sandblasting help

[markeb01]

Welcome to the forum. This is such a complex subject I’d recommend doing a Google search on the subject of sand blasting, soda blasting, and chemical stripping of automotive paints. There’s an endless amount of information available that can help you make the best decision for your specific project.

From my own experience, here’s what I’ve observed.

Sand blasting is very abrasive, cheap and effective. Consider this like 50 grit sandpaper. It works very well on hard parts like castings and suspension pieces, detached from the vehicle.

Cons:

It can work harden or warp delicate body panels. This isn’t as big a problem if you’re doing it yourself with a siphon blaster and small compressor, but it takes forever to do large surfaces so it isn’t very practical. The electric bill for running a small compressor non-stop can sometimes pay to have someone do the job professionally.

Sand gets “everywhere”. Trapped sand particles continue leaking out of body cavities years after completion.

Breathing blasting dust is dangerous to your health, besides being miserable so if you do it yourself wear a respirator and eye protection.

It doesn’t work on grease or undercoater. These must be removed before blasting.


Soda blasting removes just the paint, it does not “profile” the metal. For example if you want to remove the finish from a painted grille in order to have it chromed, soda blasting works perfectly, because the stripped surface looks just as it did when it came out of the stamping tool.

Compared to sandblasting this is more like 400 grit sandpaper, but leaves no scratches. There are claims it does not damage glass, chrome, rubber or wiring.

Cons:

It does not remove rust or body filler.

Many paint manufacturers recommend against it, due to adhesion problems with soda residue.

Soda residue can cake up and be difficult to remove.

It costs much more to remove heavy finishes because it takes longer than more aggressive materials.

Here are some articles you may also find helpful:

http://www.crankshaftcoalition.com/wiki/Sandblasting
http://www.crankshaftcoalition.com/wiki/Soda_blasting
http://www.crankshaftcoalition.com/wiki/Media_blasting

I find the best approach is a combination of techniques. Paint stripper on large sheet metal surfaces, flap discs on hard parts, d/a sanders with various grit discs depending on the surface and finish, wire brushes in both steel and brass, and blasting for the tedious areas that I can’t do any other way. Good luck on your project.