Soda blasting

[QuickBpBp]

I'm not saying they don't warp as they most definitely can. I'm saying it's from the hammering of the media and not heat.

Exactly this. Years back I had a complete 72 Road runner sand blasted at Mahr Sand blasting. Fenders, hood, roof and quarters. NOTHING WAS WARPED. It's done from pressure not heat. A friend of mine sent a pair of 70 Dart fenders out to be done and the guy stripped them and they were curved like a Banana. Destroyed. He does truck frames and wheels and had no business doing sheet metal.

 

[Richard Cranium]

So what's the consensus; soda blasting to remove just the paint or not?

 

[chargervert]

So what's the consensus; soda blasting to remove just the paint or not?

You should check with your body man and and see what he recommends. He is the one who will be hands on when it is stripped.

 

[gkent]

Well its a fact: soda will not touch rust. And personally I have no faith in ANY blast media to effectively remove rust. Let's face it, its at the microscopic level - the only way to remove it is chemically. Metalprep will neutralize light rust but for crusty, heavy and pitted stuff you should probably sandblast first then hit it with the chemicals.

By the way. Think "dipping" is the answer? Guess again !! The car in the photo was dipped and looked awesome. Then while working at the back I noticed some spots that had rusted through requiring a new rear crossmember. This is what was residing under the rear crossmember reinforcements

 

[CHARGERSTEVEN]

Are you doing the clean up n prep to have it ready for body work n paint.Have you stripped it totally to do the blasting.And just curious what you fixing

 

[CHARGERSTEVEN]

So what's the consensus; soda blasting to remove just the paint or not?

 

[gkent]

If all you want to remove is the paint then have it soda blasted. But its long and often been said that without proper prep afterwards you're going to have paint adhesion issues. The surface has to be washed with detergent - not just water. Since soda is a base, it needs the alkalinity of the detergent to neutralize it. Once that's done you now run the risk of flash rust unless you store the car in a dry environment. But the flash rust is easily removed later with metalprep.

The reality is, nothing is perfect short of cutting the car completely apart, dipping every part then having them all e-coated before reassembly.

If it were me I'd check with the painter and see what he suggests and if he's ok with soda then I'd search out one who routinely does cars and can tell you how to properly prep it afterwards.

We have a blaster up here who is probably the best in the business. He won't tell you much over the phone other than blasting any car could and probably will take 4 or five different medias to get everything removed.

Oh, you should also be aware that no media will remove seam sealer, soft undercoating, grease or oil.