I love this soda blaster

I recently picked up a cheap gravity fed sand blaster from Harbor Freight. For $20 I figured it was worth a shot. I love this thing! This whole piece, inside and out took about 15 minutes to clean.

Before


After

You didn't use sand now did you?

Jean

Baking soda

Now I know what to use when I can’t get any sand :!:

Bernhard said:

Now I know what to use when I can’t get any sand :!:

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The baking soda isn't abrasive enough to remove rust and paint. It works more as a cleaner to remove dirt and build up.

That looks good. What kind of pressure did you use?
Jaydee

can the soda be reused? as in an enclosed cabinet like bead blasting.

Another benefit is it does not destroy fine details.

+1 for soda blasting. I use it to clean things I don't want to get glass beads into, like cylinder heads, cases, carbs, etc. It's very good at cleaning the carbon off combustion chambers, ports, pistons, and so forth, and it cleans up with simple water rinsing. It is a bit messy, however, so I use a blasting hood and coveralls. It seems to get everywhere, so I still end up having to shower afterwards.

It's not as aggressive as sand or glass beads, or other blasting media, and I still use them for removing paint, heavy corrosion, and such.

I uses a Harbor Freight soda blaster, and buy the soda in large bags, also from Harbor Freight. I recommend the largest blaster they sell, mostly because you don't have to stop and refill it so often.

Ken

I am with you IMHO glass beads and other media has NO business near an engine.

lcrken said:

+1 for soda blasting. I use it to clean things I don't want to get glass beads into, like cylinder heads, cases, carbs, etc. It's very good at cleaning the carbon off combustion chambers, ports, pistons, and so forth, and it cleans up with simple water rinsing.

Ken

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still my question
"can the soda be reused? as in an enclosed cabinet like bead blasting."

madass140 said:

still my question
"can the soda be reused? as in an enclosed cabinet like bead blasting."

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Don,
I don't have a cabinet so I can't help you with that. I used a big Tupperware tub and tossed what's left. 5 lb bag of Arm & Hammer baking soda did what I needed to do. The used material did look like it could be recycled if that helps.

Pete

madass140 said:

still my question
"can the soda be reused? as in an enclosed cabinet like bead blasting."

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I think the answer is pretty much no, although I have seen references to people capturing it on a tarp and reusing it after a sifting and cleaning procedure. The usual guidance from the soda blasting suppliers is that the media is not reusable, because it is soft enough that it degrades from the impact at normal blasting pressures. I've seen a reference somewhere to reusing it in a cabinet at low pressures, like 40 psi or so, but even then it is not supposed to last too long. If you need something reusable but not too abrasive, you could try walnut shells, plastic shot, or similar stuff. I've tried both in my small blasting cabinet some years ago, and returned to glass beads for most of the things I need to blast, along with the soda blaster that I use outside. The soda is cheap enough that I've never tried recovering it. And it gets dissolved in the first rain, unlike the piles of sand I end up with from sand blasting outside.

Ken

thanks Ken, very helpful
Don