media blasting - special considerations?

[midgetracer]

Soda does a nice job of removing paint, but is quite expensive. It does very little for rust though. I glass bead wheels in a cabinet and have great results. It leaves a nice finish for powder coating. I have gotten many barrels of glass beads from a highway contractor who accidentally let them get wet in a rain storm. I've dried them on a tarp in the sun and have years of free media. Using a pressure blaster, I have a hard time removing rust and not warping the metal, especially on hoods and doors. For paint I use stripper for the large flat areas.