwood for a supplier of this equipment. I read on this site where someone had the idea of converting a old freezer for a blast cabinet. I may pursue that idea.

[bork 0]

Is the soda media the same coursness as the stuff in a box at grocery store? Is it real expensive? Compared to silica?

[KyBlue 655]

Bork - Its a totally different setup from the stuff in the box at the store. To my knowledge that isnt a crystal, so its not going to cut...just make a powdery mess..

The Actual blasting Soda media from Eastwood is 39.99 for a 50 lb bag, which is a little cheaper than the actual blasting media you get (glass, or Blasting sand)

You should NEVER use silica sand...The Health problems it can cause are numerous, and aint none of em good...

[Shuboxlover 478]

I had a pickup box soda blasted before, it was fairly reasonable, but it seemed to pit the metal more than I anticipated. I had to go over the entire thing with a DA and knock down all the rough stuff. I had the sheet metal for my horse blasted and they used ceramic. It came out great and was VERY close to paintable right away.

good luck

[KyBlue 655]

It really depends on what Grade of Soda they are using, like the different grades of ceramic, glass, and other popular media, there are different grades of Soda.

I'll also add, that no matter what you media blast your parts with, you really need to go over them with some 80 grit to prep the metal, and remove anything that might be still lingering on the surface, that along with some Good pre Cleaner to get all the oil and anything else that might be on there, off...

If you choose to use a media other than soda, your going to need to prime the parts, Immediately....they will start to rust...

[bork 0]

They dont rust after soda?

[KyBlue 655]

They will, eventually, im not 100% sure what prevents the rust, maybe a coating left behind - im gonna do some reading when I can hold both eyes open

You still better of to get them primed as quick as possible, but you have al ittle more leeway...