Soda Blasting

[wfopete]

Anyone tried soda blasting on thier bikes for resto work?  How did you like the results?

I've heard very positive stories about the process but nothing first hand.

Pete Petrick
175 Jackpiner
Slow but Good

[OhioTed]

Although I've not yet tried it, Pete, I was in TIP last weekend and during discussion with them about various blasting media, was told soda is very highly recommended - for work with "soft" material, in particular.

In addition to being very effective, yet gentle, soda dissolves in solvent, meaning there is no concern over granuals left behind.  

Note, for more agressive work, they recommended "Skat Magic".  I've not used it before either, and was going to purchase some, but it was out of stock.

I HAVE used glass beads in the past for work on more fragile surfaces such a carb bodies, but was not pleased with the resulting appearance - a little too rough.  I am hoping the soda may result in an appearance closer to oem "satiny".  

I'll keep everyone posted.

[sixdazed]

Ted,Soda blasting makes the carbs look real good-almost like new(at least the ones i've done).Also i have 5 gallon bucket of Snap On media blast-garnet? i think,that's supposed to leave a satin finish.I haven't used it yet but hope to soon.I'll let you know.
                                                           Ric

ric emmal

[SouthRider]

Pete,

I had 3 frames soda blasted last year. It IS very soft, and doesn't do as thorough of a job as sand. I would recommend it for soft metals, but not for steel. It particularly didn't get all of the rust off the frame.

After soda blasting I still had to do quite a bit of prep before the frames were ready for primer. In fact the first time through we primed, then painted the frame, only to have large sheets of paint & primer come off of the frame during the bike assembly process. A little action like a wrench touching the frame would pop off a 2" piece of paint with primer attached.

I had to disassemble the bike, blast it with sand, and then prime & paint over again.

I honestly don't know if it was a bad batch of primer, or caused by the soda, but I am still leary. I used new primer when I re-did the work.

Chromemoly steel is pretty tough stuff. The sand doesn't hurt it a bit. (FYI - I ended up sandblasting my engine cases, jug & head, and the sand didn't hurt them either). I just used sand on a Husky cylinder & head and they look fantastic "raw".

My thinking is the sand just left the surface of the metal slightly rougher than the soda, and gave the primer something to "bite" to.

Personally I am staying away from soda in the future.


Good Luck


Clark


Clark A Gristina
Covington La

[sixdazed]

Thanks for the info Clark.I probably should have mentioned the only thing i've used soda for is delicate parts like carb that don't require painting when done.I'll try the Snap On media blast this weekend and see how it works and report findings.
                                                  Ric

ric emmal

[slvrbrdfxr]

Hi all,
I've had real good luck using plastic media for stipping paint and light corrosion off many different parts. I still use sand for the frames and items with heavy rust.
Dave McCullough

[wfopete]

I've tried it just the other day with mixed results but overall I was pleased.  The soda I have been told will leave a sort of "film" on the part in question.  This is good for temporary corrosion protection but may require more prep work prior to painting. It's also alot more friendly to your body/lungs than other media.

These guys seem to be big on it: //www.eastwoodco.com



Pete Petrick
175 Jackpiner
Slow but good