The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Tool Chest Soda Blaster

I saw a show on TV where the hosts used a soda blaster instead of a sand blaster...it seemed easier and safer on the lungs. I was looking at the line that eastwood carries. Has anyone used one of these? Do they work well? What kind of compressor would you recommend that can push that kind of CFM? I have limited blasting experience (only used a friends small blast-it-all cabinet for some small parts) but I would be interested in getting set up with something like this for doing larger projects. I'm looking to remove paint/rust on large parts (specifically a bed, hood and fenders). Any input/experience would be appreciated.
-cale

It depends on the unit you are referring to. Eastwood states the CFM requirement in each unit's description.

Search this forum on +compressor to find posts with experiences and opinions on different compressors.

I have used the Eastwood 11805 Soda unit (from the original manufacturer for about $250) and it worked great using this compressor (the compressor cost $699 on sale about 1.5 years ago).

Recently, I purchased this conversion kit from Eastwoods and will use it with blaster from Harbor Freight. If need be, I'll get another deadman valve, if the Harbor Freight valve does not hold up.

be aware that most [or all] paint mfgrs and suppliers will not honor any warranty for their products if used on metal that's been soda blasted .... takes exceptional cleaning to insure all the soda is gone

Bill

Soda gets into everything and is nearly impossible to get rid of. As for your lungs, you should use a supplied air hood with what ever you blast with. If you don't want to fork out the money for a supplied air hood, let someone else do the blasting.

Soda does provide benefits over other silicia-based media. To be clear, blasting with silicia based media (like regular sand) is what will kill you. Just using a hood won't help, you actually need a fresh air respirator.

The cheaper option is use media that doesn't have any silicia in it. Be informed, as this is a serious issue--search the internet and read up on articles like this one: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/silfact1.html

Even if you use non-silicia blast media (like soda), you still need a decent mask for the airborne particles off the metal (paint, oil, grease).

Some people say soda good, some say soda bad, some say you can't sand blast sheet metal, other's say no problem if you don't over do it. It all seems to depend on who is selling what, if you can believe that!

I bought a regular blaster and got some coal slag based media that is ultra-low silicia based. So far I haven't had time to figure out how to get the blaster working enough to say good or bad. I did do some research on safety issues before I tried it.

This http://www.alexander-mills.co.uk/sip/compressors/workshop2.jpg
is what I use to run the bigger 110 lb pressure blaster with proper grade coarse garnet and have found that it is easier to clean residue from parts and can be re-used several times unlike soda blast media.
Soda is more suited to surface finishing than heavy duty stripping!

I blasted my frame with industrial quartz (100% silica) and only a nusience dust mask.

I wonder how many years I lost.