Soda Blasting at Home

[70_440-6Cuda]

Anyone have any experience with something like the Eastwood soda blaster??

https://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-soda-blaster.html

I am thinking about doing something like this t home to strip the paint off the 'Cuda - any thoughts?  Looks like it could be a good choice, but also looks like it may be very very slow going

[Blowout]

Funny you brought this up, I just went through this.  I picked up a pot blaster at Harbor Freight when I had a good coupon.  Brought it home and tried it out.  It was decent but nothing to do larger panels with.  So after doing some research and talking to some friends that blast, I made some improvements.  I redid the plumbing under the tank switching it out from 3/8" to 1/2".  I added another water separator (very important part, any moisture and your spending time unclogging it).  And my last modification was replacing the nozzle.  The nozzle that theses come with do a number on your hands trying to keep them open.  I bought a nozzle kit from AmeriBlaster and that made a night and day different, totally worth the money.  I installed a ball valve on the new nozzle and upgraded the hose from 6' to 8' for a longer reach.  I recently used it to blast some small pieces and I absolutely love the set up now.

If I'm dong small pieces, I blast into a large container like an empty trash can.  Helps with the mess and you can reuse the media.  For larger panels, I lay down a huge tarp and then sweep up the media and reuse.  Make sure you filter your media as you refill your tank, very important.  Blasting gloves and helmet are a must because it gets every where.

[70_440-6Cuda]

@Blowout thanks so much for the reply - would your set up be reasonable to do the entire body shell?  I am planning on getting the car on the rotisserie and stripping the whole body down - just dont want to invest in the wrong equipment

[7E-Bodies]

I've never gotten a blaster from HF that didn't need modified. I'm working on one of my two as we speak. Intermittent media flow on both my pot blaster and cabinet blaster. Frustrating indeed, but I think I'm gaining on the issue. I just bought and retro fit a vibratory motor (soup can size 110v, $40 on Amazon) on one to keep the media pool funneling down into the feed valve. Yes, my air is dry. Going to try it out tomorrow. If it works, I'll order a second for the cabinet blaster.

[Blowout]

I haven't done I whole car body yet.  I decided that I was going to do panel by panel and then the remaining body.  If you have patience and time, it will do the job.  You'll have to keep an eye on keeping the air dry the whole time the air compressor is running.  You'll need a lot of air and a lot of media unless you want to pick it all up and funnel it after the tank is empty ( I do that because I'm cheap). I bought the Bauer Surface Conditioning tool from the Freight and I use that on easy areas before blasting and that helps cut down on blasting time a lot.  I go over with the blaster lightly afterwards.

Also, what 7E-Bodies mentioned above is true.  I hit mine with a rubber mallet every so often to help.  But was thinking of his same idea.

[70_440-6Cuda]

Thanks for the tips!  @7E-Bodies post up some pics of your mods if you get a chance - I am going to give it a shot I think!  I have made a booth from PVC and thick painters plastic so could use that to contain the media for re-use.

What filter are you using when recycling media?

[7E-Bodies]

Thanks for the tips!  @7E-Bodies post up some pics of your mods if you get a chance - I am going to give it a shot I think!  I have made a booth from PVC and thick painters plastic so could use that to contain the media for re-use.

What filter are you using when recycling media?

I screen my reclaimed media through a basic kitchen colander, then through window screen material. I'll try and remember to post up some pics when I finally get these things reliable. I just welded on the vibratory motor mount to the pot tank last night. Will try it this afternoon. I do most of my stripping by wire wheel as well as the drum sander from Eastwood (a true beast). I only blast where these don't reach as to spare me the huge mess that comes from blasting large areas.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076Q68HSW?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

[7E-Bodies]

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[7E-Bodies]

I haven't done I whole car body yet.  I decided that I was going to do panel by panel and then the remaining body.  If you have patience and time, it will do the job.  You'll have to keep an eye on keeping the air dry the whole time the air compressor is running.  You'll need a lot of air and a lot of media unless you want to pick it all up and funnel it after the tank is empty ( I do that because I'm cheap). I bought the Bauer Surface Conditioning tool from the Freight and I use that on easy areas before blasting and that helps cut down on blasting time a lot.  I go over with the blaster lightly afterwards.

Also, what 7E-Bodies mentioned above is true.  I hit mine with a rubber mallet every so often to help.  But was thinking of his same idea.

Stay tuned. Gonna try it this afternoon. I don't hold out much hope from the luck I've had with HF blasting equipment. I'll try and get back here with a report.

[70_440-6Cuda]

This is what I am looking at, if anyone has other recommendations I am all ears!  Keep me posted on the progress, and any upgrades you make

https://www.harborfreight.com/air-tools-compressors/air-tools/blasting-cleaning/110-lb-pressurized-abrasive-blaster-69724.html

I am going to call and see how much it is for a mobile guy to come out and do it as well...

[7E-Bodies]

This is what I am looking at, if anyone has other recommendations I am all ears!  Keep me posted on the progress, and any upgrades you make

https://www.harborfreight.com/air-tools-compressors/air-tools/blasting-cleaning/110-lb-pressurized-abrasive-blaster-69724.html

I am going to call and see how much it is for a mobile guy to come out and do it as well...

That's the one I have. You'll definitely need to make some mods. I added the vibratory motor above and that solved 90% of the low/no flow issues. I'm shooting dry air which is also a must. Another hint is not to add more than a 50# bag of media as well. I'm shooting the coal slag fine grit from TSC. way cheaper and you can sweep it up, PASS IT THROUGH A SCREEN, and reuse it a few times. At $12/50# bag, its way more efficient and not too terribly aggressive.
I run with both of the top ball valves fully open and the bottom one at just about 45 degrees open. If you don't screen your media (screen inside of the funnel that comes with the blaster), you'll regret it. I simply could have never succeeded with this blaster without the vibratory motor I posted. Huge difference.

[7E-Bodies]

@70_440-6Cuda per your comment about pricing a mobile guy, make sure he has experience with classic cars. Also know that they leave all the blast media for you to clean up. No problem if you're good with that. My take is its a toss up on cost/hassle/sweat equity/and fighting mods on the blaster. That's me looking in the rearview mirror because my mobile guy is super experienced with some very rare car owners in my area and is super reasonable. He quoted me $400-$500 to shoot under the floor, firewall, two fenders and a hood. I truly regretted not taking him up on it about midway through doing it myself.

[tparker]

I tried  various material; baking soda, walnut shells, and black oxide (?). Each worked a bit different. If II remember right, the baking soda was good for taking the paint off and that is about it. I think even that was a little bit of a challenge. The black oxide was very aggresive and worked well with some rusted parts. I don't recall how well the walnut shells worked, but somewhere in between I think.

I took an extra plastic storage tub and modified it with  a plexiglass view portal on the lid, and then cut a couple holes that I put a large diameter PVC pipe with some gloves attached to it so I can  put my hands in side without getting them all messed up. It really didn't work too well. Too much dust and I couldn't see anything. LOL.

The main problem I had was with constant cloging. Things would go great, then it would clog. I would get 30 seconds to a minute of use out of the various setups I had. I had a Harbor freight handheld gun which worked great, until it cloged. I had a plastic bucket thing that worked ok, until it clogged. Then I had some other thing I don't recall and that would clog too.

The other issue was the mess. If you are doing large panels you will want to think about the mess and clean up. SOme material you can reuse, so you might want to recover it. I think baking  soda and walnut shells are a one time use. I put out some tarps and tried to create  a backstop, but it still got all over.

I also have heard you need to ensure it is cleaned really well. I think Baking Soda in particular is bad for paint. You have to really  make sure you get it out of all the nooks and crannies.

[70_440-6Cuda]

@tparker those are all my main concerns exactly!  Is the juice worth the squeeze as they say.  I live in a suburban tract home community in So Cal - I dont think my neighbors signed up to live in a man made dust bowl!  My wife already says we are "those neighbors" 

I was thinking of tarps with a PVC frame for a back stop also, but fear it will be a massive mess anyway

[1970A-66Challenger]

I had mine soda blasted years ago early in the restoration process. It was a definite time saving activity versus me sanding off multiple layers of paint jobs. Fortunately I have acreage because it makes a mess!