question about sandblasting equipment vs soda blasting equipment

i was wondering if anyone could tell me the difference between sandblasting equipment and soda blasting equipment,,,,is a soda blaster just a sandblaster modified in some way?,,,,is the psi different for each application? i had a customers car soda blasted last year and was very satisfied with the results,,the great thing about soda blasting is that you do not need to remove the glass, stainless, rubber, etc,,,and its non toxic and biodegradeable,,,,i recently pulled the nose off of the car, and i'd really like to soda blast the firewall,,,then remove the doors and decklid and do in there as well,,,since these are relatively small areas, id prefer not to call the soda blast guy to come and do them,,,can a regular sandblaster be set up somehow to do the job?

 

I know that the eastwood co. has a soda blaster that can switch between media and soda. But I dont know what parts have to be switched out it looks like a different valve . They do however make a universal kit to convert sand blasters to soda blasters for $129.99

 

There was a good article on Speed last weekend, the compaired sand to soda.
the bigest thing I remember, was soda does not warp panels as bad, and soda does not etch the metal as hard, so prepping aftwards was better
,,I remember they liked soda better. they also talked about different mixtures of soda and other media.. maybe a search here or on Google ..
wish I could remember more

 

I have a small sand blast unit I use for parts and touch-up...........All I had to do was sleeve the nozzle down to 3/16".
I say, throw some soda in the sand blaster and give it a try.......................

 

thanks guys,,,,

tierod,,,,yes,,the soda is basically good for removing paint,,thats it.,,,,wont remove much rust,,
im hoping i can buy a nice sandblaster,,,id like to be able to use it for either sand blasting or soda blasting if it is feasible...just wondering if it's possible to make it a dual purpose type of thing...

 

yeah as said above

Eastwood sells a valve kit to do it..its kinda simple

 

I use soda and media through the same equipment, don't make any difference. Works fine with either

 

soda only removes paint, and leaves a residue behind that needs to be washed off.
We use Aluminum Oxide to blast parts, including body parts, with no warp-age, no impingement, and no residue. It also removes bondo, undercoating, and rust.