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soda or sand blaster


chuck 47 plym

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I'm thinking about buying a small blaster, debating on weather to buy a soda blaster or a sand blaster. Does anyone who has either have any thoughts on wich would be better? I will be using it primarily  to blast the frame and body on my Plymouth. 

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few white papers on blasting with soda on the internet...pros and cons....usually reserved for blasting intricate items made of softer metals like aluminum and or fiberglass components.  There is always glass, sand and other media for rusted steel that is faster, less expensive and recyclable.  Soda has a residue that is very fine and hard to remove after the process.  Cleaning this can be labor intensive also depending on what you are blasting.  Many folks have a negative opinion on sand based on experiences of farmed out blasting work or comments from those that have work done by others.  Commercial blasters use high pressure and high sand flow and do not concern themselves with warping issues or blast through of areas and remove a bit more good metal that necessary.  Time is money to them and slowing down a process cuts into their end profits..  Low pressure and low sand flow will not heat up a panel and will do just a fantastic job.   Some sign makers are an excellent go-to for light metal blasting and often will work a few items in with another  customer so to save all a bit of coin.  A pressure blaster from even Harbor Freight is an great tool IF you use it correctly and control the sand flow at the tank outlet and thus not allow sand to clog the line when you stop blasting.  Line will find immediately when you shut off the flow at the nozzle.  I do not recommend using the deadman for flow control, only an emergency ALL WORK STOP only, else,  you going to have issues and get frustrated...your compressor air MUST remain dry at all time with a pressure pot or you will again suffer clogs at the outlet.  Common sense will go a very long way in using your blaster effectively.

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Back in the late 70's & early 80's I worked in a plating shop, and we used two main types of media, aluminum oxide, and glass bead.  The aluminum oxide is a good bit more aggressive than the glass.  Sand is more aggressive than either of these.  There was a fire at the shop toward the end of my time there, and I was allowed to take the pressure tanks from both of the cabinet blasters, which were heavily damaged in the fire.  (The tanks themselves were not damaged, being sheltered from the heat by being mounted inside the rear of the cabinet, almost against the outside block wall of the shop, and close to the ground.) 

I built a stand to hold the tank, and used one of them to do sand blasting at home.  I used filtered sand, and also blasting media that was being thrown away at work.  Our compressor was no way big enough to supply the amount of air necessary to run the size of nozzle that had been on the blaster at work (my impression is that you almost have to have a screw type or two-stage compressor to get a constant flow of air, or you are constantly needing to wait for the compressor to catch up), so I was rather disappointed in how much time it took to get an area clean.  It's also a really nasty business blasting out in the open like that, instead reaching inside of an enclosed cabinet to blast small parts.  You really need a fresh air helmet, because not only are you dealing with blasting dust & rust particles, you may be dealing with lead paint particles as well.  (Then there is also the issue of site contamination.)  I think I would cave on the do it yourself determination for the frame, and send it out for blasting, and then just use a smaller blaster to finish up stops they miss, or are not done to your satisfaction.  I never used soda, so I cannot speak to that, and there are other newer media types now too, like walnut shells.  But another concern for any type of blasting, especially large & heavy things (like  frame) that you cannot pick up and shake, is how to get all of the blasting media out of the inside of it.  

 

My car had been painted over the original paint twice, once with a brush, so there was a LOT of paint build up.  For my sheet metal (smaller parts like wheels, and also the doors. Fenders were too big) I set up a paint stripping vat in the back yard.  I used a caustic soda (as I recall - I got it through the company) solution, but that created other issues, because even after wiping down with phosphoric acid metal prep, and also then with paint thinner, I've had some spots bubble under the paint, clear back to the bare metal.  So I will watch this discussion for others' input.

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If you ever want to build a blast cabinet for contained cleaning of smaller parts you can take the inexpensive Harbor Freight model and "mod" it into a very efficient cabinet for not too much money.

 

 

Edited by linus6948
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I did also have another blaster from that fire at the plating shop, a small siphon feed water blaster cabinet than used some type of white powder in the water.  I never operated it on the job, because I didn't work in the precious metals department - they used it for cleaning soft metals such as silver & gold.  I took it home because I intended to convert it for glass bead blasting, but that type of media almost demands some sort of dust control inside the cabinet.  (The pressure blasters I don't have anymore, because I gave one to my older brother and he lost it someplace, and he later borrowed the other one from my younger brother while I was out of the country, and it was stolen.)

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Thanks for the input. I purchased the media blaster from Harbor Freight. To answer the question as to how to get the sand out of the frame I plan on using a sewer jetter from work to go inside the frame rails when I'm finishe. 

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3 hours ago, chuck 47 plym said:

Thanks for the input. I purchased the media blaster from Harbor Freight. To answer the question as to how to get the sand out of the frame I plan on using a sewer jetter from work to go inside the frame rails when I'm finishe. 

 

I had to look that up to know what a sewer jetter was for sure.  Do you have  away to get it dried out afterwards? Air hose? Or is there a way to coat it somehow afterwards?  (I'm just trying to think this all through.  I wonder if a steam cleaner with your sewer jetter tip wouldn't be a good idea, but maybe it wouldn't actually get it hot enough for it to dry out well.  Maybe just out in the hot sun.) 

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the frame is open to the elements at many many points and normally they can be found full of dust, mud and other debris from years of being on the highway..they were never treated on the inside from the factory that I have ever seen signs of and Ihave split these frame numerous ways and times.....their normal draining points and flow though design keep they for the most part aired out and dry...it is usually when they sit on the dirt and the self cleaning/rising aspect is not into play that they to rot away

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