[65DueceCoupe]

hey guys I'm seriously thinking about having my nova soda blasted. And well I was wondering if it would be worth it to buy my own equipment.

Eastwood makes a portable 100lb soda blaster that sells for around $269.

Do you guys think it's worth buying the equipment or should I have a pro do it?

Plus I'd be rolling the car out into the driveway to do it. and using either a shop vac or water to clean up. I believe the soda is water soluble.

 

[klleetrucking]

Soda blasting

Boy I hope you go with it so I can learn at your expense

Seriously, I've been doing a little research myself and the soda media seems expensive. In other posts, I've read where guys swear they'd never do it again because of the mess. There's a guy on here that did his with "black garnet" or something like that in his driveway, he didn't seem too upset with the mess.

What research I've done I've learned you need super clean/dry air or the soda will clump up. Do a youtube search and there's dozens of videos. Most of them are commercial stuff though.

Good luck and PLEASE keep us posted. K.Lee

 

[rustysrustyduc]

Also take a good look at the compressor requirements. I'd think you'd need a compressor with a really high CFM capability, as well as a high duty cycle.

 

[66nogo2]

Soda is not the ticket. You have to prep the car Very Well after you soda blast or you will be picking up everything you have applied to the car off your garage floor. :yes:

I had my car soda blasted. We spent so many hours cleaning up the car I lost count. If you dont remove it from every seam you will have rust form because it absorbs moisture which looks like a rust pimple. Even epoxy primer will fall off if you dont prep the metal correctly. Some people use vinegar and water to remove the soda residue, water and fresh metal.

 

[pat123]

Never heard of that one before. Whats the best way to remove paint?

 

[slow3oh]

a cookie disk and a weekend :yes:

 

[pat123]

whats a cookie disk?

 

[65DueceCoupe]

whats a cookie disk?

a Yummy frisbee. :devil:

 

[Baddbob]

chemical stripper followed by a good scrubbing with water to nuetralize and wash away the remaining residue-then sanding with 80grit on a DA and clean-n-strip discs is the best way for exterior sheetmetal for the do-it yourselfer. Sandblasting the jambs, underside, window openings also works well.

Using chemical stripper properly can lift 4 paintjobs in one application-fast! I apply a thick coat and imediately cover the panel with masking plastic so the vapors don't evaporate-a little while later peel back the plastic and the stipper usually has soften all the layers and can easily be scraped off. Sometimes it sticks to the plastic and comes off fairly clean without much scraping. The water wash afterwords is a very important step-if not done the residue will get sanded into the metal and will stay in the seams and tight areas later to play havoc with primer adhesion.

Stay away from soda, if you want to media blast the whole car use acrylic media on the exterior and starblast or sand on the jambs and inner structure, floor, etc...