Soda Blasting
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Just wondering what the heck Soda Blasting is and why I always read people cautioning against it? Most of my work is collision, barely get to break in the sandblaster. (not that I’m complaining :chair)
We have had a few cars soda blasted.. First is makes a huge mess, you will have soda come out of every little nook and cranny for years after the car is done.. Second you really have to clean the car good with soap and water to get it all off.. If you leave any residue behind your paint will NOT stick. I would rather have it media blasted less mess and dont have to worry about washing the surface.. I am sure it has its place but we will never do it again!
Yep the biggest problem is the Soda gets in all the little pores of the metal. Even when you wash it fills the pores and dries…
In my opinion. Soda is a good idea for the Blaster. it is a good idea for a mild abrasive. It is a good idea for the environment. It is economically a good idea.
But it absolutely sucks ass for the guy that has to prep/paint the car.
You really have to get it absolutely perfectly clean.Nothing will stick to the powderiness. It dissolves into practically anything wet enough.
And well we all know what Baking soda will do to the acids in an Etch primer. :lol1It is an absolute nightmare if you don’t get it perfectly clean…
I’d put it right up there with oils. There can be no trace left behind without consequence.In my opinion if you want a non harsh blasting abrasive. go with Plastics.
How does it differ from sand? plastic too for that matter, i’ve never used or seen either.
How does Soda Blasting Differ from sand?
You know what Baking soda is right? Sodium bicarbonate? Bread Soda? Cooking Soda. Who knows what you Canadians call it.
You know you mixed it with vinegar to make a foaming volcano in school
It’s the exact same thing. Just you get a coarser grade of it.The biggest benefits of Soda Blasting over Silica/Sand blasting.
Is that Soda Blasting will not damage the panel. It won’t touch the metal at all.
It is only aggressive enough to remove stuff softer than it, IE paint.
It will not remove chrome, it will not effect glass.
It won’t etch the metal. Nothing, it will leave it as is.
The biggest benefit of Soda blasting is you can blast a fully assembled car without removing a thing. or masking anything off. This is only true to an extent because it will etch plastic parts.
It’s cheap. I think a Fifty pound bag is like 25 bucks.
And it’s Bio degradable just spray it down with Water and it dissolves and and simply washes away.Silica etches away the metal quite aggressively. They claim that even when properly used it can remove a small amount of metal thickness.
And because of it they produce a lot of heat. And they can easily warp panels.
They claim Silica is unsafe for blasting because it breaks down too fine.
It can shatter into small enough particles that filter masks cannot filter it. and that it goes right through a Masks Filter. (Something about it breaks down the filter or something)
Which of course exposure to silica dust leads to Silicosis.
And because of it SAR’s should be used.
In most the world blasting with Silica Sand is illegal. And the use of it can be prosecuted quite highly.
Most people don’t know or even care and use it for blasting anyways.There are “Treated” Silica sands intended for blasting though.
They coat it with some Resin so it doesn’t shatter into such small particles.Plastics like Urea use the same basics. They will not effect anything harder than them.
But they’re a lot more aggressive then Soda blasting because Plastic Blasting is quite course. Generally 15-30 grit.
For non metal etching blasting, Plastic is one of the fastest cutting methods.The only disadvantage to Plastic Abrasives is cost. They are probably one of the most expensive abrasives at around 2 bucks a pound.
The Advantages to it is it’s a clean blasting, the Plastic doesn’t break down at all, so it produces no dust itself.
And it is one of the most reusable blasting abrasives. It can be used 20-30 times, you only have to replace it when it gets too dull.
It’s not a throw away abrasive like pretty much all other abrasives.
You use it until it’s dull, and you return it, and they’ll Recycle it. And give you a discount on your next batch.You will need a Secondary Abrasive though because it will not touch rust.
I personally am going with Urea Plastic for paint removal, and a Garnet abrasive for rust removal.Here’s a cut speed Chart.
http://www.tptools.com/eccStoreImages/Product_Files/Files/abrasive-basics.pdfSilica is a tad bit slower cutting then Aluminum oxide for comparison.
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