Soda Blasting

I'm not sure people know how effective, cheap, and hassle free soda blasting is.

Ok, maybe not hassle free. It's a mess! 8)

Thought I'd share a video of my soda blaster that I made with some parts I found in my garage. It's just normal baking soda, nothing special.

And yes, my soda blaster is very ghetto rigged, but this version worked well and I will revise it soon. The item I am blasting is a small computer case that was factory painted black. It takes the paint off right down to the metal without harming the metal. That's why it's great to use on motorcycle/auto parts.

Oh yea, and wear earplugs and eye protection. Unlike the fool in the video. :wink: This was with a waterproof case on my camera, so it is very loud despite what you hear.

The air compressor is at about 80 psi.

[flash=425,355]http://www.youtube.com/v/gxQGF9gNlHI.swf[/flash]

I initially had a longer hose that drew the soda up from a bucket, but there wasn't a steady enough flow. A hopper on top worked a ton better. The little red tube that the soda is pulled through is just the spray tube from a can of WD-40. It lets just the right amount of soda through. The clear tube is 3/8th, I think. Came off the bottom of a spray bottle nozzle.

This one works well for the small stuff I need to blast...bike parts, mainly. You can make them as big or small as you want.



Anyone else made one? Let me see your version.

 

I made a tube version as well, but had the same issues with flow so just bought the cheap harbor freight hopper style. Works fine for me.

 

Here's my earlier contribution to the art and science of media blasting ... AKA how to do it without getting it in your ears and other bodily openings ...

http://www.xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=15141.html

Since then I have experimented with soda and have to say was disappointed in the finish, particularly on bare alloy. It removes paint, rust, dirt, etc. and leaves an excellent key for repainting but for clear gloss finishing on alloy I prefer a 50/50 mix of dry glass beads and 120 grit garnet.

 

Great info! Thanks for the link. Definitely have some things to learn from your experiences.

I need to build one of those blasting cabs for my garage at home, that is too cool.

 

I use my Craftsman "homeowner grade" sandblasting rig; and bought a bag of soda blasting media at Harbor Freight for around $20.

(Real soda blasting media works better than off the grocery shelf baking soda.)

Works great on smaller parts.

 

Yea, I realized the other day there's a Harbor Freight 20 minutes from my house. Gonna make a run soon and get some actual blasting soda.

I better go in there with just the cash I need, otherwise I might just come out of there with half the store.

 

Lots worse than goin' in the candy store when you were young!!!

skillet

 

JeffK Work on getting us some pictures

 

I'm loving this...gotta make one ...just because now.... lol

 

Yea Jeff, pictures please!

This is from my other top end rebuild thread:

[flash=560,349]http://www.youtube.com/v/2i98TcNB1E0.swf[/flash]

 

Good finish there, what pressure are you using at your nozzle? ... hope you're not breathing in any of that airborne dust !

 

baking soda is awsome . i have an attachment for my pressure washer i use on car panles . with the water and baking soda it will strip the paint and not hurt chrome or glass .

 

Can you Soda Blast the inside of a gas tank?

 

Would be sweet, but soda blasting is only effective in a straight line out of the nozzle. After that the soda slows down really fast. Point being, any soda particles flying around into the sides and crevasses of the tank would be going too slow to be effective.

This stuff is good for the inside of a tank...

 

They say "a picture is worth a thousand words".. In that case, the video of the cylinders being blasted is worth a thousand pictures.
Thanks man! Really great to see the result.

Now for conjuring up some of that blasting media here in Norway.

 

Cool, thanks Andrew!

I used Calcium and lime stuff from Home Depot that comes in the blue bottle. Afterward I really cleaned out the inside of the tank but it still had some sign of rust in the tank. Now I made sure that after I rinsed out the tank I coated it with WD 40 so it would not flash on me.

With the stuff you prescribe will it flash afterwards? Also how are you getting the water out of the tank? I notice when I was draining the water from the tank it mostly came out where the petcock was located at but it this had some signs of water inside. What do you think would be the best method to removing that little bit of water that doesn't seems to come out?

Also sorry for high jacking this thread.

 

Here's what I do, and maybe it will answer your questions:

** After pouring a good amount of the Prep and Etch (and sealing the gas cap and petcoque hole), you shake it around and let it coat all the surfaces. Do this once an hour for a couple hours.

** Then drain as much of the tank as you can into a container. Rinse the tank out real well with some water. At this point you can see if you need to repeat the process for that S.O.B. stubborn rust.

** After rinsing with water and draining, pour a copious amount of denatured alcohol into the tank, slosh it around, and drain. It will help get the water out, and dry faster than water, too.

** Using a shop vac, blow air into the gas cap hole until the inside is dry. Getting the inside dry as fast as possible is key. A hair dryer would work as well. Or if you don't have access to either, your next safest bet would be to leave it in the sun for a while.

** Next, have your tank sealer ready, and pour that sucker in and do the coating process.


You can get the whole tank cleaner/stripper/surface prep/sealer package -- although I'm not sure what the best brands are. I use POR-15 for sealing, but I believe they have a whole tank package thingamabobber.

 

I've used Prep-N-Etch to clean out mildly rusted tanks (two so far) and haven't used sealer; just flushed them real well, oiled them up inside with a "witches' brew" of gasoline, motor oil and seafoam; and then filled with gasoline and put into service.

 

Interesting, Fitz. The tank I just painted has developed bubbles in the surface because apparently there were pinholes in the surface of the metal. Great! -_- I needed to use the tank in a pinch so it was before I had sealed it -- and I should have sealed it first because now I have to do the paint over. In this case, the sealer would have fixed the tiny holes and saved me the trouble of having to repaint.

But, I have another tank that is real nice on the inside. I'm going to try your witches brew.