Sand blasting vs Soda blasting

[TBOWGN]

Hey guys,

 

What are your thoughts on soda blasting vs sand blasting for my car?

 

I'm heading more towards soda because it's not as full on as sand, but what are your experiences?

 

I've got a fair bit of rust in the lower side panels, lower rear window seals and top of the wheel arches.

 

Would you recommend doing it 'before' or 'after' I cut and weld the new parts in?

 

Lars

[handsandwhich]

Both have their good and bad points but I choose sand (garnet) over soda. Reason being, it will remove bog and rust completely and leave the steel etched and ready to receive paint/primer.

 

Soda, while being more mild and less chance of warping/damaging panels, leaves a film that then needs to be properly removed before you can paint over the surface.

 

If you find someone that knows what they are doing, they can do the job using garnet with minimal damage to panels, but even then, I would not do the bonnet (due to it being so large and thin) or the inside of the roof either.

[TBOWGN]

Cheers, fair points. Does anyone know of a decent guy/business on the gold coast?

[Ledge]

Hi

I used a combo of both, All the middles of the panels where done with

Soda and everywhere that had some strength with sand.

If  you get the whole car done with Soda you will still have a lot

of work to do to remove surface rust and body sealers.

 

Definitely don't dip the car, Allot of people get that done and its bad.

We had a car at work that was dipped by its owner and even 3 years

later it was still seaping out of the seams.

 

Regards

Paul

[PZG302]

You can now blast cars with dry ice. I know there is a franchise in Brisbane but not sure on the gold coast. Should have no residue as it melts to a gas and with a good operator, like other methods of blasting, won't damage the panels.

 

I would also get it done prior to any other body work so there are no nasty suprises.

 

My charger shell was soda blasted, but the workshopo then put it in etch primer straight away to protect it.

[handsandwhich]

I have seen videos of the dry ice method. Looks the goods but painfully slow.

 

I wonder what the cost of doing a shell would be.

[handsandwhich]

A video of dry ice blasting which is coincidentally on a 240z.

 

 

 

[TBOWGN]

I like the idea of doing both... Thanks for your input guys

[gilltech]

I had plastic bead blasting done on a Mustang, which is used on aircraft (due to their aluminium skins); so ideal for alloy bodied cars - very gentle but slow so really not the most cost effective for steel bodies; removes paint beautifully, exposes bog & rust, but struggles with old grease & underseal on chassis, however does leave a satin finish perfect for etch priming.

Same operator had changed to a mix of fine garnet & 'walnut shell' (or so he described it) when I brought in my next Mustang project, & that mix was quicker, & dealt with everything including digging out surface rust. But one must ensure that the operator isn't put under pressure to rush the job through or there's the risk that too much air pressure could be used possibly resulting in panel warpage and/or the tension in the panel being affected.

It costs what it costs, can be many hours of work - so get an estimate first with a clear understanding of how far the operator is to go, & allow for a bit extra in case, say, there are more coats of paint than first assumed or the chassis parts are tougher going. But it is a great way to get the project out of the blocks & on it's way.

The grit & dust ends up in all the apertures, inside chassis rails etc (does it what!), so be sure to blow all those through several times before commencing painting. Get an etch primer on to the body just as soon as the stripping is done - I expect most operators would offer that service. You'll need to know what the primer used is though to be sure that subsequent coatings are going to be compatible.

[TBOWGN]

Legend!! Thanks for your input

 

[Six_Shooter]

Soda tastes better than sand, less gritty too.

 

 

 

lol