I see various outfits sell Soda blast change over kits.Why couldnt you use the sand setup and just adjust the pressure and feed?I have been told that soda needs to be completely dry,but I assume so does the sand so it doesnt clog up.Please tell me the difference if any between the setups.Thanks!
You can run soda through a regular blaster but it will waste it.You need a unit that will mix more air with the soda so it will have more velocity and power to remove the paint. This is what I have gathered from experience, but I am no expert.
HF sells a little soda blaster for 100 bucks that a guy could do small jobs with. http://www.harborfreight.com/15-lb-portable-soda-blaster-66742.html Here is the link to a guy's video review of one. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9-4sHYyk9o I've made a sand blast nozzle out of a pipe T, brass fittings and an old flathead Mopar valve guide that I cut down in the lathe. That worked as a siphon feed setup and was pretty much a direct copy of the nozzle that came with the Davis Sandblast cabinet that we had at the high school. The trick was getting the venturi effect of the air going past the siphon tube right to draw sand out the nozzle. About 15 minutes studying one at HF and snooping through the manual might just give a guy the info he needs to do a conversion that won't cost too much. And I still haven't figured out the difference between the two.
I have been told that you can blast paint of of a car with soda and it doesn't hurt glass or chrome. Soda won't do much to rust or body filler but it and walnut shell have there place. Glass is the best for small cabinets as it is sharp and smaller than sand.
We have been using a dip strip process on a couple cars and parts, it works very well and does not harm any of the panels. There are some paint companies out there that will not warranty their products if soda is used to strip your car and or parts. It will actually imbed itself in the panels and will cause the paint to lift with time. I have not used soda or tried it, just information I was told and wanted to share. The last thing I would want to do is have to strip and totally redo something a second time. When using sand it will heat the panels and warp them if the proper technique isn't used. Also it will find any rust and sometimes make matters worse. I have a good friend that was looking into getting into the soda business and decided not to after lots of research, this is the information he gave me. My .02
Exactly. Yesterday I purchased a 15# soda blaster from Harbor Freight and very successfully cleaned a '40's aluminum engine case that had been heavily sludged and that a machine shop pressure wash cabinet had left about 15% of the heavy baked on varnish-like deposit that resisted all other methods of removal. It is slow going because the nozzle opening is about 3/32" so the blast area is smaller than our bead blaster but extremely effective. It came with a drier, pressure regulator and gauge and the mixing valve to control the amount of soda delivered to the nozzle. It also came with 4 additional various sized spare ceramic nozzles. The nozzle is only 1 1/2" long and fits into a short brass fitting on the end of the pressure hose giving you the ability to bend it around to aim into tight spots which you can't do with a gun type nozzle on a bead blaster. Also the soda is pressurized in the tank and travels up a stand-pipe to the air mixing valve. A bead blaster is a siphon feed which will not do well with soda. I also think Harbor Freight and others have stopped selling the inexpensive gravity fed hand held hopper type guns for soda blast use. I am 100% happy with this blaster with only two suggestions for the manufacturer. Filling through the top bung that mounts the mixing valve requires unscrewing the attachment nut (like a propane tank) and lifting out the mixing valve with attached stand-pipe. Problem is the provided air hose to the mixing valve from the regulator is too short for the stand pipe to come out of the tank so the regulator needs to be detached from it's mount as well. Secondly the hole that the stand-pipe goes into the tank is also the filler hole for the soda and is a bit small. Using a funnel with a snout that size takes awhile to get 15# of soda into the tank. The best part is the soda is non destructive so no need to protect bearing surfaces and does not alter the surface of the part. Do it outdoors and the soda will disappear. Do it in a cabinet and you will have trouble seeing and your air evacuation system will probably not handle it.
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