Is anyone familiar with "soda blasting"? I read a little about it recently, but it doesn't sound like it could really work. Soda blasting, apparently, is using baking soda in the water in a pressure washer which is suppose to work like a somewhat weak media blaster. If this actually works, are there any specs, recipes, cautions, gotchas, or whatevers that you could pass on? Example: what size (psi and gpm) pressure washer will work?

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Bob McCormick
69 Malibu project

I've never heard of that. I would expect baking soda to fully dissolve adding no addition benefit to the spray wash.

It would be cool if it worked though.


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Regards,
RLK
My Cars (http://home.texoma.net/~rknipe/)

I thought it was dry soda, just like sand blasting only with Arm & Hammer.

Soda blasting uses dry baking soda to remove
the paint and a little bondo. It's better then plastic blasting in that the soda disolves when you wash the car unlike the plastic that seems to keep coming from everywhere when it come time for finish painting. Sandblasting is to harsh, plastic is pretty expensive, so they came up with soda.
67 SS hrdtp
68 RS/Z/28
Cobra kit

I just had my doors, hood, and decklid striped with sodium bicarbonate (also known as baking soda). There is no water involved. The paint was removed and the remaining surface was flawless. I used this method for the reason stated below regarding the plastic always comming out of everywhere. I paid about 10% MORE for soda compared to plastic.

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1968 Chevelle SS396 - Yellow 4 speed, air, factory Buick interior
1998 Camaro Z28 - 6 speed
1999 Nissan Maxima SE - 5 speed
2000 Passat Wagon - 5 speed tip

Now that makes more sense. I wonder what the requirements are for "sand blasting" with baking soda. I have a small siphon setup with a 90 psi 6 cfm compressor, would that work?

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Bob McCormick
69 Malibu project

FWIW I blasted my alum intake with Arm and Hammer baking soda in my cheap Craftsman sandblasting siphon setup and 1 hp compressor at 90 psi. It turned out very nice, just like fresh cast.

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von '69 300 Dlx SS TC #15 ACES #1575
My '69 SS (http://mywebpage.netscape.com/jerryacheson/vons69.html)

Soda does work for blasting....However, GREAT care must be taken to be sure that ALL TRACES of the soda residue are removed before any priming or work starts period. And the only way to remove it is washing with water. I used the soda method on one vehicle before.....then after the guy finished blasting is when he told me how VERY important it was for me to get all traces of soda washed off or the soda would react with certain primers.

From that point on I have left the soda blasting for what it was designed for.....large commercial and industrial purposes for environmental purposes on which the quality of the final finish is not critical.

I.E.....stick with sandblasting or media-blasting. Sandblasting, when done properly, is the most efficient form of stripping....when the blasting is done the metal is ready to prime....no sanding, etching etc. Plastic media is also very efficient, yet does not remove rust and the metal must be abraded before priming.

The same damage that can be done by improperly sandblating can also be done by inexperience with sanders, polishers/grinders, etc.

Shannon

Great info. How about the safety aspects surrounding baking soda? Is anything further than the normal eye protection and dust mask required?

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Bob McCormick
69 Malibu project