Soda blasting

[texas-5-ton]

After much sweat and tears with a wire wheel and DA sander, I have opted to check into other measures on prepping this truck for a decent paintjob. We have an M813 and somebody said that soda blasting was a very good tool and that it would not do the harm that sandblasting would. Of course, the man that I talked to was trying to sell his product but he said that soda would not damage plastic,glass,rubber,etc and would not penetrate seals and bearings. He also said that soda blasting would not require an "immediate" paint job as it don't strip the outer shell of the metal. That last part about the painting didn't make since to me but I need some feedback if anybody has ever had this done. It will cost us around $2,000 to blast the entire truck and the two fuel tank pods that go in the bed. Thanks for the info..

Chad
Rio Vista VFD

 

[clinto]

Well, the metal on this stuff (MV's) is thick enough that someone who knows what they are doing could use a "hard abrasive" (sand, aluminum, etc.) and not warp it. The issue with warpage is moreseo with vehicles that have thinner sheetmetal in large expanses (quarter panels, hoods, roofs, etc.).

I have a friend who is a media blaster, he uses plastic abrasive and aluminum.

The plastic does not require immediate paint, his '72 Road Runner sat in the shop for a full year in bare metal with no rust occurrence (and it is humid down here, believe me). This was after plastic media blasting.

Plastic media will typically not remove deep corrosion, the sort that is in pitted metal. However, the benefit is that it is mostly non damaging (my friend has even shot glass with the plastic to no detriment).

The downside is that it won't take heavy rust off. That's where the harsher abrasives come in. Of course, they can damage glass, trim and thin metal.

$2K sounds like a good price to strip something that big, I doubt my buddy could do it that cheaply and he has a pretty low overhead.

 

[texas-5-ton]

Clinto,
I am glad you said that !!
I forgot to mention that this man said that soda would not warp the metal. I was thinking that 2 large bills was a good price or at least "fair" in that I'm not making much headway at the pace that I am going and I would like to get this thing done in a fairly decent time frame. I am sure that the townsfolk don't want to see their tax dollars (truck) sitting behind the station collecting dust.

 

[98hd]

I've got my own soda blaster for doing projects. What the guy told you is true. It does not create any heat, and it is not abrasive. The soda strips by exploding on contact w/ the hard surface. It will not take off any rust, so if that is an issue, use a different media.

The soda is also nice in that it does not break the surface tension of the metal, which helps prevent flash rusting. I did a door and let it sit in my garage for a year, the only surface rust I got was where it had been previously ground for body filler, the rest was perfectly clean.

 

[ken]

I use glass beads with great results. The main reason i use glass beads is that's what we use at work and i get to use the blaster and primer for free. The beads will remove rust and not make a lot of heat. You really have to stay in one spot to get the metal to deform.

 

[texas-5-ton]

Well, sounds like everything is in order. I appreciate the feedback gentlemen . . . I would like to post progress pictures on this thing but I am too dumb to figure out how to shrink them down.

Chad

 

[clinto]

how to shrink them down.

http://steelsoldiers.com/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=4255

 

[texas-5-ton]

Thanks clinto. Let's see what happens ...

 

[texas-5-ton]

BAM ! !

 

[jasonjc]

Isn't hard putting out fires with fuel

 

[ida34]

Is it "cat" powered?

 

[texas-5-ton]

Good one Chuck. I never thought of it like that ..

 

[houdel]

Chuck always comes up with the good ideas. Must come from his training as a LEO. IF you have the time and a low budget, a QUALITY (NOT a Harbor Freight special) wire brush on an angle grinder strips off old paint, rust, and everything else very quickly. It will also NOT damage areas where rust has thinned the metal, whereas conventional blasting methods will just rip a hole in the metal. The downside is that is fairly labor intensive and gets you down to bare metal so you need to apply at least a primer fairly quickly. The upside is that a QUALITY wire brush for your angle grinder is in the $20 range and lasts for a LONG time. So if you can work on a little bit at a time and prime it right away, the wire brush and angle grinder work fine.

I used the Harbor Freight wire brush first, burned it out in no time, not to mention all the little pieces of wire that shread off at 10,000 rpm and imbed themselves in your clothes and everything else surrounding your project, including your eyes if you are not using a full face shield. I bought what is called a "twisted" wire brush at the local welding supply store, it performs much better and lasts MUCH longer than the Harbor Freight el cheapo, not to mention doing a much better job of cleaning up what I was working on. If you can affored the labor but not the "outside" expense, I'd try the angle grinder and wire brush approach. At under $100 for the grinder and about $20 per wire brush, you can get it done pretty cheaply if your labor cost is not an issue. Believe me, those QUALITY wire brushes eat up a lot of old paint and rust REAL FAST!

 

[Recovry4x4]

Them there wire brushes eat up skin at a faster rate than paint. Be safe in your endeavors.