Soda Blasting Cars????

M

moparmusclecars

I'm getting some calls on old cars that have been soda blasted or had like engine compartments soda blasted. What is the best procedure to prepare for epoxy? What is it creating the issues with the soda blasted cars?
 
I stay away from soda blasted cars, or at least I have been able to so far. You have to neutralize the car before you can continue, I will let the others answer though as I haven't done one myself. I know a lot of them use a degreaser such as mean green, purple power etc etc, and then wash the car with soap and water.. This procedure scares me so I stay away from it as long as possible.
 
Does not make a lot of sense to me, Bicarbonate soda has a higher than neutral ph, which is why it helps counter act acid stomach problems. The PH is 8.3, over 7 is safer for steel than less than 7 that destroys steel. People have told me I cant use steel rinse tanks for caustic solutions too.
 
I'm not an expert on it but I believe it leaves a film in the pores. Has nothing to do with the PH. The main failure is the paint coming off in sheets.

I did a Chrysler 300 that was soda blasted 11-12 years ago. I didn't have it done but it came to me that way. I never had problems but the car was so rusty that it needed a lot of metal repair and the surface was 80 da'd more than once during the process. Otherwise I didn't do anything special. I didn't powerwash like they recommend now. I did my metal work and went over it with dupont prep sol and epoxied with Valspar. Back then I never heard the horror stories like I read now. I actually hope it did come off in sheets as he screwed me out of 5500 bucks on the job.
 
Were getting several tech questions in the show and tell. Anyway we can get them moved to the correct location?
 
Soda film must be washed with soap and water and rinse, or nothing will stick long term.
 
Barry;n81911 said:
Soda film must be washed with soap and water and rinse, or nothing will tick long term.

I've been considering soda blast for my next restoration but I'm not 100% sold on the idea due to the concerns like raised here.
It's a California car with no rust and well worn out original paint so it should clean up nicely. If washing with soap and water, will that promote flash rust?

Thanks,
Mike
 
What some of the soda blasters are now doing is washing the car with holdtight 2, so that neutralizing and changing the PH of the metal, at $150 a gallon you are paying for it but it does save some work.
 
We just bought a Dustless blaster.I used the Holdtight on that and it worked great.I believe the mix ratio was 1:100.I buy it for $45.00 a gallon.
 
Are you having it soda blasted? How much of the car are you doing? I used much more Holdtight because the dustless blaster leaves tons of wet glass everywhere so it took more to get it cleaned up.To just wash off a car I would say a gallon of holdtight would work.I emptied the blaster and just ran water thru it with the Holdtight to wash off the car.7 ounces to 5 gallons is what they say.
 
I'm still on the fence about soda blasting. It looked like an ideal way to strip a whole car of paint because it is less destructive on metal, and after stripping down the paint on a convertible with paper, soda looked much more of an easier and faster alternative. I've seen some advertisement where they come to your home and blast it in a driveway. The more I looked into it the more caveats seemed to appear where painting is concerned.

Thanks!
Mike
 
I would just get a regular blaster and blast the inside,underside,jambs,rockers, firewall.You can blast the inners of the doors if your careful[not inside].The hood and trunk is a different animal.This is how I did my hood to do it right.
I split the inner and outer shells,hand stripped the outer shell and blasted the inner bracing.Then SPI epoxy,antiflutter in between and reassembled.Then just hand strip the outside of the car to avoid damaging from peening and or heat.
 
NextGen Classics said:
I would just get a regular blaster and blast the inside,underside,jambs,rockers, firewall.You can blast the inners of the doors if your careful[not inside].The hood and trunk is a different animal.This is how I did my hood to do it right.
I split the inner and outer shells,hand stripped the outer shell and blasted the inner bracing.Then SPI epoxy,antiflutter in between and reassembled.Then just hand strip the outside of the car to avoid damaging from peening and or heat.
agreed.....
 
i would never do soda. every car owner i have talked ot in the past 2 years has even heard to never soda blast a car because of all the horror stories. i havent heard of someone doing it in quite a few years. soda sort of just went away. if you want something that wont tear up and warp the metal then you use crushed recycled glass. it doesnt have to be wet like nextgen. wet or dry does the same.
 
Reason I asked is I had a guy who wanted me to paint his engine compartment, and it had been soda blasted. I honestly don't know the proper procedure to insure my paint work will last. I figured id be using epoxy on it for sure.
 
Best for no warping is those walnut shells. They sure hurt when they hit you, but do not do as much damage to the paint you are getting off, no help with rust at all. The exciting part of soda blasting is when that grain of bicarbonate soda hits the metal, it explodes and gives an extra punch to the process. That holdtight is working with the water part of the dustless. so just dry soda you have a higher than neutral PH so it does not promote flash rusting right away. That starts when you decide to wash the car to paint it.
 
Pretty sure you have to scrub the entire area VERY thoroughly with a red scuff pad, Dawn or Simple Green, and plenty of water. But SPI does not recommend their products be used over soda blasted surfaces. You should call Barry.
 
I have done 3 or 4 cars with soda now, when it is done I power wash, then wash with vinegar and water and red scotch brite, then simple green with scotch brite, power wash again and blow dry. I have not had any issues. Typically takes me 4-5 hours to clean them up. The car begins to flash rust right after the vinegar. I then wax and grease it, sand with 80 grit and spray epoxy. Positives, no junk in doors or compartments like sand/ or other media. Easy clean up, washes away, metal looks like brand new. Also, if you cannot get to the car right away, it will not rust after soda. Negatives, get every inch, make sure the whole car starts to flash rust or paint will peel. I have not had one peel yet, but I am sure it can happen
 
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