soda media
 

Has anyone tried using a soda blaster as opposed to a sand blaster for removing the paint from the rims. If so does it do a decent job?

Re: soda media
 

Sure, it does well ...however the cost is what most people do not like. If you are just removing paint, then plastic at around 40psi is a great alternative too. Plastic is not much on rust though so use aluminum oxide there.

Re: soda media
 

Is there a special cleaning process after soda blasting? I have heard that some body shops won't prime and paint a car body if it has been soda blasted. Something about the soda residue isn't compatible with primer and paint.

Re: soda media
 

I had a cowl, fenders and running boards soda blasted and was disappointed with the results. I ended up taking all of the sheet metal to another company where the parts were sand blasted by a knowledgeable operator and the results were good.

Re: soda media
 

Was it the soda blasting, or lack of a knowledgeable operator that caused your rework?

Re: soda media
 

We have one at our shop and it works as advertised but it is much messier than other media. Before blasting I have to rig a 10 foot curtain around the blast are to reduce the huge dust cloud. The dust carries on evnenthe slightest wind. I've had soda dust on cars parked several hundred feet away. Then when I'm through I have to pressure wash the front of the shop and all the cement. Its a mess.

Re: soda media
 

I used a soda blaster on the grill, windshield frame, and other detail areas a sander could not reach on my sun's CJ-5 when we repainted it. We did not go all the way to bare metal on the main body, just the grill and windshield frame. We thoroughly rinsed both several times to get rid of residue. That was three years ago and so far no problems. We sprayed the CJ with a single stage polyurethane paint from Utech. It was our first try at painting a car and turned out nice.

Jbond is right it will make a nice mess because the soda is so light and pulverizes it self. It is hard on grass and plants. It acts like a desiccant and really sucks the moisture out of them. In high humidity areas it may not be a problem, but in arid Western Colorado it does. It won't work on rust either, at least mine unit will not.

It will me more expensive that some media because you really can't reuse it like some.

Re: soda media
 

I seen a reasonably priced 40lb unit at Horror Freight and thought it might be good for cleaning some Model A rims. I have my doubts now as they are plenty rusty. They also had a cheap sand blaster that was just a simple nozzle with a siphon hose, but it like it would be rather ineffective.

Re: soda media
 

works good and washes away in the rain. a nice open area is helpful

Re: soda media
 

Soda blasting will not remove rust and neither will plastic media, takes something a lot harder than either of them. I use a dupont sand type product. Here is it cheaper by the half ton.

Re: soda media
 

I used a soda blaster on the frame and sheet metal of a 31 AA. We did it outside and yes, it was a bit dusty, but it washed away in the rain (helps counter the acid rain :)) and did a nice job. The frame was very heavily rusted and really should have been done with aluminum oxide, but when done I sprayed it with primer and it has been just fine for 8 years now.

Re: soda media
 

Check to see if there's a sandblast cabinet that you can rent. I rented one at a sandblasting shop for $19/hr. In an hour to hour and a half you should be able to get 5 wheels done. I then took my wheels to the powdercoater. That was 6 years ago and they still look like new.

Re: soda media
 

Somewhat off topic, but in line with comparing soda blasting. I recently had 5 19" wheels blasted and powder coated. I furnished the powder from "Model A Wheel Colors" ($128 including shipping). The labor for blasting and coating was $125 total for all 5 wheels. They came out much better than I expected and I think the cost was worth it. I had enough powder left over to do a couple more.

Re: soda media
 

Best bet is to find a guy that does sand blasting and have your rims blasted clean , and have them powder coated , cost me $10 for blasting each wheel and $35 to powder coat black . I thought that was an awesome deal!!!

Re: soda media
 

I took the wheels from the 28 to a pro and had them blasted. The key is to make sure the pro knows to stand back and blast the wheels slowly or you could have a set of nicely blasted but ruined wheels.

Once that was done, I painted them and put them on the car.

The wheels were not powder coated originally and although the powder coating is more durable, it still will always look like powder coating.