anyone had there car soda blasted? the sand blasting guys around here refuse to sand blast a car body. seems like some one sued them over some warped body they had sand blasted. sand blating sure helps on a rusted old car body.
soda blasting is great for removing paint, but not so effective on rusty stuff. If we knew where you were, it might be easier to make recommendations.
I've had good results with soda blasting and will use it again. Keep in mind it will not remove heavy rust, so paint/primer removal is what it's great at. Big advantage is the coating that prevents any surface rust as long as the parts are kept dry. A good through water wash/rinse at your ready for primer.
I think soda blasting is better than sand...Sand is hard to get out of all the tight areas in a car body where soda will devolve with water and wash away...Will also neutralize any acids that are on the parts...Just my take...
Soda blasting works great, but it's a lot more expensive than sand blasting. Sandblasting doesn't have to warp sheet metal but I have seen it happen, holding the gun too close to the sheet metal or holding it in one spot for a prolonged time, that tends to heat up the sheet metal I prefer to do my own, a good compressor and a small pressurized pot does a good job although it is slower than a commercial sand blaster. HRP
I’ve seen some adhesion issues after soda blasting. Blasting sheet metal without warping requires a great operator. The go to guy around here retired. So I just tell them to blast areas I can’t sand easily. STAY OFF THE BIG FLAT AREAS just do the nooks and crannies. Makes my life easier overall and he’s very reasonable. It’s hard to warp Metal with ridges, shapes and change and that’s the hard to sand stuff.
also the guys who do general sandblasting for a living, make money by being fast. If you are sandblasting sheet metal, you have to go SLOW....going fast makes heat, and heat warps metal...so it's no wonder they don't want to do it.
been years but we used sand from a CASTING co. fine, clean and they had lots of it... memory says we baked the sand first... HIH...
The expertise is out there you just have to find it. I had my 26 T coupe sandblasted. It came out white clean. No warpage what so ever. Complete body and fenders, $400. Epoxy primer it the minute you get it home. Can't beat SPI epoxy primer for price or performance. Check it out.
I had a car soda blasted over 15 years ago, the body came back perfectly clean with no marks on the sheet metal, it looked like freshly stamped metal. It was prepared correctly before primer and paint and looks as good now as it did the day it was originally painted. I recommend it if you want the surface cleaned, as mentioned it does not remove rust or thick fillers.
My dad, brother and I had a soda blasting business in Ca in the 1990's. Soda blasting is great, we would have people drive their car over and the soda blasting would remove just the paint. you could warp panels with too much heat and direct pressure. If we ran into plastic filler or a little rust, we would mix in a bit of sand for certain spots.
I had an OT truck cab soda blasted, inside and out. Brought it home, cleaned the metal with a degreaser and shot epoxy primer. Two years later, after all the body work and paint was completed, it started cracking and peeling off in sheets down to bare metal. My painter thinks that the soda either polished the metal and that there was not enough tooth for the primer to stick to, or left some kind of sediment in the metal and caused a reaction...we don't know. Had I gone back and sanded every surface first, then cleaned/degreased before primer, I think I would have been OK. Regardless, I will never soda blast again, it was an expensive fix/lesson.
About an hour ago I just sent my T coupe to a guy who does "wet abrasive blasting paint removal". Hopefully, I'll get back with the results.
Some insurance companies will no longer guarantee a paint job on repair work on anything soda blasted around here. So most body shops stay away from soda blasting.
Soda blasting as well as media blasting and sand blasting are all good methods. The difference is in the results. Soda ( and glass bead) blast is more of a cleaning process for delicate materials and leaves no tooth for adhesion. Media (plastic) blast is just abrasive enough to strip paint and other soft materials with out harming or warping metal but leaves no tooth for adhesion. Sand (grit) blast depending on the material used is/is not very aggressive to the extreme of actually making holes and warping metal. It removes rust and provides excellent tooth for adhesion. Each method requires specific follow up measures before priming.
New panels from the factory do not have a “blasted” finish to them, the primer and paint have no adhesion issues. If a soda blasted surface is prepared correctly before primer there will be no problems in the future. As I said in my last post the paint has been on my soda blasted car since 2002 with no problems.
Trust me on this. If you don't acid wash the residual film left by soda your primer epoxy or paint will not adhere. I have to redo my coupe. Lesson learned.
"I had an OT truck cab soda blasted, inside and out. Brought it home, cleaned the metal with a degreaser and shot epoxy primer. Two years later, after all the body work and paint was completed, it started cracking and peeling off in sheets down to bare metal." It could be the problem was the degreaser. Soda is soluble in water, not petroleum type solvents.
It’s hard to say what’s the fault and folks will blame the damn dog for a paint job screw up. Maybe it’s the media, operator, product, or not knowing or not reading or cutting corners. It’s a process and each step goes one after the other. Skip step at your own risk. Try to take a step with your right foot, skip the left foot step and take another with your right foot. Skip a step and fall on your ass
As far as metal prep goes I set up with Capt. Lee at Carlisle for years I never heard any complaints about his prep from anyone. I have been using metal prep since 1974. I metal prep everything. And I don't rinse it with water. It doesn't make sense to me to prep it, then rinse it with water just to have it flashrust immediately. I know that there are certain metal prep's that direct you to wipe it with a damp cloth in one hand and a dry rag any other. Love to hear your thoughts on that.
The only problem with soda blasting is misinformation. The coating resulting from soda prevents any flash rusting if kept dry. When you are ready for primer, a through WATER rinse is all that's needed; NO metal prep or any other chemical, just WATER. Some painters and shops simply do not use water, resulting in problem paint jobs.
Where are you? Dependable Sandblast in Indianapolis does a fantastic job. Keep looking Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
soda or sand I always sand before coating 80 grit DA the flat and easy stuff, 3 inch DA for smaller areas and hand sand the rest no problems, I have seen soda peel when primed directly over. I always like wiping clean steel with water. Add a little alcohol to the water and it evaporates faster and no flash rust, then followed by a wax and grease remover. And I have used PPGs metal prep and cleaners and they work when the steps are followed. bare metal prep is not hard but it does require attention to detail and diligence in following instructions never skip a step or assume. NEVER just follow instructions from the guy behind the counter at the paint store.
We have had adhesion issues after soda blasting,We never use sand on sheet metal.Media that works the best is either plastic beads or walnut shells for sheet metal.That said you still have to know what your doing with air pressure ect. We have a business that's local that has done aluminium Packard parts with absolutely no distortion what so ever.It can be done but choose someone with EXPERIENCE.
Just got back from the shockblasting wet abrasive blasting paint removal guy with pictures. This is a wet process that uses glass beads. Told Don the owner/operator about this current soda blasting thread and he said that the problem with soda blasting is that it gets stuck in the various cracks and seams. Don't really know much but it looks like he does good work. He's in southern Alberta if anyone is interested.
Two things... 1. Will a wet blasting experience lead to almost instantaneous flash rust? 2. Sorry to be picky but blasting uses different types of mediums/media. Sand, soda, walnut, glass, plastic, etc. So media blasting is simply blasting with some type of medium. Class dismissed...
Really dry climate here. Humidity is just something we read about. Sent from my SM-T350 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Several painters I know will never paint a car again that has been soda blasted ,any residue that is trapped has come back to haunt them, seen on some automotive related shows "Dustless Blasting" being used, looks good on TV ,SPI primer is the best if not one of the best, has a long"pot" life I could not believe till I used it my self and I have used some of the Top Paint systems too
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