Eastwood Soda Blaster, is it any good? Options

[9fourteen]

I am looking to buy a soda blaster to blast my entire car. I don't want to spend a ton of money but I don't want a piece junk that doesn't work either. Eastwood has some units that are reasonably priced but they have gotten very mixed reviews on their site. It seems to be a love/hate thing. Either people really like it and say it works great while others say it is junk, don't buy it. I was looking at the dual tank model that can do soda as well as other types of media. I thought that might be the way to go as I would like to use soda on the body panels and then sand on the rusted areas to get as much of the rot off it as possible.

Anybody own or used an eastwood blaster? If so what has been your experience. Are there any other brand units out there that you would recommend.

I found this one in my searches. Price was right but not sure how well it would work.

[mepstein]

It won't work to blast your car. It's for small stuff. You need a full on pro setup with a commercial trailered compressor to soda blast a car and it still takes 8-12 hours. It will cost you a lot for soda, its very loud and make a huge mess of your yard. If you want to get it done, use a commercial vendor. Some of them will come to you.

[9fourteen]

I have an Ingersoll Rand 2340L5 which is a 60 gallon vertical tank and is 14 CFM at 175 PSI. I would think that would be enough to run one of these smaller blasters. I know a commercial setup would be faster but I prefer to do things myself. More satisfying that way.

[McMark]

Don't overestimate the 'grit' of soda blasting. I've use sand to blast panels and it takes a long time. Soda is MUCH softer. The 911 in the shop was professionally soda blasted and it took forever and the operator was mixing in walnut shells just to get most of the old paint to come off. So it's wasn't even truly soda blasting. Some areas of OE paint may not ever come off with soda.

That all being said, I haven't used the Eastwood Soda Blaster, but my big outdoor pressure pot is a Harbor Freight type unit. It works just fine with sand, other than clogging on occasion. There's not a whole lot of technology in these 'machines', so I don't think there's much reason to spend a bunch of money on a home setup. If you decide to go for it, I wouldn't hesitate to get the unit you're looking at. The people who complained about it not working probably had wildly overestimated the 'grit' of soda, and complained about the unit even though it was working fine.

[MBowman325]

I picked one up but haven't had a chance to spend much quality time with it yet. So far my only complaint is the safety /bleed valve wound up sticking open... :/

[GaroldShaffer]

I picked up a HF 40gal portable soda blaster. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif) What I had coupons (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) I got it more for using on mailbox posts and larger items that I can't fit in my blasting cabinet (valances, rocker panels.....) I haven't tried it yet, but will come spring.

[02loftsmoor]

Be sure what your blasting is dry, no oil whats so ever, haveing said that soda blasting is not as messy as sand blasting

[pktzygt]

I love mine! I only have the single tank model though. The only difference is that I have to dump out the tank if I want to switch media. I say get the single and spend the money difference on a good dessicant dryer.

Be careful blasting with sand unless you have an air fed breather because the silica dust can mess you up pretty good. I like to remove or cover delicate parts and blast with steel grit because it will cut through body filler.

[pktzygt]

Be sure what your blasting is dry, no oil whats so ever, haveing said that soda blasting is not as messy as sand blasting

It's not the mess you need to worry about, it's the silicosis, which can kill you.

If you pick the right media, you should be able to filter what falls on yourdrop cloth and reuse it.

[euro911]

I pretty much thought soda blasting was for cleaning critical parts that you don't want any media to get stuck in - for example, oil tanks, where glass bead could get stuck in crevices, shake loose several miles down the road and tear up all your internals (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

[Elliot Cannon]

Be sure and do your soda blasting out front of your house in the drive way front yard etc. Your neighbors will (not) love you for it. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/happy11.gif)

[shuie]

The soda blasting thing is pretty amazing, but you will need a commercial grade rig and a large open area or field to do it right, IMO. Yes, it makes a tremendous mess. I have a good friend who owns a mobile environmental soda blasting business in the gulf-south area if anyone is looking to have car blasted

[scrz914]

For the soda blaster pictured...add in a Mentos for added psi (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Eric_Shea]

I agree with the "Big Commercial Compressor" talk:

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net-1110-1329259637.1.jpg)

I didn't have a problem with soda stripping all the factory paint off.

Amazing results... back to factory metal. You can still see the bluing from the welder:

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net-1110-1329259639.2.jpg)

[9fourteen]

I just ordered the Eastwood single tank soda blaster. I took Sean's advice on saving some money and getting the single tank model. From what I read on Eastwood's site it is a standard abrasive blaster with a soda blaster adapter so it is still dual purpose, i just have to dump the tank as Sean said.

I'll give it a try. Not too much money invested so if it doesn't do the job I won't feel so bad. If it works and is just slow it won't be a problem. I'm not in any hurry.

I also took the advice on the silicon dust. I was looking at the clean air respirators. I figure if I get into doing the painting myself I will need one. I found a few that are reasonably priced but they call for having a Class D filter on your shop compressor. I thought that might be the solution but then I searched for a Class D filter and they cost close to $2000. I got a small portable compressor that I use for my nail guns a stuff. Is there a problem with the air coming out if it that I need a $2000 filter on it? If I place the compressor in a place where the air is not contaminated and run a hose to where I am working, what's wrong with that? The alternative is a company called Hobby Air that makes a self contained unit that does it all.

Thanks for everybody's advice on this.

[worn]

I just ordered the Eastwood single tank soda blaster. I took Sean's advice on saving some money and getting the single tank model. From what I read on Eastwood's site it is a standard abrasive blaster with a soda blaster adapter so it is still dual purpose, i just have to dump the tank as Sean said.

I'll give it a try. Not too much money invested so if it doesn't do the job I won't feel so bad. If it works and is just slow it won't be a problem. I'm not in any hurry.

I also took the advice on the silicon dust. I was looking at the clean air respirators. I figure if I get into doing the painting myself I will need one. I found a few that are reasonably priced but they call for having a Class D filter on your shop compressor. I thought that might be the solution but then I searched for a Class D filter and they cost close to $2000. I got a small portable compressor that I use for my nail guns a stuff. Is there a problem with the air coming out if it that I need a $2000 filter on it? If I place the compressor in a place where the air is not contaminated and run a hose to where I am working, what's wrong with that? The alternative is a company called Hobby Air that makes a self contained unit that does it all.

Thanks for everybody's advice on this.

Look for a supplied air respirator. They will run about $500, but are worth it when it comes time to paint. I think with a short exposure to sand blasting that the dust can be effectively filtered by a high grade respirator with the appropriate cartridges, but I have a beard, so respirators only work so so for me. The problem by the way with using a compressor is that by some mechanism carbon monoxide is formed - thus the need for expensive filtration if you breathe from your compressor.

[9fourteen]

Look for a supplied air respirator. They will run about $500, but are worth it when it comes time to paint. I think with a short exposure to sand blasting that the dust can be effectively filtered by a high grade respirator with the appropriate cartridges, but I have a beard, so respirators only work so so for me. The problem by the way with using a compressor is that by some mechanism carbon monoxide is formed - thus the need for expensive filtration if you breathe from your compressor.

I was looking at the supplied air respirators. From what I can tell the respirator is just that, a respirator. You still need a source of the supplied air. Some of the systems in the $700 range include a small electric compressor. If I am using a small, 2 gallon, electric, oil-free compressor for the supplied air, does that qualify as class D supplied air?

Here is the definition of Class D air.

Oxygen Content of 19.5-23.5%
Hydrocarbon (condensed) content of 5 milligrams per cubic meter of air or less
Carbon monoxide (CO) content of 10 ppm or less
Carbon dioxide content of 1,000 ppm or less; and
Lack of noticeable odor

If I am oil free I shouldn't have any hydrocarbon and if I am drawing air from outside I shouldn't have any of the other stuff in it. It should be a contained system. I don't see where anything toxic could get into it unless I had the compressor sitting next to my car's exhaust.

[FourBlades]

Don't use a compressor to supply your air.

There are systems that include a turbine compressor to supply air to your mask.

I got one from ebay for about $450 or so.

Don't remember the brand but it is nice because the air flow helps to keep you cool.

I bought mine for painting with modern paints.

John

[FourBlades]

You can use blasting media that is not based on silicon sand to avoid silicosis.

Usually the media indicates if it contains silicon.

I have used aluminum oxide for blasting steel parts and it works well.

John

[pjf]

I bought a used HobbyAir fresh air respirator but the motor eventually failed and I replaced it with one called the BreatheCoolII. While the hose and mask is not as nice as the HobbyAir (I'm still using the hose and mask from it) the turbine on the BreatheCoolII is much better and I'd recommend it over the HobbyAir.

The website is:

http://www.turbineproducts.com/servlet/Detail?no=3